Off Roading Which Winch??

[Blue Thunder]

I have the Road Armor front bumper ready to accept a winch. I am leaning towards the Warn 12,000#. Any comments?

 

[Whitmore]

warn 12 is good

but think of your application first , the warn will do great if you only use it now and again , it aint the strongest and it aint the most dependable either, if you do alot of offroading and plan on using it alot and get stuck big time than you should get a hydrolic winch, they are tough as anything out there and will work overtime without failure, I have been stuck alot and have worked with every winch on the market and I would go for a hydrolic in a minute, they may cost a bit more but for the heavy user it is a must, the wrecker service companies use them and they are worth their weight in gold , you can tap the trannie or if you have the hd transfer case than you should tap it there for the pto. I had a warren 12 and stalled it alot with a snatch block in use , more times than not... ... ... . when I get stuck I do it up right... ..... Kevin

 

[CUMAPART]

Blue Thunder,

You should check out the new Warn 15000lb winch. I don't know too much about them but I like Warn. I have an 8274 on my Cruiser.

 

[JHerrlich]

Hydraulic with PTO

I know Milemarker runs off the power steering pump and I would like to get a hydraulic winch that runs off the PTO. I've been trying to price out a system that runs off of the PTO but have had no luck. Could anybody assist me, or give me direction as to the parts I need or the cost?



I would much rather run a hydraulic winch than an electric one. And if you run a backup electric hydraulic pump, you can have the best of both worlds.



Thanks in advance.

 

[Whitmore]

Jason, I have had excellent service from Braden Winch



http://www.paccarwinch.com/RecoveryProducts.asps

here is a line on Braden winches from 8k to 150 k first line pull

 

[JHerrlich]

Whitmore,



Thanks much, I appreciate it.

 

[dan_gilson]

I think Whitmore asked the "right" question: What are you planning to use the winch for?



For recovery an electric winch is OK. Use it once and give it a break to cool off. An electric is less expensive than a hydraulic.



If you are going to be doing some pretty nasty stuff and plan on using the winch a lot. A hydraulic from the PTO is what most use. Tow operators and such.



I think the military still using PTO direct.



PTO Hydraulic still gives the best set of trade offs: You can operate while in gear. It is a little more forgiving that direct and it works and works. If you use it a lot and it heats up too much you get a bigger tank.

 

[Dave MacArthur]

This topic has come up many, many times and it seems that the consensus is always that a hydraulic winch operated off of a PTO would be the best option. The problem is, myself and many others have asked over and over again and it doesn't seem that anyone makes a pump/setup to use on our trucks/transfer case. I have contacted many aftermarket companies and have had no luck. If anyone has actually seen a setup or knows of a company that makes something please let us know. I know there are quite a few people that would take advantage of it.



Thanks for any info,



Dave

 

[Blue Thunder]

I plan to use it only occasionally.

B. T. W, the Warn 15k is the same winch as the 12k, except it has different gears. So it is alot slower.

 

[hammersley]

Read the following------

Ok Ok - don't, buy anything except a Milemarker - and No I'm Not associated with them in anyway! And don't be alarmed by using your power steering pump! It is the most dependable piece of power equipment on your truck, Period - end of story! It is overdesigned and WORKS LESS winching then DRIVING! Don't let anybody try top tell you the horrow stories - they're All BS! You Can't buy a better product for your rig. I've also given you some TDR Threads - look at them after you look at the material below:







x4 Performance



January, 1998 "Steer Your Way to Being Cool" - Check it out!



After reviewing our fearless editor's findings on power steering operating temperatures, we became curious about the demands placed on the system in our Low Dollar Dodge. You see, the power steering pump in the Ramcharger serves two masters: the steering box and a Mile Marker hydraulic winch.



To establish a baseline, we drove the Dodge on a 10-mile loop and recorded the temperature of the

pump. During normal operations, it ran a consistent 145 degrees. Not out of line, we thought, but certainly winching would create more heat.



Next, we went to our favorite winch test site and made two identical pulls with the Mile Marker.

Each time the cable was extended to the bottom wrap on the drum, and the idle speed was bumped

to 1200 rpm, as is our normal procedure. Surprisingly, while winching under a moderate to heavy load, the pump temperature actually dropped slightly to 141 degrees; the hydraulic motor on the winch registered 151 degrees. Apparently, the winch puts less stress on the pump than the steering gear does in normal driving.







http://4x4review.com/products/accessories/mmwinch.asp



Also:



MileMarker 9,000 lbs. Hydraulic Winch

(a. k. a. Guardian Angel)



The following is excerpted from off-road.com 2-2-99

"... But what happens if we don't make it and we get stuck... real bad.



That is where the MileMarker winch (a. k. a. Guardian Angel) comes to the rescue. It will get you out of nearly everything - and if it can't, I know a number to a guy with a heavy lift helicopter that might be able to strap you out! The MileMarker system is that good period.

... . but what got us out of there ~ a MileMarker winch.



Could an electric winch have done the same? No. Electrical winches are OK for short duration pulls that go a few feet and last a few minutes. We winched continuously for four hours and thousands of feet! Winches are the last straw - a last resort type of movement - I will never even consider an electric winch after experiencing what I did that frozen December day. If I had an electric winch I fear that my Grand Cherokee may have become a frozen monument and been snowed in for the remainder of the winter. "







Replaced by MileMarker

"I had heard how nice they operated and well they worked from our fire department who was going

through 12,000 lb Warn winches by running too long and not letting the motor cool down on the booster trucks, and so I suggested they check MileMarker out. They did, so much so that now if the electric ones fail, they are being replaced with the hydraulic Mile Markers. "

- Allan - RedHummer.com



4

TDR Threads:



http://216.235.147.117/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5144&highlight=milemarker



http://216.235.147.117/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18962&highlight=milemarker



http://216.235.147.117/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39021&highlight=milemarker



http://216.235.147.117/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=53131&highlight=milemarker

Oo.

 

[JoeyD]

I like the Milemarker as well, but a few things to consider before buying.

1- Will not work when the motor don't

2- Slower line speed

My brother has the Warn 12K and it is nice. It has dragged his truck through plenty of bad stuff, the stuff 40 inch boggers get you into. It has performed perfectly. I would also say I don't think that the electric is much cheaper when you add up new batteries, larger wiring to support the load.

 

[Whitmore]

hammer

Great info on the milemarker, I always figgered it would have over heated the ps pump??? good news, I think if I were to winch up my rig I would prolly go with the mile marker now, BUT my Cummins is not for off road, I think an old beat up chev 1/2 ton with a 350 would be funner to abuse in the mountains, that way if you wack a tree or hit a hugh wash its still just a chevy, if I did that to my Cummins I would :{ and be very very ... ... ... ... ... ... . JMO,Kevin

 

[Speedo]

What winch?

I run a straight PTO winch, a Ramsey 10,000# winch, on my

buggy which is strictly an off road vehicle. If you can fit the

PTO shaft in and you have a PTO port on the t-case you can

run them as long as you have fuel without overheating and

what better winch motor than a Cummins. Even though I only

have a 305 Chevy motor and a T-400 transmission mated to a 205

t-case driving the winch through a Chelsea PTO it will unwind

a 12,000# Warn winch as long as the cables hold up.

There are advantages and disadvantages to any kind of winch

so you need to look at those and weigh them and make a

decision that works for your situation.



Gus

 

[tk064]

I have an old first edition mile marker and love it. It is slower than the warns by a long shot and less power than the newer ones..... but



I can do long pulls without overheating and shutting down. I can do repetive pulls, stumps, pulling logs etc and the winch keeps working, no problems. My old warn would always overheat and shut down.



I would rather have the continuous slower line speed than to stop and wait for the winch to cool down.



It is easy to hook a small hyrdolic pump up to the PTO and attach it to the milemarker, have seen it done. I have an AGR power steering pump with a cooler. I have not had any problems.

 

[emarsh]

What Hammersley said, I have a milemarker running off the power steering pump and the people who generally don't like this idea are not correctly informed, just bias without knowledge.

We already have the great saginal pumps on our rides, why not put it to use. I also disagree that a hydralic is more expensive than a electric. Do a search on winches, you will find which winch is right for you. I have both (electric and hydralic) and like them both for thei intended use. You make the choice, just make sure that whoever you listen to knows what they are talking about!

 

[Rotty]

I like, scratch that, love my milemaker 10K 2 speed. I was in the same spot as you guys are. I did the research and for my application, the hydraulic was the choice. I have logged and cleared land for 6-8 hours at a shot. Absolutly no overheating. Yes, you have to have the engine running. No, it will absolutly not overheat the pump, even when you have stalled it. The hardest thing I had to learn about winching was to have the truck tied to a stump to keep it from moving. Also, when you do any type of winching, follow the safety rules. :--) It is absolutly amazing what happens when a chain breaks and things start flying. I have been lucky and the plastic wind guard save my windshield from flying chain/rock when the chain broke. I was very fortunate to have an old logger teach me some of the ropes (chains). As it has been said, you need to define what you are going to dowith the winch most of the time. There is no 100% solution, just 90-95%.

 

[wcjp]

So far the reviews posted for the milemarker are flattering. The article done by Peterson's 4Wheel & Offroad was not flattering. They had nothing but extreme problems. They were using the winch at Surprise Canyon. The editor at the time was David Freiburger. The climate there was hot. Those in a northern climate may not suffer the same results.



I've never owned a Milemarker. Yes, I've heard the military uses them. If I had a farm working truck I'd consider the Milemarker. On the trail outside cellphone range is the wrong time to find out the power steering went south. Lastly, I thought it was bad for the Cummins to spend long periods of time idling.