well i been wanting to get one for a while now and finally saved some cash for one but i not sure about draining the battery with the winch. i searched and found some stuff but it didnt give me a clear answer the winch is a Ramsey Patriot Profile 12000 i still have the stock battery but i also have the tow package which i told has a bigger battery. the winch wouldnt be used all the time just if i get stuck off -roading or pulling trees over when cutting firewood that kinda stuff do i need a 12000 winch or do you think i could get away with a 9500 do i need to upgrade the battery thanks

 

You can never have too much winch....but plenty of times it can be too small....remember its only a 12000 lb winch on the first wrap of the cable...each subsequent wrap is less and less....i think my 9,000 lb winch is like 4400 on the first wrap (although that number might be a bit off)......and it also can't hurt to upgrade the battery to the largest cold cranking amp one you can find...

 

I ran the Warn 9.5 HS on my 93 Bronco/94 F-150 with a 302 and smaller battery/alt combo than my 06 has...pics in gallery

had no problems at all. like Ryan said, you get less pull power as more line is on the drum.

I recommend you try it out first, and then spend money later to upgrade parts as needed. You can see pics of my setup where I had the winch, 2 KC Daylighters and the motor running...and it was just fine.



really, the only time the battery will be a limiting factor is if the motor is off and you're doing a dead pull...those suck

 

Ive read that its recommended to get a winch that has a rated capacity of 1.5 x the weight you plan on pulling. So for the f150 you should probably go with the 12000. Also if you are worried about the battery, look into a hydraulic winch.

 

then he is either gonna need to buy a PTO transfer case, or break into his power steering lines

either way, the hydraulic units require the motor running...and that isn't always an option


the biggest F-150 wieghs roughly 6,000 lbs...so I think he'd be plenty safe with a 9.5...but yeah, bigger is better.


Ramsey is known for their Hydraulic winches...haven't heard much about their electric ones





btw, when you go to buy shackles, visit a Tractor Supply Store. I bought 5 ton shackles for under $20 a pop. The local 4x4 shop wanted $60+ for 3 ton shackes

 

if you find a cool mounting system, let us know !!

do you plan to hide it so only the fairlead shows?

 

You get twice the pulling power because you are doubling the line so it acts like you are pulling with two 9500 lb lines instead of one. I dont know the logic behind less wraps on the drum equal more pulling power but thats the rule of thumb. Do some searching in the off road forum of this site, its been covered pretty extensively.

Like tylus said tractor supply is a good place to go for off road gear thats sold at reasonable prices, I think they are authorized dealers of warn winches too. In my truck day dreams I want to put a warn 9.5 winch on the truck that hides inside the bumper, the drawback is that the drum is only big enough to hold 50ft of cable.
I'd stick with warn and the 9500 winches nothing wrong with 12,000 but thats more for the f250-350 crowd.

 

what they are referring to is the wraps around the drum of the winch itself.... the more wraps you have, they larger the diameter of each wrap is..... and this is what changed the amount of force transmitted to the rope..... so, yes, if you add a ******-block, it will help regain the loss back, and then some.

 

thanks for the advice guys i rather stay away from the Hydraulic winches and i think i go with the 12000 cause you never know what you might get into. tylus thats kinda the same setup i was going for winch front guard and some kc daylighters did you like the kc daylighters? matt17D i going let her hang out on the front and fab my own i dont really like any of the winch mounts they make right now plus there kinda pricey

 

what about the 12000 mile marker winches. i heard the army uses there Hydraulic winches anyone have any experience with the electric ones

 

I have a milemarker electric...its done what it was supposed to do on the limited number of times i've needed it.......

The downside of a ****** block to double your pulling power is you 1, have to have someplace to rehook the line on your truck....and 2....it really slows down the winching....when i'm pulling someone out of a ditch i really don't want to be there on the side of the road in bad conditions any longer than i have to be...which includes extra time for rigging, and twice as long for winching

 

I loved the daylighters. they came with those silly yellow smiley face covers...needless to say, I many times drove at night with the covers on and lights on

I had them for just over 1 yr and had no issues. they were BRIGHT...once aimed, I could see perfectly in front of me at night-time.



btw, I paid $700 for that bumper, and $1,100 for the winch in 2003...It is/was the Warn mount, Warn 9.5 HS, KC Daylighter, 5 ton shackles

I cannot imagine what a similar setup would run nowadays...most likely $1k+ just for the bumper/lights

 

i was looking at front receivers for my 06 crew cab to make a winch carrier that i can mount front and back but the only one i can find is rated for 9000 pounds whats your guys thoughts on mounting a 12000 pound winch to it

 

it will be fine if it fits


in theory a 9k receiver can hold 9k of wieght in a dead pull, but most items like that are actually safe for 2x the posting rating...and some things are 5x stronger than required...gotta love the safety margin that is built in. manufacturers know that people will meet/exceed the posted margins, so they over-enginerr them


anyways, the biggest obstacle is the winch itself. does the 9,000 lb warn winch mount have the same mounting bolt pattern as the 12,000 lb Ramsey? and is there enough room for a 12k winch to fit onto that mount, and still clear the bumper?

 

well i was only looking for the front receiver and then i was going fab the piece that slides in to the receiver and the part the winch mounts to