Best winch for the money??
 

I'm looking for a winch for my 2003 F250 super duty and I think I've narrowed it down to warn and mile marker. I like the warn M1200 but that runs in the $1,200 range the trans4mer mounting system is kinda expensive as well. I've looked at the mile marker si1200 and se1200 winches. Anyone know the difference between the si and se other than price?? For mounting the mile marker winches, I found the extreme pro winch mount for about $580. I'm leaning toward the mile marker simply because they are much cheaper. Anyone have any experience or thoughts with these (performance, durability, looks after mounting, installation etc..)?? I'd like a mout that has a grill guard and brush guard would be nice. The sticker on my truck says it weighs 8,800 lbs so I'm assuming a 12,000 lb. pull winch will be sufficient.

Come along biggest you can find and a couple block and tackle and you can pull all
day long and actually get your truck out if it also happened to stop running and you
need to get it to clean ground to work on it. If you are not going to use the winch
very often less than 6 times a year which is often the case, It is nothing but a bumper
ornament and a target for thiefs. Not to mention if you don't run out the line and lube
it on a regular basis it won't be worth a darn when you need it!! Don't forget the rating
is with one wrap on the drum anymore and it is losing rating numbers.

That's some fairly lame advice there, not everybody lives in Florida.

I have the Warn 8274 on my F250 powerstroke and it does an excellent job when called upon. I don't know if it would pull the 7500lb pickup out if I buried it up to the doors in mud, but I don't really try to get in those situations. I do know that I have had to use it on several ocasions to pull the pickup forward far enough to roll it onto the tire chains. Have also used it to recover several cars that have gotten stuck in the snow. One nice feature the 8274 has is that it has one of the fastest line speeds.

Check if the winches your looking at have a brake on them. A couple years ago we built an outhouse for our hunting camp. Built at home and hauled up to camp on a trailer. We ran a chain between a couple big pines and hooked a snatch block onto the chain. A friend of my dad's insisted on using his winch to hoist the outhouse up off of the trailer. I'm wanting to say his winch is a 12,000 lb Milemarker and it didn't have a brake on it. Was a huge pain. I know that my Warn has a brake, and I wouldn't want a winch without one.

As for the mount, I can't help there. We modified an old Warn bumper to fit on my 96. By the time we were done with it was better than the Warn bumper for my year of pickup.

All i have had on my trucks were Warn. I had a 9000 on an F150 and now I have a 15,000 on my Superduty. If savings is what your looking for than go with what ya can. The rule of thumb normally for a winch is 1 and a 1/2 x's the wieght of the truck. 8800 + 4400 = 13200. You could go either 12 or 15 as far as wieght loads on the winch. I have used mine for both self recovery and pulling others out with no problem. again your decision and goodluck....oh yeah post pics when done with your install.

a 12000# come along. about $50.

Thanks for your replies. I believe the mile markers do have an automatic brake, so that's what i'll probably end up going with. Has a 2 year warranty as well. It'll be a while before I can save up the money but I'll get some pics up when I have it on.

Please excuse my ignorance, I am a newb when it comes to 4x4's, but what is a come along?

a hand powered winch http://www.arizonatools.com/tools/co...FQGzGgodamQlCg

Its a form of hand winch, not worth a damn IMO, a hi-lift chained up works better than a dedicated come along.
Myself and everyone else that i wheel with will swear by Warn winches (and Warn products in general) One guy did try a mile marker and with regular care it burned up the motor after only a few uses. Not saying this will happen if get one but thats the only experience i have with anything other than a Warn

x2 on the hi lift to pull....

whatever you do dont buy a small comealong for anything. toasted 3 4klbs ones trying to unstick my ranger. i would sugest buying the comealong untill you can afford the winch. that why you have it if you need it and like others have said if you can use the winch forwhatever reason yoiu have a backup.

tony

Thanks for the replies. Looks like using a come along to get you unstuck would be a major PITA. Of course if it is all you have then it is better than remaining stuck. That is interesting about Mile Marker, I was looking at their PE8000 winch on The Ranger Station website. I won't be doing any extreme 4x4 in my Ranger, but would like to have something in case I do get myself stuck.

where can u buy a 12000 pound come-along for $50.00--?

I was wondering the same thing?

I would vote for a 15k winch or better ... If you are in need of it then you are stuck ... That means you not only have to pull the weight of the vehicle but you have to overcome the suction and/or friction that has a hold on the vehicle ... Soft clay/mud is a bugger to get out of ... So is deep dry sand ...