So I'm looking for a winch for my truck. I was wondering if anyone has any good choices and about how much it's gonna cost me.
Thanks for the help,
--Dan

 

Go with Warn, 8000-9000 lb. You don't need anything more for your truck. They have different models in this range, you'll have to pick one. After you buy everything, (winch, mounting system), you can expect at least $1000. The last time I bought one, I got it from 4-Wheel Parts Wholesalers. Since I bought everthing from them, they cut the prices a good bit from the catalog price. They saved me about $350, including shipping, over my local 4x4 shop.

 

It depends on need, winching conditions, and where it will be mounted. A 2000 pound winch can get you out of a two wheel open diff. stuck or move a small tree, but, it will not pull you up a mountain or out of a mud pit with mud to the frame rails. I have an $85 2000 pound winch for my modest needs, but, I am not going rock climbing or mudding with it either.

 

Really all I want is a wich that will pull me out of a mudhole, but i also dont want a big huge one that wieghs half a ton and looks horrible.
A modest one like the one Phat02 was talkin about sounds cool and all but thats alot of moeny for me. I have a parttime job and in highschool so I can't just wait a month of so and buy a kick **** one. Somethin that is cheap but will do what I need it to do.
--Dan

 

im in the same boat...dont want to spend too much money and wont be in that mouch trouble anytime soon, i have an 84 150, what are some of my options for mounting in the front? does someone sell a bracket to just bolt the winch to the frame behind the bumper? I would also like a grill guard, nothin special, just one of those inexpensive two bar ones...could i mount a winch to that?

 

If you do not have a lot of money, the best thing is to mount two good towhooks with clips, front and back, and buy a very HD come-a-long. Not one of those cheesy things from Autozone, a good one with a 1/4 base and four ton capacity. I have bent the cheesy Autozone ones and there is nothing worse then to have a broken come-a-long with all that tension on the cable and no way to release it.

Then buy two 50 foot lengths of 3/8 cable, ****** strap, and a ******/pulley block, (2) 1/2" clevis, AND A HIGH LIFT JACK (60 inches). Total set back is well under $300 and that set up will get you out of just about anything. Just requires more time and effort.

This is a great set up for an occasional stuck. 5/16 cable might be okay for manual pulling yourself out, but, if another truck is giving you a yank then it is possible to break the 5/16 cable.

 

Some followup URLs:

http://www.winchesplus.com/index.html
http://www.superwinch.com/h8pn.htm
http://www.ramseywinch.com/frontmt.htm
http://www.pullpal.com/
http://www.westernmule.com/products.htm
http://www.gourock.com/master-pull.htm
http://www.milemarker.com/
http://www.recoverygear.com/
http://www.northamerica4x4.com/n/nor...4/default.asp?
http://www.qwikwinch.com/
http://www.hitch-web.com/

 

Winch... Depending on how much money you would like to spend I would go with a Mile-Marker over the Warn... The Mile-Marker is hydraulic driven from the power steering pump! It never over heats, works under water, and will pull like there is no tomorrow! Maybe this will help....

http://www.milemarker.com/

You can buy them here...

http://www.4wheelparts.com/

 

go with mile-marker.
but some power steering pumps don't have the pressure and/or flow as others
i've heard people blame there hydraulic winch cause there pump wasn't up to it.

 

Don't overlook the fact that a Milemarker has to have the engine running to work.(I realize that Milemarker did just come out with an electric winch, but the above posts are about the hydraulic one.) Someday you may get stuck and not be able to start/keep the engine running. Then you have a problem.
As a person who has winched two different vehicles out of stucks with a Hi-Lift, I would strongly suggest NOT making this your primary recovery plan. The process takes forever and is really difficult unless the stuck is anything but flat and easy. As a backup, the Hi-Lift is acceptable, but if you can afford it, go with a electric/hydraulic winch.

 

Try ebay they have good deals on some name brand stuff

 

I might as well throw in my two cents worth.

I have a 94 F-150 4x4 with a Milemarker 10,800 lb winch. It would pull my truck up a cliff, dangling on the end of the cable if I could insure the bumper wouldn't pull off.

I had a Ramsey 9000, and it was okay, but what they don't tell you when you buy an electric winch is that the rated load is when supplying max electrical power. Most vehicles don't supply the current needed, so the actual pulling strength is far far lower than rated on the winch. You really need dual batteries and a h/d alternator, and the engine running to maximize the potential of an electronic winch, and then it won't last long.

My Milemarker was so simple to install it was pitiful. It is super powerful, and the dual speed controls make winching and feeding cable out really simple. I've never been disappointed with it...ever. But like one person already pointed out...if your engine isn't running, your are screwed.

But I made one mistake, I had a heavy steel plate made that fit perfectly between the uprights of my Grizzly brush guard and mounted the winch on it. One time I pulled a car up over the edge of a road in Eagle River, Alaska (my home) and I put so much stress on the bumper, that I actually bent the bumper mounts some...so now the bumper is tilted down about an inch.

If you get a winch, consider getting the proper mount for it first, you won't be disappointed.

 

man guess i got lucky, my dad offered me an 8000 pound winch in trade for my old three wheeler cause I wanted one for my bronco, but It needs a motor, all of the dirty detail are in a post in the 4x4 forum.