I asked over on the 4x4 section and didn't get much feedback.
Need to get a winch, won't be rock climbing or trying to pull my truck up a cliff face but
I will be on private/unmaintained roads that I've
never been on before so might as well get one to be prepared.

Anything specific I should look for in a winch while I research? duty cycle?
not set on namebrand fwiw. it's really a budget bang for buck decision.
I do agree you get what you pay for, Doesn't makes sense to me to pay a grand plus for a tool that might never be used? Yes Zeon I'm looking at you.
yes the voice in my head is saying what all of you are probably saying... pay once, cry once..

I'm looking at mounting onto the front of the truck as I have a hitch on the back.
How did you mount yours? I didn't see a bumper winch for our year, I wouldn't mind keeping the factory bumper.
Mounting it onto a hitch is my last option as I'm concerned about sideloading and relying on a pin.
Sure I could use a ****** block but yea that pin..
How do you have it wired up? Is it wired to a dedicated battery or do you just use vehicle battery?
I'm thinking a 2nd battery isolated wouldn't be a bad idea? Think the factory 60 amp alternator is enough?
Do you leave your winch installed all the time or take it off until you think you need it? (for those that use a hitch mount)
Living in the rust belt, I'm not sure if leaving it installed on the front is good for it.
Do you use dual solenoids? or any thing else to help with powering it?
I know nothing about winches and their setup if it isn't obvious.
I could spend a month easy researching this but figured I'll ask here and get me going in a more focused direction.

 

Y0ou may want to do a search over here Gary's Garagemahal (the Bullnose bible) - Bullnose Forum
As I think Gary did or is going to install one on Big Blue as it is being built of overland outings.
I think he has his hitch mounted so it can be mover fore & aft as you may need it at both ends.
Don't know how he has it wired but I am sure he is running 2 batteries and a 3G ALT besides for the winch but all the other gear he wants to install.
If me and was hitch mounting it I would look into the cables that tow truck guys use for jump starting.
They have a heavy 2 prong plug they plug the jumper cable into the truck. They use the cable, unplug and store it away till needed again.
You could wire the truck to have a plug at each end to plug the winch into when needed.

Being it is hitch mounted you can remove it when not out on the trails and left at home in a safe place.
When time to hit the trails pop it in the hitch and out you go.
As for the pin I would not worry about it not being strong enough. Guys are pulling trailers that at in the 10K+ area, your truck is not even close to it.
Also I would think the winch you may get may not even pull that much so the pin is safe.
Do get a locking one for when the winch is on. Hate to have you come out of a store to find the pin pulled, unplugged and its gone.
Some you can get keyed to your truck so the start or door key will open the pin lock.

On the rest I am not sure on so maybe others will say.
Dave ----

 

Go PTO! The winch on my Jeep is driven by a power take off and it is amazing. Here's a quick instructional video:



Back to your concerns about the receiver hitch pin, that shouldn't be a problem. If really concerned about it, rig up a pair of short safety chains, as if towing a trailer. Very little slack would be needed, just enough to connect the hooks. In the very unlikely event the pin were to fail, the chains will save the day.

 

I'll look on his site, thanks for the tip.
I've seen the plug you are speaking of and was thinking about going that route for the reasons you listed.
Thinking about getting a deep cycle battery for the winch alone and connect it to an isolator so the truck can charge it while in use.
I don't want to upgrade to 3g if I don't need to. That is another rabbit hole haha
The plan is to get a 10k winch because my truck is heavy and everything I've read says 1.5 times the weight of truck.
not against the hitch mount, I agree with you, I'm just spooked on what I've read about the sideloading stress.
With that said, I know there is gear out there to make sideloading a non-issue. (i'll have a ****** block from day 1)
probably get an anchor point as well eventually

 

I've considered a hitch mount electric winch for my pickup. My thoughts were to make a custom receiver for the front with two tubes, one near each frame rail, not just the one in the middle. That should take care of any side-loading concerns. There would be no bending to the side with this arrangement.

 

not a bad idea, it definitely would distribute the load better as well as the leverage better I think.

 

Even the best electric winch isn't worth much if you don't have the battery and charging system to support it. After all my years trail riding I still can't get over the guys that slap a winch on a stock truck and the winch draws more power than it can support. The inevitable is the engine stalls due to lack of voltage. If you look at most winches some are over 250amps single line at max pulling capacity. You can cut this down by doing the basics like a ****** block and never trying to pull with a full spool ( covered in all the winch manuals).

 

I understand that's why I asked about the 60 amp alternator I have. 3g system wouldn't keep up with the amps pulled either though. at least stock ones..
Whats your powering solution? I mean don't just come on and say it like it is, offer up your secrets. lol

 

That was a funny movie I liked the open / closing of the gate also
Dave ----

 

Hey,

I’m assuming your thinking of a front hitch receiver? I’ve had those on several work trucks, and used them repeatedly/extensively - for pulling equipment etc in the bush. IMHO, you will pull the hitch/truck/winch apart before you shear the pin. Same with side loading, you will do more damage to the truck/winch pulling it sideways or on a high angle than you will the hitch. A lot depends on the situation and what your stuck in and who or what is doing the pulling. That double mount sounds like a good idea, and is actually what I’m building for my truck, I’m going to use my plow mount - double mount under the front bumper. And easily removable.

As far as winches, I have a Warn M12k. I’ve used it sporadically over the years, in sand, rain, mud. It seems to hold up. I’ve been out with several other brands, none really stick out in my mind. I’m sure everyone will have their opinion. I do not and will not let it get salt on it, it will get into the winch/cable and corrode it, the cable especially. Some soak the with oil, that makes a great mess imho. All of my work in the bush was generally spring/summer/fall, same with my off roading adventures. Winter operations are no fun, been there, done that in my youth!

Be very wary when working/pulling with cables. They can and will break, and snap back faster than you can move. I’ve never been hit, Im actually scared of them, but I’ve seen it. Chains are good, will lay down when they break. Wear gloves. Do not let it run through your bare hands, any little piece of broken cable sticking out will cut like a razor. A lot of new winches I see have rope now, might be a good idea, but I don’t know anything about them.

Winches are fairly heavy. If you have a receiver front and rear, it’s a nice option, with wiring or cables to reach. Looks like a great option while on the pavement. But, it’s a bit different in the bush with the front bumper under water, the winch under the mud and bound up on rocks etc, your in the muskeg up to your hips, and now want to move that sucker to the rear... it’s a little different!

Also tie a small rope, ribbon, strap, anything to the hook on the winch so you can pull it out.

Just a few points to ponder. As far as make and model, my opinion is, anything is better than nothing when you absolutely need it. Even a chain come along is handy, again imho, in fact better, with a few lengths of chain and clevis’s. But a winch is much handier. ****** blocks too. And use them on angles if you need, more pulling power. Edit. Careful with ****** blocks, you can put a lot of strain on things with them.

We should actually start a thread in the off road section and everyone can post up suggestions, their experiences, and what they’ve learned the hard way for others...

Good luck and happy trails! Bring spare socks and boots!

Cheers, 🍻

 

Thanks for chiming in. Appreciate your feedback/experience on the hitch mount.
Salt corrosion is a excellent point! I live in the rust belt. Rope would be a luxury no splinters, it doesn't sling shot when it snaps.
I wasn't going to make it a deciding factor but your point is really spot on and I won't be able to avoid the salt.
I hear you on the cables being scary, I watched a compilation of cables breaking on youtube. They will cut a cab in half let alone a person.
There are dampening bags but rope doesn't need them.
I posted on the 4x4 section, doesn't seem to get much activity, but 1 person suggested an old warn if I can find one and to make sure parts are still available.
Would be nice to find a good working used warn and I'm in no rush so I might find one yet. This is all homework stage...

 

I just posted a reply on your post on the Off-Road forum, but since there's more activity in this thread I'll copy it over here, and add a bit more.

When I bought a winch a couple years ago I decided that I didn't want to pay what a high-end Warn cost, but I also didn't particularly want to buy a "bargain" winch that might not prove to be one. So I bought a low-end Warn. I thinks it's the VR line? Anyway, somewhere between Hardly Great and Zeon in price. Was that the right call? All I can say is that so far I'm happy with it.

On synthetic vs wire rope (fwiw, the winch / hoist industry calls it "rope" either way), I decided to save a little more money and get wire rope. I'm not happy with that decision. The stiff wire rope doesn't want to stay wound tight around the drum, and I've kinked it by not realizing that it wasn't tight. Would synthetic rope do the same thing? I don't have any experience with it, so maybe it would. But it seems to me that, being more flexible, it wouldn't try so hard to straighten out. Add in the other advantages (safety and weight) and I'm planning on replacing my wire rope with synthetic soon.

If you plan to do long hard pulls, or pull without the engine running, then having an auxiliary battery might be a good thing. But if you're not expecting to use it that much I'd skip the dual battery. I'm only running the one battery, and it works fine in limited use.

A 60 amp alternator is fine for pretty limited use. If you just need to help your truck out of a little mud hole it'll be fine. But again, longer, harder pulls will not go as well. If I were you I probably wouldn't worry too much about it. But if I was replacing the alternator for any other reason I'd go bigger.

I have my winch on a receiver mount. That lets me put it on either end of my Bronco, or move it to the front of my pickup (I don't have power cables to the rear of the truck). It also lets me not have it on all the time when the Bronco is sitting outside, or in a mall parking lot, and only put it on when I'm going 'wheeling. So that seemed like the best route for me. But a solid mount has its advantages as well.

I'm not sure what you mean by dual solenoids. I just have the standard solenoid pack that came with the winch. Then on the Bronco I added a shut-off relay so the cables to the back of the Bronco aren't hot all of the time (it shuts the front off as well). On my pickup I didn't bother with the shut-off relay since I just have about a 12" power cable going from the starter relay (the hot side, where I got my 12V power) and the quick-connect I use with the receiver-mount. So I'm not too concerned with it rubbing somewhere, shorting out and lighting my truck on fire.

On the dampening bags, don't believe anyone that tells you that synthetic rope or chain doesn't store energy and slingshot like wire rope does when it breaks. Everything stretches and when the load is suddenly removed it will snap back to its original length, sending things flying in the process. The additional safety of synthetic rope is that it's so much lighter. Yes it's flying at you, but with less mass it has less energy and it will stop sooner, maybe before it gets to you, and probably before it goes through you. But if it's not the rope that breaks, for instance if the tow hook your buddy welded to his frame breaks off, then that synthetic rope will slingshot the steel hook at you. And the steel hook won't want to stop so easily. So dampening bags or something are still a really good idea with synthetic rope.

PTO winches are great for long, hard pulls. But finding one and getting it mounted, with a driveshaft, would be a real project. I certainly wouldn't go that route for the limited use you're talking about.

On a receiver mount being harder to move when you're stuck in a swamp? It's still a lot easier to move than a winch that's hard-mounted. If you want to hard-mount winches at both ends, yeah that would be cool. But twice as expensive, and sure wouldn't be worth it to me unless I was expecting to use them a lot.

 

real good points especially on the SR, did not consider the hooking point breaking loose, just the rope itself.
If it turns into something harder I'm just going to have to stop and let everything catch up.
lol a pto winch would definitely be overkill for what I may see, would be cool bragging rights though.
not sure about the dual solenoids either, didn't read into it more.

 

I like the receiver mount idea. Most winches are sold with mount adapters for a trailer hitch setup. One problem you will run into, front receivers are hard to find for our trucks. I was going to adapt one to my truck and now I see why they are hard to get. Ford notched the frame out on the 4x4 trucks and put the shackle right in the way of mounting anything up under the bumper.

I have a Harbor Freight 12000 lb winch. I have had it for years on my trailer, and pulled a lot of vehicles with it. All I do is charge a battery and then just mount it to the trailer and use it with the winch and it does fine for loading and unloading. I just charge it up between uses with a manual 120v ac charger. The Harbor Freight winch has been a good performer if you are looking for some bang for the buck. I think I got it on sale for $300. This is a big winch like you were looking for, and is what I wanted also. But when I got it I didn't realize how heavy it was. It's going to take some effort to move this winch around from the trailer to the front of the truck or the back of the truck. But Harbor Freight does sell a trailer hitch adapter for it.

Your idea with the auxiliary battery should work fine. You actually could run the winch straight from the battery with just the 60 amp alternator. But you would have to raise your idle speed a little bit. That's all I did when I was running a snowplow with just the regular battery and the stock alternator. When I first hooked it up, at idle it would not pick up the plow. But all I had to do is turn the screw on the carb to turn the idle up a little bit and it worked fine after that.

 

I too wanted a front bumper winch ,but also wanted to use it for both trailers , 24 foot and 12 foot , for emergency purposes.
I took channel iron and fabbed/ welded a front hitch receiver and bolted it the the frame .
I also welded a receiver on both trailers and wired both my trucks to use this winch F150 -front/ rear and rear on my bronco (bronco has the same warn winch on the bronco air bumper) but I can use it on the rear if needed as there is a hook up . I made jumper cables to hook to both trucks for my trailers .
I have used my 24 foot trailer to load disabled tractors ,trucks and 12 footer to load one disabled motorcycle.
TR

Warn winch with battery connectors