I just found this forum and WOW.......I think I will be spending allot of time here... I have a question about winches. I have a 2001 F-350 4x4 that I use to tow a 23' travel trailer. Does anybody have any advice or info on electric winches? I have been looking at the Warn M-15000 with the semi-hidden mount. It looks like it would be the easiest to install. Hopefully I wouldn't be using it that often but occasionally I get into some nasty mud and I need something to drag the truck and trailer out if I need it. Thanks, Paul.

 

Hey there! I have a 2001 F250 CC 4X4, and bought a 8000 lb milemarker winch and brushguard. Works great! Some would think 8000lb is underpowered, but all I can say is, it has been used and never failed to move the truck. I have a ****** block to go to 16,000 lb but have not needed it. Pics are in my gallery. I have had Warn too, but you pay a lot for that name!

 

Rule of thumb used by most four-wheelers is to get a winch capable of pulling 1.5x - 2x the gross vehicle weight. This is based upon two generalizations of vehicle recovery:

• A vehicle mired to the axles in mud will take roughly 50% more than its weight to pull out.
• A vehicle mired to the top of the tires or bottom of the frame rails will take approximately twice the vehicle weight to free.

Installation

• For installation, make sure to wire up the winch with a thick gage of cable. Rule of thumb is to use the same gage of wire as your battery cables.
• As with all electrical, spend the time to carefully route the cabling. You'll want to make sure that it doesn't rest on any sharp edges, or rub against anything that could be adversely affected (I've witnessed that the trimmed end of a wire tie can slowly chew a hole through a coolant overflow/fill tank.)
• Once you have successfully mocked the cables into place, cut to the appropriate lengths & have ends permanently placed on the cable. (Most four-wheel/offroad shops will be able to do this for you.)

Winch Preparation

Once the new winch is installed, you will want to put a preload on the winch cable--especially the lower layers!! Failure to doing so will result in the upper layers of the winch cable forcing themselves down into the middle & lower layers the first time you put a decent load on the winch.

You will need to find an area that is long enough to allow you to pull out whatever length of winch cable your winch is equipped with. You will also need to find a suitable winching point like a hefty tree or another vehicle. A second set of eyes & hands are definitely handy! I, personally, like finding some oddball, out of the way trail, and will pick out a spot with a straight stretch going up a hill. This will let you winch your own vehicle up the hill which will provide a good pre-load on the cable. I will also set the parking brake to a firm setting to ensure that the vehicle doesn't roll forward off of some bump in the road & take the preload off of the cable.

Put the winch in free spool, pull out all but the last loop to loop and a half of cable. (You don't want to go any further, as the screw/bolt that secures the cable to the winch drum will break rather easily if you actually put a load on it.). Before hooking up to your winch point, pull the cable as taut as possible by hand & try to get any twists out. Keeping the cable as straight as possible will help ensure that it isn't preloaded with a torsional stress; failure to doing so could lead to the winch cable becoming fouled should the cable become slack during a winching operation. (Remember those little airplanes made of two balsa wood sticks with a rubber band-powered propellor? Winding up the propellor is the equivalent to preloading your winch with a twisted cable.)

Hook the cable up to your winch point & slowly back up the vehicle until the cable becomes tight. Depending on length, you may or may not be able to get the entire cable off of the ground. You don't have to put 10,000lbs of pressure on it, but you do definitely want a couple thousand pounds.

With the vehicle in park, shut down, etc. take the time to walk the entire cable. Start at the winch itself & make sure that the first loop to loop and a half of cable are wrapped correctly on the drum. The first loop should hug the winch drum until shortly before it makes the first loop, and each subsequent loop should be wound up tightly against the previous loop. Walk the cable from there on back to the anchor point looking for any kind of nick, kink, or frayed wires on the cable. The textbook answer is that if you find any of the aforementioned, the cable should be deemed unserviceable & replaced immediately. The truth of life is that you will need to make a judgement call, but always, always, always, err on the side of caution. If the cable looks good from one end to the other, you can start slowling winching the cable in.


Gear

At a minimum look into getting a winch accessory kit. Almost all of them come with a 6' - 8' chain, a clevis/D shackle, a ****** block, a tree protector, and a pair of leather gloves.

In addition to the above, I generally carry another couple of chains (varying lengths), a couple additional pairs of the thickest leather work gloves you can find, and a couple blankets. (The blankets can be thrown over a winch capable that is about to take a load. This will help prevent the cable from flying wild should anything in the recovery effort give way.)


Way too long, but hopefully there's something worthwhile within it all.

 

Easy to install and about as convienient as it gets. Warn 9.5ti on the multi-mount.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...116400&width=0

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...116401&width=0

It's on the multi-mount setup, so I can put in front or back. Plus, you now have a front receiver hitch as an added bonus.

Consider what you are realistically gonna do with this truck. Is it a tow rig that make get into a muddy camp area or is it a dedicated off-road truck that gets buried to the frame every weekend. For the average guy, the multi-mount is the least intrusive setup. For the off-roader, go big or go home.

And yes, get an accessory bag, with the items that Deluxe05 mentioned.

 

Just as an added not to my previous post.

I've had my truck buried, (i.e. both lockers engaged, in the mud, between tree roots) and a buddy with a Warn 8274 had no problem getting me out, without resorting to a ****** block or any fancy rigging; just a straight line pull. So yes, a small winch, with a ****** block will get you outta some real nasty stuff.

 

i second the moveable winch, we got a warn 9000# on the truck, front or back. i did the whole install in less than 3 hours probably like an hour and 1/2. That includes taking off the front bumper to put on the front reciever by myself.

I might would try to get another person to help putting the bumper back on as not to drop it and scratch it like i did.

 

one thing i forgot if you dont use the winch all that often i would keep an allen wrench and an extra solenoid. (don't ask me how i know)

 

Hey Brother, Love the look and sounds of the multi-mount set up! Is that also made by Warn? Got a good source?

 

That would be good setup for your truck man. Wouldn't want a big, obnoxious setup on the front of that HD. That is a good lookin ride you got.

The whole setup, minus the actual hitch (which is a draw-tite) is by Warn. The hitch is rated for 9000 lbs. I also picked up the 24' connection kit for the rear. If you have a reg cab, you could get away with a 20', but ext or crew cab, you are gonna need the 24' to get to the rear.

Here is where I cot mine from. I have to say, I'm impressed with these guys service and shipping. It was on the way within 24 hrs. They are having free shipping on any of the winches over $500 right now.

http://www.gowarn.com/multi-mount-portable-winch-system.asp

Now, the brush guard that is on there is not Warn. I wasn't sure if you were talking about that. That is by WAAG, it's a FrontRunner. I had to cut off the top center tube to fit the winch. I just sawzall'd it and ground down the excess and you would never know it was there.

 

Thanks Buddy,
My thought exactly...Love the versatility of the front or back option! Anyone who's off roaded at all knows that often the front was dug in 'cause you were going that way!
As soon as the checkbook allows, I'll look into it!!!