what size winch do I need
 

Found myself a 12000lb winch for a good price but the flebay seller is telling me it aint big enough. Says I might have a problem if Im overloading it in regards to warranty. If I go up to a 15000lb'r the rpice almost doubles.

lets be safe and say your truck weighs 8k pounds that gives you 4k pounds of extra pulling power which is considered safe. 150% of your gross weight, another thing you need to consider is what you'll be winching and the terrain, if your pulling a considerably smaller car, or just winching your truck across somewhat flat ground then consider the "rolling weight" of your truck which is a lot less than 8k pounds. the only way i see you overloading that winch is trying to pull your truck up a 12% grade at full line length or something along those lines, someone correct me if im wrong

Im hearing ya bro. Thats what the seller used as hes reasoning. ie gradient, type of surface, bogged to the axles etc etc. I explained in extreme circumstances I would use a snatch block which doubles the lines load rate. You see for the price I could buy three of he's Ironman winchs (12000lb) for the price of 1 warn (10000lb) They both have 3 yr warranty so thats 9 yrs of warranty for the same price. I just found it amazing that this guy is trying to talk me out of a sale. seems like he doesnt have much faith in the product he is selling.
IRONMAN 4x4 12,000lb "Wireless" 4WD ELECTRIC 'MONSTER' WINCH - 12volt - includes FREE SHIPPING!!!

There is a lot to consider when looking at a winch, for one the pulling capacity is rated with only having on wrap of line on the actual winch drum with each subsequent wrap the capacity goes down. Also like was mentioned it depends on the terrain and how "stuck" you are. You might want to read this: Pirate4x4.Com - Extreme Four Wheel Drive

A 12 thousand with a snatch block is all you need, get a warn or milemaker, don't skimp on quaility. Snatch block is the trick!

I use a snatch block whenever i deal with something "challenging". It allows the winch much more capability.

There is lot of tricks in rating for stuff like winches, auto jacks, stands and ramps.
I learned that "5 ton HD jack stand" is design to hold ONE CORNER of 5t vehicle and split with no visible resistance when I put actual 5 tons of it.
With winches they usually refer to "rolling load" what means that the winch can pull the rated load on 20% ramp. If that applies the "12,000 rolling resistance winch" will offer 2,400 lb pulling power + some safety margin.
I am using 8,000 lb winch on my truck and the hardest job I did with it so far was yanking 8 foot long chunk of foundation from under the house (no snatch block). I estimate that the required power was in the range of 5k since the chunk was estimated at 1500 lb and ground was giving significant resistance.
Considering that my winch is cheap stuff from HF, I was pretty impressed.
Would it pull my 10,000lb truck on 100% grade? I doubt it.
Will I try it? HECK NO.

Well I bit the bullet and bought the TJM 15000lb'r
http://www.tjmgeebung.com.au/accessories.pdf
TJM is a reputable 4x4 accessories supplier here in AUS. $2000.00
As for Warn, they wanted $3500 for their equivalent and I aint paying that much. No matter how good they are.

I glad you found what you wanted. Thing's down under must cost more than here in the good ole USA. A 15000 warn here is 1.979+ shipping, any way have fun and post some pics when you get it on.