Which winch will work well when whatever

[mpio13]

I'm looking into the Badlands winches (for a christmas gift ) from Harbor Freight. I've read articles in 4x4 mags, seems like a really good deal. Just didn't know if I should really get the 12,000 lb capable, or if thats overkill? I ussually only go light wheeling in my K5, but would like to step it up, as the modifications progress and allow me to hit the harder stuff more comfortably. The 9,000 lb one seems like it'd do the trick. I might have to settle for a High jack as a gift and save up for the winch myself, if the 12,000 is the real way to go.

Also: I'll need to find a way to mount it. I'd really like to hide the winch behind the bumper and cut a hole for the cable. Can someone maybe throw up a pic of how they've done this? Is there even enough room behind the stock bumper, or will I have to space it out, or find a different bumper?

Thanks guys!!

 

[blazinzuk]

I used to be of the complete overkill on winches. Thats how I ended up with a 15k lb winch on the nose of my truck.

Now I am looking to get a 12k for the Jimmy and a 9k for Horton.

I don't think a 12k is overkill at all on a full bodied rig. Loaded for the trails its pretty easy to hit 6k in a blazer.

I would get the 12k too

 

[big pappa b]

Get the biggest/best one you can afford. Why not?

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

Ugh..... Alliteration....

 

[blazinzuk]

There have been guys that have mounted it like that but with the badlands winch it might be hard because of the integrated solenoid.

One more thing, on a cheaper winch ( which the badlands is) I will usually buy a bit more than I want. If I could find a used warn that was a 10 I would buy it and put it on my Jimmy but if I get the badlands winch for the Jimmy, it will be the 12

 

[Fordum]

Always go overkill on a winch. Don't forget the open secret about winches. Under normal use, a 12K winch is lucky to give you 5K.

That 12K rating is on the bare spool, first layer. By the time you fill the spool, its power is reduced by as much as half.

And most pulls are fairly short and close.

When I was setting up my big PTO hydraulic, a friend of mine chided me for getting such a big winch.

I explained to him about the amount of power it takes to pull out a 3/4 ton truck bogged up to the windows, and the fact that you lose so much power with a full spool.
That particular time, the tree I was pulling to was about one layer away.

He told me to just put two layers on the spool, and carry a lot of lengths of chain in the back to reach wherever I needed to.

That way I could leave the one layer on that you have to so the cable does not pull loose from the spool, and have full power.

I told him I had better things to do than link lengths of chain, pull a short distance, run the cable back out to the next length of chain and repeat.

In knee deep mud.

As an example, check out the spec sheet for my winch. Its a PDF file. Only 135K, but too big to attach here.

http://www.paccarwinch.com/pdf/LIT2004_R1_4-2002.pdf

Note the chart that shows capacities at different layers. This winch will give an honest 12K of pull on the first layer, but its down to just over 6K full spool.
And a lot of electrics will not give their rating even then due to battery condition, battery cable size, or just overrated specs.

 

[colbystephens]

This isn't quite what you're looking for on an installation, but it might give you some good tips on how to work it through.

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185278&highlight=winch+hidden

 

[manchildau65]

I run an old 8,000 lbs Ramsey with my 7,000 lbs rig that hasn't let me down. If you're into reel speed go big, otherwise go quality at the cost you can afford. Also, remember to use physics... a snatch block (or two) is your friend.

 

[mpio13]

Ugh..... Alliteration....

to finish my thought: "...whatever woe wages war while wheeling."


thanks alot guys. I'll go for the big'un, obviously hoping not to get stuck in the first place.
no ones used the badlands yet tho? Apparently it's similar to a mile marker winch. I'll definitely get some accessories (snatch blocks, tree savers...) and hook it up with good battery cables and protection

 

[blazinzuk]

I explained to him about the amount of power it takes to pull out a 3/4 ton truck bogged up to the windows, and the fact that you lose so much power with a full spool.
That particular time, the tree I was pulling to was about one layer away.

It always blows my mind when you talk about winching J, basically because we don't have alot of those ummmm what do you call them again, oh yah trees.

In the mud we usually are down on the last spool with a 50 foot rope attached to every thing just to reach the dang truck, we then use other trucks to anchor. Although by the 3rd or 4th truck on a 30 foot strap we might be close enough to a tree to anchor to that

 

[four_by_ken]

I would go as big as you can afford.

Hate to be stuck and almost have enough power, but not quite enough to get out.

I also go with Warn... yea they are more money, but a winch isn't somewhere I want to take short cuts.

 

[four_by_ken]

I run an old 8,000 lbs Ramsey with my 7,000 lbs rig that hasn't let me down. If you're into reel speed go big, otherwise go quality at the cost you can afford. Also, remember to use physics... a snatch block (or two) is your friend.

Speed of the winch and size are not dependant on each other.

Many times the bigger winch is slower.

 

[88Jimmy00Tahoe]

I had the MileMarker winch on the rear of my Humvee in Afghanistan and I was not impressed by any means...although take into account the weight plus mud may have been to small. Fourwheeling for 12 months while getting paid was awesome !! LoL the mines and rockets and being lead truck...not awesome. :-D

 

[wasted wages]

I also go with Warn... yea they are more money, but a winch isn't somewhere I want to take short cuts.

Agreed....

I had my Warn 9500 tripled up with snatch blocks on a stuck rig with a blown transmission.....

the winch was dragging my rig and another truck that was chained to the back of mine sideways for about two feet before the stuck rig finally started to move....

and yes.....I WAS worried about the mounting points....
lots of strange creaks and pops.....

 

[Fordum]

It always blows my mind when you talk about winching J, basically because we don't have alot of those ummmm what do you call them again, oh yah trees.

In the mud we usually are down on the last spool with a 50 foot rope attached to every thing just to reach the dang truck, we then use other trucks to anchor. Although by the 3rd or 4th truck on a 30 foot strap we might be close enough to a tree to anchor to that

Yeah, there are things on here that freak me out sometimes too. I was stunned back when at all the comments about that "doogie" video. Everybody was freaking out about a tree getting run over.

I had to watch it twice to see that jeep running over a small bush.
I showed it to a couple of friends, and they could not believe it either. One guy told me that he had run over bigger stuff with his car.

Don't forget I predate electric winches. And my whole state is basically a jungle. Like one guy said, when it comes to trees and bushes, its us or them.......
So, tree protection is pretty much unheard of in my area. I'm sure that there are some folks who use them, but I haven't so far.

Don't know if I can get in there any more, but I know where there is a big pine tree.
Its got a ring shaped bump that goes most of the way around. Not too noticeable unless you know what to look for.
Its where I hooked the winch cable of my old jeep about 1970.
It cut so deep, I had to jerk and pries to get it out of the bark after I got out.
Tree is still doing fine. Over the years, I can only think of two trees I killed with a winch.
One I ripped out by the roots, it was just too small, and the other one I killed with a tree protector!

After Hurricane Eloise, I was driving down Beach drive, and there was a tree crew trying to clean up some damaged trees.
They had used a strap around a big pine, run a cable from a pulley attached to it to big oak that was about to fall. They were trying to pull it up with a truck, and it was not getting enough traction in the wet dirt.

I volunteered my winch. Parked with the front bumper on another tree, and started winching.
Everything was going fine, until the strap tightened up and started slipping down the pine, removing all the bark right down to the Cambium layer.
They had to cut that one down too........

If I can find any of my old winch trees when I am down at the camp after Christmas I'll snap some pics.

 

[thatsmrpyro2u]

ok i have a 9000lbs mile marker on the front of the truck. ive used it for everything you can think of from pulling my truck out of the mud, to pulling an conex box off a trailer and putting it into palce.

one thing that i just recently learned the hard way is that you can have a 20k winch but if what its mounted to is only rates for 4k than guess what...

destruction and what not aside, id go for the biggest thing you can and make sure that its properly mounted

 

[Richcz28]

I have a 12000k pound cum along

 

[v30mongo]

Winches with SAE J706

I have noticed that winch units used in a industrial/ commercial uses have a SAE J706 rating. Is this a safety/ quality test? If so, looks like an important fact before spending your money and trusting your safety on.