Serious winch question...

[Redneckn]

I got the other half of my student loan check in the mail the other day. Wife says that I can get me a winch if she can get new couch and love seat. I say: "DEAL"!

I can spend around $800 on a winch. I could probably go for a little more, but then, I'd have to give something up here at the house in the way of "honey-do's".

I noticed that Summit Racing has a Milemarker 9K for about 450. That seems to be a fair enough deal and all. But I also found a 10K Chicago Electric winch for 400.

I wanna get the most bang for my buck, but I don't want a POS either. The only winches I've ever deal with are 3K SuperWinch models on the 4wheelers. And a fellow redneck down here has an old Warn on his truck that we've had to fix almost everytime we take his truck out. But I know Warn makes a good product, so I'm not knocking them. Dudes Warn is an old one that he got 3rd hand, so God only knows how it was treated before he got it.

Anyway. I don't get myself into a crap load of positions where I need a winch, but I've also only had this Bronco for 3 months too. And the warm rainy season is just now upon us. My main thinking is that if the Chicago Electric isnt a total piece, I could get that and put back some of the cash I have to spend on a winch for something else that I'm certain I'll need.

I'll appreciate everyones opinion. Thanks...

 

[Yardape]

I've never heard of Chicago Winch but as for MileMarker, umm I really dont know what to say, Put it this way, I got stuck I believe the picture is in my gallery, there was a small amount of snow so you know what pic. Anyways I wasn't stuck that bad at all, My friend has a F-150 with a 12,000 pound MileMarker Winch, it took everything that winch had to get me out. He bought it because it was cheap, I think it was around 700.00 Canadian. That thing worked so damn hard I thought for sure it was the last time that winch would be used. That was also the first time it was used. I would have to think that a 9,000 pound MileMarker would be a real piece of ***** judging by the way the 12,000 worked. Warn is the way to go, I have heard good things about T-Max, they are out of Austrailia. Don't cheap out on a winch, you rarely use it and you want it to work when you need it. My friend Dave was so ****** at his winch, it still hasn't been used again and its been almost a year. I tryed to WARN him.

 

[bluesman17]

Here are my .02 cents Im with yardape on not cheaping out on a winch..I would go with a hydraulic winch milemarker makes nice ones theres a 10500lb one on 4wheelparts.com for like 780. They can work underwater, and theres usually a reason for the military to take off warn winches to put the milemarkers on their humvees. This of course is assuming that your power steering stuff is up to par. Whatever you do decide go with a name brand thats been around for awhile then you get better quality, customer service if needed, and the best bang for your buck because they know what they are doing.

 

[Yardape]

Heres the pic of my stuck when we used the Milemarker 12,000. A 12,000 pound winch should have sucked me out of there like nothing

 

[Yardape]

Heres the one Bluesman suggested. Looks pretty good. Bluesman did you say it hooks up to the powersteering lines?

Milemarker Hydralic

 

[Justshootme84]

Yeah, the hydraulic wicnh like MM's run off of fluid, usually tapped from the power steering. An electric winch just runs off of the battery, but can drain it quickly or overheat if loaded for more than a minute. It's best to use a 12K# winch for a fullsize rig like the Bronco, 9K# would be a bare minimum. Warn, Ramsey, and Mile Marker are reputable brands, and each one varies in the line speed or how fast they work. Some are really slow. I ran a Warn 9K# winch on my 86 Ranger for a few years, and burned the motor up the first time I used it mounted on a 79 Chevy 3/4-ton truck.

 

[Mike @ Tracy]

All I can advise is that a winches rating is for flat pull at that rating. A 10k winch is rated at 10k on flat ground. I believe its Warn that recomends 2x what you plan on pulling.

 

[pinson27]

I got the other half of my student loan check in the mail the other day. Wife says that I can get me a winch if she can get new couch and love seat. I say: "DEAL"!
I can spend around $800 on a winch. I could probably go for a little more, but then, I'd have to give something up here at the house in the way of "honey-do's".

I noticed that Summit Racing has a Milemarker 9K for about 450. That seems to be a fair enough deal and all. But I also found a 10K Chicago Electric winch for 400.

I wanna get the most bang for my buck, but I don't want a POS either. The only winches I've ever deal with are 3K SuperWinch models on the 4wheelers. And a fellow redneck down here has an old Warn on his truck that we've had to fix almost everytime we take his truck out. But I know Warn makes a good product, so I'm not knocking them. Dudes Warn is an old one that he got 3rd hand, so God only knows how it was treated before he got it.

Anyway. I don't get myself into a crap load of positions where I need a winch, but I've also only had this Bronco for 3 months too. And the warm rainy season is just now upon us. My main thinking is that if the Chicago Electric isnt a total piece, I could get that and put back some of the cash I have to spend on a winch for something else that I'm certain I'll need.

I'll appreciate everyones opinion. Thanks...

I would recomend the T-Max.The shop where I used to work sold a lot of these things and only had one failure due to misuse.The company gladly replaced the winch with an upgraded polished version at no cost at all to the customer....I was impressed by both the T-Max company and the fact that they gave our shop one to use,and it was no pooch.This winch far surpassed the superwinch and the warns of equality.The only other winch I have witnessed to be totaly reliable is the MileMarker hydrolic winch,which runs off of your power steering pump.Its nice as long as your vehicle stays running.I would suggest calling the winch manufacturers and the will send you a dvd of accual testing.

 

[Roadkill]

All I can advise is that a winches rating is for flat pull at that rating. A 10k winch is rated at 10k on flat ground. I believe its Warn that recomends 2x what you plan on pulling.

The reason is that when a vehicle is stuck, its resistance increases. A 5000 lbs vehicle that is mired at axle depth, will give around 10,000 lbs of resistance. Back in my tank mechanic days, I was also a recovery specialist. The winch on my recovery vehicle was rated at 70 tons and there were times when we would need two or even three recovery vehicles to yank a 67 ton tank out of a mudhole.

 

[Justbust1n]

i got a WARN 12500 and it doesnt give up .... i have actually picked my bronco out of a hole all fours and set it back down just to get it out of the muck using a tree and some head work it worked well .. but never got stuck after i got my winch

 

[Yardape]

Maybe all that extra weight on the front gave you the needed traction to not get stuck

 

[Broncosaurus!]

Whatever you get make sure it has a good warranty. We have a WARN Works 4700 on our logging jeep and even with light use it burned up in the first day, company replaced it but man we needed that thing to work, and it was over 500$ for it. I would go to nothern tool and get their 1200 lb winch for 400$ and get the 2 year no questions warranty for $10. If you dont have enough power get a ****** block and double your power. Also recommend and extra length of cable.

 

[Justbust1n]

Maybe all that extra weight on the front gave you the needed traction to not get stuck

hahaha yeah it comes in handey in thoughs real wet sluggish spots ...