Which winch?

[Dodge]

Looking at winches I've realised how many there are available.

What are you guys using? What sort of power should I be looking for? Are you using 12 or 24 volt? Any recommendations?

Thanks.

[slobodan]

I run a Chinese winch, I think the badges are different but they are nearly all the same.
Depends what you use it for?
The Breakdown boys need them for their livelihoods so they probably have expensive Warn winches.
Mine has never let me down, but can be temperamental at times.
This video is my mate last week with his Chinese winch, it has to be punched into life and is very slow.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz_S07WNIP0

[darkdezigns]

I run a Chinese winch, I think the badges are different but they are nearly all the same.
Depends what you use it for?
The Breakdown boys need them for their livelihoods so they probably have expensive Warn winches.
Mine has never let me down, but can be temperamental at times.
This video is my mate last week with his Chinese winch, it has to be punched into life and is very slow.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz_S07WNIP0

us breakdown boys dont use warn much these days as we use hydraulic winches,warn arent powerfull enough,most of the winches on our trucks are american and over a grand a pop

[slobodan]

us breakdown boys dont use warn much these days as we use hydraulic winches,warn arent powerfull enough,most of the winches on our trucks are american and over a grand a pop

Won't argue with you, My point was that the winches you use are probably not the sort of thing we stick on the front of our green laners. Warn hydraulic

[Dodge]

Thanks. Yeah, might not get much use, more insurance than anything else, but it needs to be capable of pulling me or another vehicel out of bother. I don't want to spend many hundreds on something that might just spend it's life looking fugly and weighing the front of the truck down, at the same time I don't want to buy something that will break the first time I use it.

So what sort of power do I need? I know it's not a straight lift and neither will it be a rolling pull which is what I keep reading when specs are given.

That video is ace, hitting the solenoid to get it to work, then when he comes unstuck the guy running off with the cable . . . brilliant!

[slobodan]

I first put a winch on for the same reason as you, insurance for when I was out on my own.
First time I got stuck, no trees within cable distance

One of our local guys rigged up a system where he can swap the winch from the front to the back of the vehicle. good idea but complicated with the wiring.

I hope mine doesn't break soon because I welded over the nuts as an anti theft feature.
I think mines 9000lb, it cost about 350 quid with the roller fairlead and wireless remote control.
This is my winch, I'm a bit embarressed about the situation, but oh well, we've all been there.
Snowstuck

[yoshie]

The cheap ones are fine for self recovery.

The reason warn are more costly is the gear and the regearing options it gives and more importantly the brake.
If you plan to lower your truck down or winch it up severe slopes, buy the warn.

To drag you out a muddy hole a £300 winch will be fine. I would buy a 9500lb + if it's going on a surf.

If it's for heavy use all day, fit second battery on a split charge, some even run second altenators

[Dodge]

Thanks, sights set.

That snow looked fun, did a bit last time we had some. Sideways in a 4x4 is fun but I always feared getting stuck, not for the worry of not getting out, but the embarrassment of getting a tractor or heaven forbid a LR to pull me out.