What would you recommend for a winch for my 06 LBZ? I wouldn't be using it very often, just to help get up my drive in winter time, or the occasional recovering/log pulling etc. What brand, size and the best way to mount it?
Thanks for your info...

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2006 silverado LBZ 4X4 BFG 285/75/16

Well, your truck has some weight to it, my reg cab long box is about 7150lbs scaled at a sled pull.

A 8000lbs or 9000lbs might work for you and would be a little cheaper. Could always run a snatch block if you run into heavy pull territory.

Myself I'd want atleast a 12 000 lbs winch. I run an off brand (titan local ontario guy sells em) 12000lbs on my 5000lbs jeep.

Obviously a warn is highly regarded in winch making, they offer some good products.

WARN is the best out there, but you pay for it. If this is a rarely used accessory, then justifying the extra coin for WARN may be harder to do. However, I have never heard a story of someone's WARN letting them down unless it was completely mistreated to begin with.

I'd say stick with a single line pull 12000lb rated winch or more for your truck. You don't say what your truck is i.e. ext cb, CC, SWB , LWB etc. but my 06 CC SWB is about 7100lbs empty with half tank or so of fuel.

Let's assume your truck weighs 7k lbs and is mired to the hubs and you need to winch up out of a pit at 15deg incline. You are looking at a pull of around 15750lbs single line weight, let's call it 16k lbs. This is using old and well accepted factors for varying conditions and winch recovery.

Also keep in mind that winches single line pull rating is for the wrap of coil closest to the drum, or when all the cable is out. The line pull capacity drops with each "layer" of cable wrapped aroiund the drum. As an example, the WARN M12000 has a single line pull rating of 12k lbs at layer 1 and somewhere around 9200 lbs at outermost layer. Other competitiors such as TMAX, Mile Marker, Superwinch, Ramsey, etc. drop off more with each layer, many of these end up down in the mid to upper 6k lbs range for the outermost layer.

So on a short pull say in the middle layer of a non-WARN 12k lbs winch, you might be rated to pull 7500-8000lbs on a single line. Your truck stuck as described above (which is not that uncommon) would need roughly twice what a common 12k lb winch could give you. Add a snatch block and use more length of cable to near 1st layer and you are back up around 20-24k lbs pull strength.

On the other hand, let's say you have a gravel driveway that is a 30deg uphill incline and is snowpacked/patchy in the winter. Your 7000lb truck would only need approximately 4100lbs of line pull, so even the worst 12lb rated winch on the market would have more than that at the outermost layer for a single line pull.

All depends on how much you will use it and how hard you will use it. For your described use, any of the major manufacturers will be fine IMHO. You'll pay anywhere from approx. $300-$800 more for the WARN M12000 than for a competitor's 12k lb winch. But you get higher pull at each layer of cable and their reputation, for whatever that's worth to you.

As far as mounting goes, a full front replacement winch bumper will run between $1200 (be careful ordering these) to well over $2000 depending on make/model. For your use, I'd say get a WARN Trans4mer mounting sytem that uses a grille guard mounted to your frame. It works with all WARN and most other standard footprint winches. You can use a winch bracket for a more permanent mounting (req'd for winches over 9500lb rated) or you can have a 2" receiver mount in that grill guard that will take a portable winch cradle that can handle up to 9500 lb winches.

Happy shopping.

i thought about getting a winch but now i guess i dont want to spend that amount of money on it so i guess whenever i go off roading ill just go with a friend and bring a nice chain

I'd say a 9000# on a 2" receiver hitch setup would be the way to go. I have a Superwinch Epi9000 and it has done everything that I have asked it to do. Your expected uses are just a bit milder than how I use mine. I've had my F250 buried up to the bumper in saturated ground an the 9000# winch pulled it through. The Superwinch is a great unit and I would suggest it to anyone. I paid about $500 for it about 5 years ago. It was a visual blem factory second.

I would suggest a 9000# unit. The 12k winches get very large and heavy- too much for a 2" receiver setup. My winch on the mounting plate weighs in at 135#, heavy but manageable. I built my own mount and front hitch for minimal cost, otherwise buying the setup is only around $200-250. It allows me to use my winch on the front or back, and with a deep cycle battery It can go anywhere a 2" mount is available. Trailers, trees, mounting points on the shop floor for moving disabled vehicles, even other trucks. A couple of weeks back a friend and I packed it on a sled and pulled it 1/3 mile off a logging road to pull out his truck from a ditch on a snow-covered forest road that had since become impassable.

Thanks for all the input. Gives me a lot to consider. For someone who does not use this truck for wheelin', and wouldn't use a winch very often, would you spend more money for a smaller, name brand winch (9,-9.5k lb warn or ramsey etc. )? Or would you spend approx. the same amount of money (or less) and step up to the bigger off brands (10-12k lb mile marker, titan, smittybuilt). Also, has anyone had experiences with these off brands? Are they reliable after many uses, as strong as their counterparts... Thanks again

I would go with a cheaper winch in the 9-9.5k range. If you need more pulling power, just use a snatch block. I bought a new in box supwerwinch EPi 9.0 off of ebay for about $400 a couple years ago. It worked very well. If you're not going to use it alot this would be fine.

Thanks for all the input. Gives me a lot to consider. For someone who does not use this truck for wheelin', and wouldn't use a winch very often, would you spend more money for a smaller, name brand winch (9,-9.5k lb warn or ramsey etc. )? Or would you spend approx. the same amount of money (or less) and step up to the bigger off brands (10-12k lb mile marker, titan, smittybuilt). Also, has anyone had experiences with these off brands? Are they reliable after many uses, as strong as their counterparts... Thanks again

Based on this post, I'd say to go with a 9-9.5k lb range winch from WARN or Ramsey. As other posts say, you can snatch block for extra line pull if needed and if things get way ridiculous you can use more than one snatch block for 3line pulls. If you research the different offerings, a top end warn 9.5 will probably be as much if not more than the M12000 from Warn due to the upgraded circuitry. A basic 9-9.5 from warn or Ramsey will be a little less than a M12000 from warn and will likely last longer than your truck. I don't think the same can be said confidently about some of the less expensive models.

Thanks for all the input. Gives me a lot to consider. For someone who does not use this truck for wheelin', and wouldn't use a winch very often, would you spend more money for a smaller, name brand winch (9,-9.5k lb warn or ramsey etc. )? Or would you spend approx. the same amount of money (or less) and step up to the bigger off brands (10-12k lb mile marker, titan, smittybuilt). Also, has anyone had experiences with these off brands? Are they reliable after many uses, as strong as their counterparts... Thanks again

As a general rule, winch capacity should be 1.5 times the weight of the vehicle. So a 7,000 lb truck should have, at a minimum, a 10,500 lb capacity winch.

You may want to consider a hydraulic winch. They cost more than the cheap electrics, but deliver the power and reliability of the top of line Warn or Ramsey, for a lot less money.

I've had a Mile Marker hydraulic on my Jeep for 4 years. It's been trouble free and always ready when I need it. It's had a few tuff pulls where I had to anchor the Jeep to a tree to keep the winch from dragging it.

I rarely hear a Jeeper complain about their Warn or Ramsey. The same can not be said for the really cheap electrics.

For the cheap price and decent quality a 12k Mile Marker is hard to beat. They also have good tech assistance and warranty.

As a general rule, winch capacity should be 1.5 times the weight of the vehicle. So a 7,000 lb truck should have, at a minimum, a 10,500 lb capacity winch.

You may want to consider a hydraulic winch. They cost more than the cheap electrics, but deliver the power and reliability of the top of line Warn or Ramsey, for a lot less money.

I've had a Mile Marker hydraulic on my Jeep for 4 years. It's been trouble free and always ready when I need it. It's had a few tuff pulls where I had to anchor the Jeep to a tree to keep the winch from dragging it.

I rarely hear a Jeeper complain about their Warn or Ramsey. The same can not be said for the really cheap electrics.
Hydros offer great durability, consistent power through all the drum and can be operated completely sumberged. However, the one major drawback is that your vehicle has to be running to operate it since most use the surplus hydraulic pressure from teh OEM steering fluid pump. If you aren't running, you aren't winching. Even if you vehicle is down, with an electric you can always use a spare deep cycle or use a batt from an accompanying vehicle.

Food for thought

Hydros offer great durability, consistent power through all the drum and can be operated completely sumberged. However, the one major drawback is that your vehicle has to be running to operate it since most use the surplus hydraulic pressure from teh OEM steering fluid pump. If you aren't running, you aren't winching. Even if you vehicle is down, with an electric you can always use a spare deep cycle or use a batt from an accompanying vehicle.

Food for thought

Yes, very true. Another drawback of hydraulics is that they are slower than electrics. But, when worked hard, hydraulics don't overheat, nor will they put stress on the vehicle's battery or charging system.

Well, your truck has some weight to it, my reg cab long box is about 7150lbs scaled at a sled pull.

A 8000lbs or 9000lbs might work for you and would be a little cheaper. Could always run a snatch block if you run into heavy pull territory.

Myself I'd want atleast a 12 000 lbs winch. I run an off brand (titan local ontario guy sells em) 12000lbs on my 5000lbs jeep.

Obviously a warn is highly regarded in winch making, they offer some good products.

bowtie,
How has your titan been? I have looked them up on line and am impressed with their quality, price, and seem to have excellent customer service. Do you know anyone else who runs this brand? Are they pleased with it?

I have had two warn winches both have been the 9.5k only had a problem really with the first one ended up burning up the motor the one that is on my truck now has a hard time going into free spool but that doesn't bother me because when I use it I'm not in a hurry so I just use the remote and run it out and trust me a 9.5k with a snatch block will pull what ever you need it to

Run with a Warn and never look back. They cost more, but have got to be the most reliable winch brand ever made. I have a 8274 spooled with synthetic on my jeep, and it's never let me down.