What size/type of winch do you recommend/suggest for our trucks? anyone here running a winch? What kind of setup are you running? Hydraulic or Electric?

I bought a milemarker 12000 electric about 6 months ago. Their hydraulic models seem really nice , but I wanted something that could be easily attached/removed front or rear in a reciever hitch. The milemarker is way cheaper than a comparably priced Warn. I don't know if it is as well built, but it will not be used too frequently ( but of course when you need it, it better work). The only complaint I have is that the control switch that it originally came with was really cheezy and broke when I was just trying it out. But they sent me a new one pretty quick.

Are you mounting it permantly or in a reciever setup?? Although I got the 12K, my receiver is only rated for 10K. There are some forums that discuss heavy duty winch applications (I believe they were Land Rover forums) and they are big on the durability of hydraulic winches. But I went the cheap:o: route. The winch and everything to get it setup (including about 20ft of extension so I can put on my rear reciever as well) only set me back about $650.

wow, sounds like i need to look into the milemarker line. is the size about the same as a comparable Warn?

i have never had a mile marker but i have have alot of warns and i love them i have a M15,000, 9.5ti, 3.0ci, 2.5ci and i haven't had any problems with them. i have put them through alot of stress and they are still going strong. for what you are looking for it depends on what you are doing. the one thing i would get no matter what is a high amp alternator

Check out www.winchdepot.com (http://www.winchdepot.com)

Some of the reasons my cost was so low was I didn't buy everything from the winch dealer/manufacturer. My brother-in-law fabbed the winch cradle to fit a reciever hitch ($50). I found some used welding cable cheap. And finally I used an alternator rebuild shop to help set up the connectors. They were about half the cost of the truck accessory places. I will try to take a few pictures tomorrow or Tues.

I have a 16.5 warn it's the biggest one that warn makes I have it mounted in a buckstop bumper and works great I've pulled out trees moved shipping containers and best of all winched out a ford

I have a 15,000 Warn (electric) winch mounted on the front of our '02 3500 ... it has done an excellent job and generally moves whatever I hook it to :ro)


Jim

thanks guys, does anyone know the largest winch you can put in this Tough Country front end replacement? Ive emailed and called them and no followup yet....


http://www.toughcountry.com/chevy/images/08_chevy_jpg.jpg

Runninhorn, here are some pics of how my winch is setup. Are you wanted something permanently mounted? My Tough Country front bumper had a reciever hitch. So i went with that and am able to put the winch on the front or back. I might also put a reciever hitch on my gooseneck trailer so that I can winch stuff on to it as well. One pic shows my 20 ft "extension cord". The welding cable might be overkill , but I got it cheap and these winches can draw some serious amps. If you go the electric route, I have been told that the main thing is not to overheat it.

thanks for the pics. Would prefer it to be mobile like that. waht size is that? do you like your tough country? would you buy it over again on your next truck? How much was it? Where are they based out of?

Yes, I like the flexibility of the winch on the reciever. It is a 12000 model. The Tough Country was on the truck when I bought it. But its been great and I would probably buy another. I would probably look at RanchHand too since they are made in Shiner. That way I could stop by the brewery as well.:D:D
Tough Country is based out of El Campo TX which is only about 50 miles north of Victoria on HW59. Have you been to their website??
http://www.toughcountry.com/

Yes, I like the flexibility of the winch on the reciever. It is a 12000 model. The Tough Country was on the truck when I bought it. But its been great and I would probably buy another. I would probably look at RanchHand too since they are made in Shiner. That way I could stop by the brewery as well.:D:D
Tough Country is based out of El Campo TX which is only about 50 miles north of Victoria on HW59. Have you been to their website??
http://www.toughcountry.com/

yea, ive been to their website, called them twice, emailed them 3 times and still no call-back or replies......

Runninhorn -

I had Tough Country fab me a bumper last year but perhaps somebody has had a life change since then. The bumper and side rails were made heavy duty (sched 40), well made, and made the way I wanted them. I dealt with Kurt Pratka and there are two phone numbers (979) 543-9204 and (979) 543-1054. They also do business as Mark's Machine Company.

Here's the pics I promised. We still didn't get the stump out , but we did move it. I am wanting to get a snatch block now:ro)

wow that looks good! and what i want........

What size/type of winch do you recommend/suggest for our trucks? anyone here running a winch? What kind of setup are you running? Hydraulic or Electric?


There's pros and cons to both electric and hydraulic winches. One of the biggest drawbacks to a hydraulic is it doesn't work unless your engine is running/powering the pump. If you're upside down or hydrolocked in a stream you are basically stuck and need to rely on your partner to get you out or back over. On the otherhand if you are the winchmaster for the day, you can run a milemarker nonstop, whereas an electric will overheat. A good upgrade for milemarkers is to run an auxilary pump instead of running off of the PS pump. Milemarkers, at least the older ones, have a tendancy to run slow.

I use a Warn 9500HS (electric) on my rock crawler and have been very happy with it. My truck is strictly a tow rig and never sees any off road use.

cmerrick -

I agree with you in regards to pros and cons. I have been mounting and using Warn for about fifteen years. My only reservation regarding the Warn is that they don't seem to be made for heavy duty extended use. This hasn't caused me too much grief because I used them like most people - occasionally. But I have had a few solenoids go out (and subsequently carried a few spares) and a motor burn up. But I always carry a heavy duty hand winch/come along and snatch blocks. One hell of a lot more work than electric but it has saved my bacon on more than one occasion. I have gone to the MM because I anticipate heavy duty extended use and being in situations where the hand winch won't get it (and these muscles aren't up to what they used to be). I will carry it regardless. If you have used both Warn electric and MM hydraulic you have certainly been impressed with the difference in how they are built. Mile Marker is truly industrial grade. Which is, in reality, overkill for 95+% of the users.

You are right that the hydraulic needs the engine running but, on the other hand, you will only get seconds of hard pull with the electric unless you have some humungous batteries.

I would suggest that rather than installing a second hydraulic pump, the most useful addition would be a hydraulic filter. This setup can be installed for less than $40 and a few hours work tying into the low pressure side and getting it mounted. Actually, all these vehicles could profit from this install since it is dirt and heat that kills hydraulic pumps and motors. The engine and pump don't even notice when you are using it for the MM. Part of the MM install kit is a limiting orfice less than half the size of a matchhead. If you want more speed you could, I suppose, enlarge the orfice.

I am running the Warn 15000 for about 4 years now!
I have used it alot and it works great! I went with the Warn Trans4mer mount and besides the rust it is really heavy duty and has never let me down....pics in sig