i think a 9.5 is big enough for my truck i have had it down to the frame a number of times and it has got me out every time the only time it couldn't get me out is when i was trying to pull a F-350 and my truck at the same time the ford was hydro locked in mud above the tires and my truck to the frame it was the only way to get to the truck was to get my truck in the stuff and to get the F-350 out a Kodiak had to use both 15K winches to get him out i was still able to get myself out after a full day of winching it is all in how you hook up and if you use a snatch block i keep a couple in my truck just in case. Almost every bumper company makes a bumper that will handle any winch you want to put in it i like the buckstop and the road armor ones the best