Help me choose a Winch

[4by4]

Hello all,

This is my first time posting, but i came onto this forum because Google said it was the biggest car forum out there and i am looking for some guidance. I am in the market for a Winch for the back of my truck. Ideally I would like it to easily detach from the back so I could use it for some other things. I have found some good ones from Warn and Iron Man, but the one i am leaning towards is www.westcoastwinch.com.

Has anyone used something like this before? or is there any other types that you would recommend? Thanks for the feedback, I just want to be fully educated before I make the purchase. they aren't that cheap...

[camel_landy]

What are you going to use it for??

M

[4by4]

There are 2 main things that i want to do with this type of Winch. The first thing is to use my trailer hitch on the back of my truck as the anchor point and then use the winch to pull out logs of a high density area on my property. But I would also like it to anchor to a tree and pull my truck out of the mud if I get stuck while 4x4ing that is the reason why i would like some portability with it.

Any ideas??

[camel_landy]

I don't think you're really going to get a 'one size fits all' in this scenario.

For the trees & occasional vehicle recovery, I'd got for a Tirfor hand winch. You can use it anywhere and you're not tied to a vehicle.

As for your trailer... It depends on how often you're going to need to winch it as you can use a hand winch or a small electric. Either way, it'll then come down to the length of the pull and how much rope you can get onto the drum.

M

[Ayahuasca]

I have a Warn 9500 on the front of my Defender, and a hand-levered 'come along' in the back for backwards pulling. The warn seems plenty powerful, but obviously is in a fixed position. Although with enough blocks and line you can direct the pulling to any direction including backwards. i would suggest getting a synthetic cable (mine is steel and i am wary of it..)

[camel_landy]

Be just as wary of synthetic...

M

[Martin4x4]

4by4 said:

i am leaning towards is www.westcoastwinch.com.

I don't see that winch as suitable for your needs, for self recovery, you want your winch front mounted. Pull logs from the front and use your tow hitch to anchor your rear.

You really cannot go wrong with the Warn 8274

http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/src/M8274-50.sht...

[camel_landy]

Martin4x4 said:

You really cannot go wrong with the Warn 8274

You can...

...but it's probably easier googling "electric vs hand winch" as the debate has been done to death.

M

(FWIW - I'm a vote for the hand winch, unless you are doing winch challenge events.)

[g7jtk]

I know it will cost but what about a 2" receiver tow hitch mounted front and back and a 2" winch tray to mount to it with Anderson plugs to connect it which will also come in for jump leads