Winches

[oldmisterbill]

My thoughts. I don't know the details of the whole situation. Every body here is correct. Hydraulic is nice ,expensive ,long lasting,Not so portable but real good. Cheaper winches don't last as long. 100 ft cable -i haven't seen one on a winch but a snatch strap or chain will give you what you need. My experience -

I had a 18ft bumper pull,didn't have the $ to buy what I really wanted -a 12000lb pull Warn winch. I got a superwinch 2500lb pull with a snatch block. It was great for loading dead cars and smaller tractors.It got smashed pretty hard once,I needed it and the factory was only 60 miles away,off I went. The didn't sell parts at the factory (you have to go to a dealer) but for $30 they would repair it ,didn't matter what was broke they would fix it for $30 done while I waited. It looked brand new-new cable control -NICE!! That was in the late 1980's.It was at the shop at least 5 times from being over worked hit or some kind of abuse. Yes it should have been heavier. Then I got my 30 ft trailer no $ to buy a new winch I used the old one with that trailer also. I loaded 4-5000 lb tractors,on a couple the wheels wouldn't turn just slid up the ramps with a snatch block. 20 years later still gong I mistakenly showed the trailer to a potential buyer with the winch on it.He is still using that same old winch.
20111 super winch has a 4000 lb winch with a limited lifetime warranty.No it doesn't have a cordless remote,neither did my old one I made an extension cord 50 ft.so I could load and sit in the vehicle being loaded. What you get has to fit your budget - if I had a strict limit on what I could spend this is what I'd get.

Super winch 4,000 lbs

 

[88beast]

dont go hf the ones in store suck and break a lot
a good winch is a lifesaver thats like youre emergency tool kit if something breaks youre out of luck ask any 4x4 guys a winch breaks you are not getting out unless you got someone to yank
there is one good hf winch its $400 and you gotta order it they have a $400 in stock but that one is crap

 

[88beast]

dont go hf the ones in store suck and break a lot
a good winch is a lifesaver thats like youre emergency tool kit if something breaks youre out of luck ask any 4x4 guys a winch breaks you are not getting out unless you got someone to yank
there is one good hf winch its $400 and you gotta order it they have a $400 in stock but that one is crap

 

[OLDBULL8]

I know HF winches are not the best in the world, but they are close to the price of what he could afford. For dragging logs up a ravine, course if it's 4 ft Dia. and 20 ft. long that's a load, he needs a 100 ft. cable, but can add another 100 ft. to it (not wrapped) pull til the winch cable is wrapped, unhook and and pull again. That Superwinch looks like a good deal at $320. I pulled a 11500 lb tractor up on my 25ft GN by doubling the cable with my 8000 HF no problem.

 

[Black dawg]

The cheap winches are just that, cheap winches. That said, I've had pretty good luck with them. I have broken my cheap (parts are cheap too) winches more than once, but each time I was asking too much from them. I also have an older warn 8k that works like new with no breakage with the same abuse. I use my winches for firewood and general stuckness.

Look for an old warn 8274, you wont be dissapointed, and mount the thing to your truck so you have it when you need it.

 

[82F100SWB]

Almost forgot to mention it, but, the 8274 will hold 150 feet of cable, and it is the fastest electric winch out there. They have been in production since 74 if memory serves. A new one is far from cheap, but there are plenty used ones out there.

 

[RLDSL]

There is a big difference between loading rolling loads and dragging logs though. For loading rolling loads like pulling vehicles up on trailers, you can get by with a REALLY small winch ( same way a few guys can push a 4000 lb car with not too much trouble, a 3000 lb winch can load a 40o0lb car on a trailer single line if the ramp isn't too steep without much fuss at all, but for dragging logs where teh load is all friction, you are pulling at actual capacity.

 

[88beast]

rlsd remember or above capicty the log can get hung up or dig in the dirt acusing more power needed

 

[RLDSL]

rlsd remember or above capicty the log can get hung up or dig in the dirt acusing more power needed

Winches are generally rated for a dead load that is being dragged with full friction, taking into account things like mud suction, obsticals etc, That is why you can get by with so much smaller rated of a winch for a rolling load on an even surface for loading trailers

You wouldn't believe some of the things I've dragged kicking and screaming into my carhauler with no wheels on them with a little tiny HF 3000lb winch, just dragging them in on skids

 

[fields_mj]

Thanks for all the comments. I think, combined, they gave me a good window of options to choose from. For now, I will probably go with a 3k winch. This is mainly because of the weight. I'm wanting something that I can toss on the floor board behind the front seat, and pull it out when I need it. The logs I'll be dragging will actually be tree tops as the farm is currently being select logged. So that won't be quite as bad. Nothing too awfully big. I'd like to get an 8K+ or bigger, but it's going to be a real bear trying to get that thing out and hooked up to the truck when I need it. I'll just have to use my head a little, and lots of common sense.

Oddly enough, after I lost my front axle last year, I got stuck several times (and twice after it was fixed). I think there was only one or two times when a winch of any size would have helped. Never fails, I'm out in the middle of a corn field, or there's not a tree over 3" with in a hundred yards (but mostly finding a soft spot out in a field with a load of wood on).

 

[Diesel_brad]

Thanks for all the comments. I think, combined, they gave me a good window of options to choose from. For now, I will probably go with a 3k winch. This is mainly because of the weight. I'm wanting something that I can toss on the floor board behind the front seat, and pull it out when I need it. The logs I'll be dragging will actually be tree tops as the farm is currently being select logged. So that won't be quite as bad. Nothing too awfully big. I'd like to get an 8K+ or bigger, but it's going to be a real bear trying to get that thing out and hooked up to the truck when I need it. I'll just have to use my head a little, and lots of common sense.

Oddly enough, after I lost my front axle last year, I got stuck several times (and twice after it was fixed). I think there was only one or two times when a winch of any size would have helped. Never fails, I'm out in the middle of a corn field, or there's not a tree over 3" with in a hundred yards (but mostly finding a soft spot out in a field with a load of wood on).

You need one of these http://www.pullpal.com/

 

[trapper]

I used a lot of winches and remember if you use a snatch block you double the pulling power of a winch

 

[fields_mj]

You need one of these http://www.pullpal.com/

I've though about stuff like that, but never bothered. If I'm stuck, the axles are normally sitting on the ground. What I really need is one of those hi lift jacks.

 

[idi traveler]

When I worked in North Africa we carried and auger that looked something like a mobile home anchor that was about 3 feet long with an eye that a 1 inch pipe would fit through. It worked great in sand. I just did a little searching and found this.

http://www.lan-cor.com/vehicle-recovery-in-action

 

[towcat]

What's the advantage of hydraulic over electric?

hydraulic winches can tear a truck in two
I have put my money in Ramsey 9000lb winches in my trucks over the years and they have brought home the bacon with minimal maintenance.