Which Winch for Hunting:

Hey guys,
I need your opinions on which winch I should get. I plan on either an ARB or 3-hoop Demello, still undecided. I do not intend to "wheel" for the sake of wheeling. Most of the year, the poor Taco just sits in the driveway. I do get it out about 3 months of the year for hunting/camping. When I go hunting/camping, I do end up wheeling just because some of the roads I use to get where I am going are rough and are typically "Jeep" trails. I do occasionally get stuck, but this has only happened a handful of times throughout my existence. Even so, I would like to get a winch in order to save my ass, if necessary. I cannot count on someone being in the area to pull me out because there are usually no people in the locations I go. Plus, I typically hunt/camp alone because I do not know anyone. I need something reliable that will work when I need it to, but it will not see frequent action. It may get used once per year, if that. I would like to keep costs between $299-$900 if at all possible. Otherwise, my wife's sense will prevail.

Your help is appreciated!
Justin

Edit:
As for weight of the vehicle, with the possiblility of having up to 800 lbs of dead animal in the back, camping/hunting gear, and also a few heavier aftermarket parts, I would plan on an additional 1200 lbs min. over factory curb weight of a '11 Access Cab.

 

Anything Warn and not the VR series. You don't want to cheap out on things like winches. Im usually camping and exploring alone so I have an M8000 stuffed in my ARB just in case. The M8000 has been around for a long time and is very reliable.

 

Enzo, I don't know of anyone with a VR since I believe they are relatively new. Do you think that, because they are built with cheaper components, they are any less reliable? I don't want to get cheap, but I also don't want to needlessly waste money. I've heard of an XRC8 making more than 100 hard pulls with no problems, but then again, this may be an exception and not the rule.

I, like you, go out alone. Based on our shared interests, would you recommend synthetic or cable?

 

You might want to consider using a removable/hitch mounted winch cradle. You could have a custom hitch welded into your frame up front, or you could just use your factory hitch in the rear (with a wiring harness extension from Warn - $200)

I've just changed over from a plate bumper to this sort of set up. I needed to get weight off the front of the truck for suspension performance. I keep a recovery strap and shackles behind the back seat, all the other recovery gear, including the winch, goes in a plastic tough box that bolts down in the bed of the truck when I go wheeling. Keep the weight in the center of the truck, keeps the winch out of the elements, and gives me the option of winching from the front or rear of the truck.

 

Dude, alot of guys are running the smittybuilt xrc8 and never have problems with them. There is a new line of smittybuilt X2O, water tight solenoid and winch motor. Saves you some hard earned cash and built buy a brand that is trusted.

 

Superwinch LP 10,000. They mostly make industrial winches, but that sense of overkill and engineering filters down into their line of personal vehicle winches.

Warn or Superwinch. Whichever you can find cheaper, you can't go wrong.

 

FWIW I've heard the exact opposite and know of two friends who have had them fail.

 

Agree with the superwinch I have an lp8500 and so far its been awesome. I haven't gotten stuck enough to really need it but I got a snatch block for change in direction pulls and mechanical advantage

 

I like my smittybilt xrc8. I sealed up the solenoid and haven't had one issue. I've used it quite a bit too.

That being said, a superwinch was out of my reach $$$, but that's what I'd have gotten if I had the cash. Talon 9.5, EP 9.0, or X9. I'd rather have one of those than a Warn, personally.

Superwinch also just came out with a line of entry level winches as well, FWIW.

Do some research on the albright solenoid vs warns solenoids.

 

Those entry levels are rebranded LP 8500 and LP 10,000s.

Look at them side by side they've just got fancy stickers on them. There was a slight difference in the amp draw or line in speed, but it was so slight as to be negligible.

 

This is the one I'm thinking of for my Demello.

 

chainsaw winch - portable, packable and will easily pull your rig too.

 

Sorry guys, I was just scouting a local Craigslist add on a never used, only installed, VR10000 and got the guy to agree to $300 cash. I jumped on it. I hope I didn't screw up. Please don't flame me. I would still like to hear your input because you guys have far more experience than I.

 

My xrc8 is on its second motor and the power box has issues. I've used it for probably 40 pulls. Some of them long hard pulls.

It is workable but it is not reliable - you have to be prepared to mess with it in the field when you need it most. I have switched to a warn.

Carry a snatch block. Or three. Will save your winch and your ass every time.

 

I definitely plan on picking up a few snatch blocks and a few other items. I'm still debating on whether to go synthetic or not. Not sure if it is worth the money, even though, it sounds like it is much safer and easier to work with. I need to unspool and respool this winch. The dude I bought it from did a terrible job. It doesn't look like it was respooled under any tension and is not tightly wound.

 

Yeah, I realized that afterwards I'll need to familiarize myself with everything having to do with a winch. This is my first one.

 

I was definitely looking at the M8000-s if I were to purchase one new, but, since I found a VR10000 for $300, I figured I'd give it a shot. If/when it craps out, I'll get something more highly recommended. Even if it saves my butt once, it would be worth $300 to me.

 

I didn't even think of this...

 

XRC8 is great price and I've put mine under much stress a couple dozen times with no problems.

 

I'll look into this as an option instead of a new plate bumper; however, the bumper would have a few additional benefits.

Thanks for all of your guys' feedback!