Thinking of getting a winch

I'd like to add a winch to my 2010 Tacoma (DC, SB, TRD). I'll probably go with the ARB bumper, but I'm wondering... will that extra weight be okay with the stock front suspension at least for a while? I will upgrade it down the road, but with the truck being brand new I'd rather wait until the next set of tires to replace them and upgrade/lift the whole truck with an OME kit and 886 coils up front. I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me about how much height I can expect to lose running an ARB bumper and a winch (Warn M8000 most likely) with the stock suspension. Any advice/experience with this scenario?

 

With the bumper & winch, it'll definately sag the front end - but I can't comment on how much.

Instead of getting the bumper & winch...use that money to get lift & bigger tires/wheels. YOu can SELL your current (new) wheels & tires and atleast recoop some $$ while they're new.

 

Is yours the TRD off road or sport?

I just put my Bilstein 5100 on at 1.75" with the All Pro offroad bumper and and maybe saw 3/8 of an inch sag if that. I have the TRD Off Road coils, and I think they made the difference. If you are looking at front bumpers, I would highly recommend the All Pro, its extremely sturdy, modular in design and cheaper. Check my sig out for some pictures of a before and after...

Oh and I wouldn't go with the 886's from what I have heard and read they are going to be too stiff. The 885's should do the trick, but people are saying they are a 2.5-3.0" lift so UCA's will be needed. To get away with supporting the extra weight you may consider the 5100's at 1.75" like me. At some point I plan on setting them to 0 = stock height and running the 885's with new Cambrug UCA's.

 

Warn makes a 9k winch for Jeeps (Warn 9.0Rc) that is the lightest on the market, about 30lbs lighter then any others. You'll pay a hefty premium for that weight savings though. You might just get away with that winch on your truck without too much sagging on the stock front suspension (assuming you have the TDR Bilstein setup?).

When my ARB bumper arrived it took two strong guys (not me) to lift it. I'd say it was around 100lbs+. That alone will not work with a stock suspension that was engineered for a 10lb front bumper.

So, I say skip the bumper for now until you can afford to get the correct front suspension. I have the OME with 886 springs and it's perfect for the ARB bumper and a 8k or 9k winch. You might want to consider a 9k or 9.5k winch with all that extra weight. Rule of thumb is to have 1.5 times more winch power then your vehicle weighs, for self rescue.

 

I'd say its too much weight for the stock suspension as well. And I'd also recommend on a 9000 winch instead of the 8000. I have a XD900i warn and i've even managed to stop it a couple of times....

 

Yeah, i know the rule, but im stating my experience here. My truck is about 4900 last time I checked the weight on a empty scale. I'd say the difference is that with you being in arizona that if you get stuck its probably going to be that you're high centered, or simply cant get over some trail obstacle. Out here in the very wet PNW, i have a lot of mud that creates some suction that you have to break before the winch will tug you out, or I'll get totally buried in snow where i'm then pushing a mass of it with the truck to get unstuck thus adding to the weight the winch must move.

 

I have a first gen 4 cyl, with an allpro bumper, and an m8000 winch...and I still think the front end is too stiff with my 650lb Sway away 2.5" coilovers.

I'm gonna go add another battery soon to see if that loads it down...

An ARB bumber AND a winch will probably be a little too much for stock suspension I would think. Maybe one or the other would be barely passable but of course that probably wouldn't happen.