Anyone regret a winch?

I would get a battery at least 100 cca and with as much reserve time as you can find larger than stock to be installed with your winch. I have a gel cell that I saved from my old truck that allows me to run my winch in 3 times full load without the truck running and still have power to start the truck.

 

Good info. Thanks

 

The battery supplies the ~300-450 amps when you start winching. The alternator helps. Get a good battery, my Northstar is rated at something like 930 CC amps?

 

I just wanted to say thanks for everyone’s detailed replies. Really helpful so far. I appreciate it.

 

Why not get a trailer hitch winch basket? They make receivers for the front of the truck. Doesnt look like ass either. You would be able to pull yourself forward and backwards and not have to worry about all the extra weight on the front end

 

Good read on this thread. I'm new to offroading, but I'm thinking eventually I'll be somewhere I shouldn't, alone. So ideas of a winch has been running through my head.

As others have stated, having a winch on a receiver cradle is my most efficient idea. Install a front hidden hitch. This way you don't need to haul extra weight when not needed. Having an extra deep cell in the bed would serve for rear winching and other emergencies for power.

Those slim hidden winch front bumpers though.. They look bad ass on these 3rd gens

 

No cutting with a Warn hidden bumper and winch wired directly to battery, without ignition. 200AMP breaker.

 

Don't forget tree cutting

Edit: you said logging, I missed that

 

I thought about mounting mine in front a lot, and ended up skipping it. I put on a front receiver hitch instead and put my winch on a receiver cradle mount. Along with a Pullpal anchor, I can now directly winch myself forward or backwards practically anywhere without trees, rocks or other things to anchor to (I mostly drive in the desert), and as others mentioned I can put the winch away in back or leave it home when I am daily driving.

I did put in a second battery, and have a short jumper with a heavy plug for the winch up front, and longer cables for the winch in back. This setup will also let me put it on other vehicles on their hitch if needed, too.

 

No full aftermarket bumper needed. My warn bumper completely bolted on with zero cutting and netted maybe 80lbs gain with the 10k warn winch installed (had to remove some factory parts behind bumper cover). But I use mine pretty regularly so wanted it mounted with a bumper. You could also just add a front hitch receiver on your truck and then just have a winch ready on a winch cradle. Then you can winch from the front or back and save weight by only taking it with you when you need it. Other vehicles can also use it as well, assuming they have a receiver on them.

 

I will most likely be going this route myself.

 

I have one. It’s a nice piece of kit. I haven’t had to use it, but have winched my Tacoma up my driveway with it to prove it could do the job. Went super easy on pavement of course, but my driveway is quite steep.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QQnVttf4vr8

Only knock is it is slow. Lots of strength.

 

"No Regrats"

 

The other thing you can do if stuck is use your flat tow strap as a winch line - saw a guy with a 2wd get out of a short run of sand by tying off around a boulder and letting it wrap just a bit around his rear wheel enough to pull out of his rut. He could only move a foot or so before the strap went off the tire, but it was just enough to pull out.

There’s a similar device that stores in a small bag from Australia called a bush winch that looks like a small rim you put on a wheel. It turns your drive wheel into a windlass, and costs about $500 AUD (about $340 USD). I wouldn’t use this for heavy duty winching though, else you may look like that YT famous Taco that had it’s rear end pulled off on the trail

It may be good as a portable small emergency winch for pulling a short distance out of sand or snow though, especially for 2WD’s.



https://www.bushwinch.com/

 

Hidden winch mounts are always an option too. I’ve only used it twice but so happy to have it! Sometimes pulling the winch out just to get unstuck rather than romping the shit out of the truck is nice too.

 

2nd gen here but nope

Just went from a full plate bumper to a hidden winch mount

 

Do you mean you put your old bumper back on?

 

Did you have to beef up your front coils?

Great looking truck.

 

Not really.

 

Can I ask what made you decide to ditch the plate bumper?
Or different truck?