What are the hidden costs to adding a winch

Something like this is invaluable when there is nothing in cable length to attach too. Assuming the terrain will allow you to put it in by shovel/hand.

It's amazing the load it will hold.

I once winched a '68 TravelAll buried to the floor pans in a bog using just a 6" dia version. Of course the winch was a PTO, so no electrical issues.

 

Think the biggest I've ever heard of anyone swapping into a Tacoma was 160A - still not close to running a winch without dipping into the battery reserve. Also, not sure if you can even swap a different alternator into the 3rd gens (more electronic voltage control).

If you run AGM batteries a voltage booster can be a good idea too.

 

I think it worked

 

It got it started for sure

 

No way, check out these alternators (Power Bastards, DC Power Engineering). Yes, you'll use the battery a little no matter what but the battery will not maintain voltage for long under heavy loads. A glass mat or gel type battery may have a little more capacity and will be much better at dealing with discharge cycles but won't let you run a winch for much longer. A second battery can help, but that's a lot of weight to put on that fender sheetmetal. The voltage regulator is a part of the alternator for either generation. Even if no one makes an alternator for the 3.5L specifically a good shop could always modify the stock unit to have a higher output, at least higher RPMs.

 

This one is bolt in.

https://sdhqoffroad.com/collections...tacoma-4-0l-270-amp-xp-high-output-alternator

 

So if Im running a taco with all sorts of armor will a 9500lb be enough? Would the 10K lb be any better at speed and over heating/not over working the motor too much?

 

@Stocklocker....might want to keep an eye on this thread too

 

Thanks. Watched.

 

FYI - if running a dual battery setup it would not be recommended to have both batteries synced together when winching, you want to connect the winch to your starting battery and leave the aux battery isolated so in the case that if the main battery becomes discharged enough the truck won't re-start. Having the aux battery isolated will ensure you always have a way to get the vehicle started even after heavy winching. Most people that do the dual battery upgrade, make sure the new batteries are a larger CCA than OEM anyhow so you should have plenty of winching power.

 

I like where this has gone but I just put IE electrical upgrades as just an example. I sure there are other hidden costs some of which have been described

 

another "hidden cost" if you want to be able to control the winch from in the cab, you will need a switch and some wire. Granted it's not a big cost item but it all adds up. My major "hidden cost" was the frame bending after several hard pulls, luckily I just did the work myself so all it took was a little blood and sweat.

You can see the damage winching does to the frame in my post here, this was relatively minor compared to other peoples damage I've seen posted up.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...t-much-of-a-build-thread.337259/#post-8935425

 

After doing the Caddy alternator mod and pulling it out after a couple weeks I say +1 on this

I’ve gone through two steel cables but I used it a lot, used to be a park ranger at an off road park. Got synthetic now no issues. So maybe that’s a hidden cost? Then just be sure to get a tree saver and a shackle as mentioned above

 

I mean... I think the biggest question, which affects all the answers, is just what level of prepared do you want to be, or how often & extremely are you thinking you'll use it?

Wanting to have a working winch, just in case, on a solid mount, is one end of the spectrum. At the other end... do you want to be able to winch out of ANYTHING, and maximize your chance of getting out, even if your engine isn't running? Two pretty much totally different situations there.

Electrically, I had a Superwinch 9.5 on my 1st gen, with the piddly factory alternator, a good group 31 AGM, and I think I replaced the factory cables with 2ga and ran 1/0 to the winch. Never had a problem with that setup, not that I used it often, but it winched the 5000lb truck down and back up a pants-crappingly steep hill once to get around an obstacle, along with occasionally being used to yard logs out of the woods.

As for other stuff... I went nuts making it usable. Got a separate solenoid winch and made my own cables to the motor, as well as the ones from the battery. Wired the controller plug up on the grille, and also ran wires into the cab for a master switch (that killed the solenoid completely, from inside or from the controller plug) and an in-cab control switch. Then a bunch of good shackles, an ARB snatch block, a bubba rope type thing that I also use as a tree strap, and an extra ~90' of Dyneema rope I made into an extension.

You can almost always go slow and let your alternator recharge your battery while you also let the motor cool down... but it's hard to reach that hard point 20' too far away cuz you scrimped on gear to buy a "300A" alternator, and an extra battery, mount and isolater.

 

The only time that would be true is if for some reason you were winching with the engine off.. And there are very few scenarios I can think of where that would be the case.

Otherwise you want the engine running, both batteries tied together (if you have duals), and then leave the truck running afterward while you clean up all your gear to let them recharge

 

If you row gears sometimes that's unavoidable, especially during a tough recovery. I agree you always want the truck to be running but id like to know I can still start my truck if for some reason it does stall Out.

 

Whatttt, I didn't know you could damage the frame from winching. I assume that's why the 90 degree bumper supports are common to add to these? I haven't pulled my bumper since installing it several years ago and have only used the winch a handful of times, though one time I used it to pull a stump out of our yard. FWIW OP, I got the Smitty 9.5 with synthetic rope, only other costs were a cutoff switch (~$70), wiring stuff ($20-30), and a fairlead ($30). My factory alternator and battery handle the load so far but the truck does dip in rpms and lights dim when I use it, I will replace the battery with something better once it starts giving me issues but for now I think it's sufficient.

 

Hmm maybe you just shouldn't stall the truck

If you are still worried about it though, look into a Noco jump pack. The GB40 would be more than enough to start these trucks. I have the next size up, the GB70 because it was gifted to me. It fits in the cubby under the rear seats perfectly. Amazon and the OEM do decent sales from time to time too

 

Sure can, the bumper bolts to 10 gauge steel. Doesn't last long on side pulls or any angles for that matter. The bumper supports are a band-aid to a shotgun wound.