Need a little help with the winch guys

So these saturday i installed a hidden winch behind my factory bumper, all is good except i am not sure if this is normal. When ever i engage my winch the lights on the cab flicker/go dimmer. I know i read a thread once about this same problem but i can't really find it. Is this normal or do i need a bigger battery?

 

Is your engine running?
I run mine with it running to help out the battery.

 

Its normal. Winches draw a lot of power. If you have it just for safety and are going to use it 4-5 times a year I would just leave it be. If you are going to be using it every weekend you might want to upgrade the battery and the alternator.

Just don't run it without the engine running. You can kill a battery in a minute or two with the engine off.

 

yea it is, but is the flickering normal?

 

Sweet sounds good, i plan to use it incase i get stuck on trails and if maybe i need it for emergencies, I guess for now i can upgrade the battery and see how things go. It still has the factory battery which i think that may be the problem then.

 

Anyone aware of an over-the-counter hidden winch (behind factory bumper) option for the 2012 Tacoma? Searching hard, but no success so far.

 

I can't help with that, my dome light has been out for a long time and luckily I have only winched in the daytime, so I have not noticed any light flickering.

 

LOL Well i hope by me getting a bigger battery it will help some.

 

Try emailing the people from http://undercoverhwms.com/wp/
they might be able to help some.

 

^^ Someone in another thread said their mounts aren't compatible with the 2012 - their website hasn't been updated. Nevertheless, I'll email them to double check.

UPDATE: Did not email to verify compatibility, so don't know if their mount is or isn't. Instead, I decided to simply order a front hitch from Curt and will be installing a winch using that.

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Do you have the tow pkg?

 

Reason I ask,The alt. in the towing pkg.is 120 amps.and h/d batt.

 

Its not really a big deal to have the lights dim. But just remember a winch draws a lot of amps. Even big or small battery I would try NOT to have the headlights and A/C and radio blasting at the same time I was winching. I would use the winch a few times before you upgrade the battery. I would think that battery will work just fine. Unless you are doing pulling out all the cable for full pulls every weekend it would be a waste to change batterys. I had a jeep with a small battery and winch and it was never an issue.

If you are new to winching watch a few vids of people winching. A few things to get a tree strap so you do not kill trees. If you are using the cable line get a cable weight. Another good thing is a snatch block. A few D-rings for the straps.

 

Yes in do have the tow package

 

Ok thank you, that would definetly save me money for now, but I really do need to get all the recovery stuff soon.