Show us your winches (not your wives)

That doesn't cover the entire spool though. I like the other style because it would also keep out more water

 

Sorry, if it's not apparent it's not a Tacoma... It's an FJ80. Its nothing special honestly, I used some .250 wall 1.5 or 2"
Box tube and torched some holes for the bolts. Welded it to some .250 wall angle iron and drilled that to hit 4 tapped holes in the frame. Then theres a couple tabs to tie into my rear crossmember/bumper which I frenched a piece of 2x8 rectangle tube into to serve as my fairlead mount.

 

Crappy angle for my pic, but behind my bumper I have Undercover Winch Mount, with a 9000 lb Warn Winch, Wireless Remote and Synthetic Winch Line...

 

I've been eyeing winches lately as well. Anybody know what to look for in regard to gear ratio? Is high the number the faster the pull or is it the lower the number the faster the pull?

Also, 8500,9500,10500lbs, what's best for our trucks?

 

My m8000 has never let me down. If you need more pull power most the time you can use a snatch block to get it.

 

So I've been seeing different gear ratios on every winch I look at, does that make a huge difference?

 

I've just been reading up. Here is the best quote I found:

The gear reduction ratio is by how much the motor's
output revolutions are reduced for the spindle. The greater the reduction, the
more revolutions the motor has to turn for one spindle revolution and the less
the motor has to work for that revolution. The difference in the gearing
systems is mainly in their transfer efficiency.

I don't think the ratio alone really means a lot but when you take that plus the size of the motor into consideration you get a better story. What brands/models are you looking at?

 

Thanks Matt, there's a brand called Keeper that is essentially the same as a Superwinch only rebranded, both made out of the same manufacturer from what I read. They sell them at Northern tools and also Lowes. So over the last few years I've been collecting all my lowes gift cards from the in-laws I get every and now I have enough to basically get one for free. They have an 8500, 9500 and a 10500. The 8500 and the 9500 have 218/1 and the 10500 has 265/1. All have 5.5hp.

 

Sweet! Nothing like a 'free' winch! Bigger might be better in this instance!

 

So the 10500 with 5.5hp and 265/1 sounds the best? Cause I know nothing about this crap

 

I can't find any reviews of them so it's hard to say but as long as it works and pulls, a 10,500 lb winch is going to be plenty.

 

Excellent, thanks Matt!

 

That looks very close to HF and Smittybilts design. The difference is the control box. If you can get one for free do it! It will last you for awhile or maybe a lifetime.

 

Good point, even if it just gets me started, it won't cost me anything and I can learn the good and bad from it for awhile.

 

What are y'all doing when you first load the line?

It says to spool under load... How big of a load? How did you do it? Truck in neutral, pull toward a concrete light pole?

 

I hooked my line up to my dad's GMC Sierra diesel and pulled myself towards him (slight incline in a parking lot) with my truck in neutral. Worked great.

I also watched this video: https://youtu.be/8ipYpXJQmJA

 

This. I attach it to my other truck and load it up.

 

When winch shopping and looking at gear ratios and hp numbers, it's more or less the same principle as gear reduction in your truck. The lower the gear ratio, the more torque (pulling power without bogging the motor). Higher hp can compensate somewhat for a higher gear ratio. Faster line speeds generally have slightly higher gear ratio. All that said, just because a particular winch has a low gear ratio doesn't mean it's a better winch. Good rule of thumb is to select a winch rated at 1.5x the weight of the vehicle and you should be good. A snatch block (pulley) can always be used to multiply the pulling power if necessary.
Personally I prefer a winch with faster line speed that ultra low gearing. I find that line speed is far more useful on a regular basis than how the winch is geared. Like I said, if I need to slow things down or increase the torque, I can always use a snatch block. But a slow winch will always be a slow winch, and that's not always ideal.

The most important factor in selecting a winch IMO is the build quality and electronics and how they are waterproofed. Moisture is the leading cause of death for winches . If water can get into the motor or into the control box/solenoids the winch will not last long and will end up not working when you need it. That's my biggest problem with most cheaper winches. The waterproofing is just not adequate in many cases. That along with lower quality components is how they keep costs down. For me a winch is one of those things that is not worth skimping on. This may sound a bit extreme, but in some cases a winch can be the difference between living or dying, or at least saving a truck from being totally destroyed. Fortunately that's not the case most of the time, but do you really want a winch you don't trust 100% when you find yourself in that situation?

There's a couple of sayings that I think work well for winches. "Buy once, cry once." "The poor man, always pays twice." That doesn't mean just buy the most expensive one. But get the best quality you possibly can regardless of the cost.

 

@Nate87 I'm about to mount a new Perlfreybilt bumper and Zeon 10s. Are you still happy with the control pack relocation for the winch? Would or have you changed anything on location or how you mounted it? Thanks, you've got a great looking rig!

 

No issues with where it was mounted nor have I felt the need to move or change anything. You should check with Pelfreybilt and see if you can get away with mounting the winch without the relocation kit. I thought I knew of someone being able to fit under there with some work. If that is an option, that would be easiest. But my setup worked well for me.