That >8,000 lb. winch is a waste of money.

Title to catch eyes, but hear me out: putting an >8,000 lb. winch on a Toyota Tacoma is a massive waste of money for the vast majority of Tacoma drivers.

Chances are you paid more than $500 for a big winch, paid another $1000 for the bumper to hold it, and now the weight pulls the front of your truck down, makes it handle like a soggy sloppy joe sandwich, saps its already meager fuel economy, and you could have spent the money on something else you wanted. The net loss for your daily driver now exceeds the occasional utility the winch provides.

Alternatively, take half an hour learn how to set up some mechanical advantage systems. We like to talk about "know how to use your hi-lift jack before you need it on the trail." Knowing how to set up mechanical advantage systems are arguably just as useful, and maybe more.

And we already use snatch blocks: sometimes we use them as a simple change-of-direction pulley; sometimes we use them as a 2:1 mechanical advantage. Why stop at 2:1?

Setting up a 4:1 system with a 3,000 lb. ATV winch yields 12,000 lbs. of pull, which exceeds the working load of most synthetic line. ATV winches are far lighter than truck winches; you can stow them in your tool box and use them front or back as you please, and you can probably buy one that will do the job for $100. Spend another $100 on some pulleys and other gear set up your 4:1 system, and you now have the a 12,000 lb. pull for $200. And setting up a good MA system on the trail gets style points.

There are some disadvantages: The truck doesn’t project the same tough image without a winch and steel bumper out front. Setting up for a pull can take a little longer. The pulls themselves will take longer. You'll have to learn something well enough that you can repeat it under stress. And you may want to learn how to brake and reset your mechanical advantage system mid-pull, because you won't get as much pull distance from your line.

But then you no longer have to drive your chonky winch to work. You don't have to buy new coil springs or dial up your preload to compensate for the winch and bumper that just killed your lift height. Your truck won't feel like a reflection in a funhouse mirror when you shoot the curves on the backroads. And you can pull from the front, back, or even the sides with all those pulleys you now have.

This is just my opinion though. If anyone is already using MA systems higher than 2:1's for vehicle recovery, share your thoughts.

 

I agree entirely.

 

So the only place that makes an 8klb winch is Warn. Warn charges you for the name.

You can buy a smittybilt 12k for the same price as a Warn 8k basic winch (weight not listed, so I used the ZEON). The Smittybilt x20 12k is listed at 67lbs for $639. The Warn ZEON 8-S 8k is listed at 75lbs for $1288.

May as well buy the 12k if it fits.

 

Then don’t get one.

 

Shitpost. Adding that much complexity (4:1) adds points of failure and makes it more risky and less safe. I’m not arguing that most people that have a winch actually NEED one, but suggesting an ATV winch instead of a properly sized winch for the vehicle is silly.

And for what’s its worth, my set up was around $1000 and only adds 80ish pounds. Worth it for the utility and peace of mind.

 

No way am I putting a winch on the front of my daily driver here in Michigan.

The road salt would be power driven into every nook and cranny on the winch. No way could you trust it to work in an emergency situation.

If you have a dedicated wheeling rig, then by all means, install what you want.

 

See the carrot before the 8.

 

Bad info. You obviously have not been in a tough situation where an ATV winch pulling on a 5k# vehicle will make things worse. If you're so concerned about weight, get a front hitch and put a winch on a hitch mount.

 

Most people don't need a winch. But if you need a winch, you need a real winch. This $350 winch rated at 9000 lbs is more than enough and they are on sale for much less quite often. Weight is 75 lbs. Mount it on a winch cradle and store it in the garage until needed. You can install a front receiver and use it front or rear as needed.

 

I'll take a single line pull over rigging a bunch of stuff up every time. No regrets with the Warn Xeon I was running on my Tacoma.

 

I bought a Warn 10K lb winch on clearance years ago for $400 and put it on a plate that fits in a receiver, I can use it on the front or back of either of my trucks (made my own hitches) and also on both trailers for a non runner or broken down something. Cables were expensive to wire all of it but I don't have it dedicated anywhere and don't have to carry it around all the time on/in my truck

 

Even with a 4:1 you're very probably going to be exceeding the WLL of your cable with an actually stuck truck if using a winch rated to 3k. Not to mention most ATV winches come with much less cable, meaning to set up a 4:1 you'd need an anchor point under ~15 feet away.

 

A 3K ATV winch plus 2 double pulleys cost $200 total, weighs 25 lbs, and fits in a backpack.

With another five pounds of hardware you can quickly attach it to any tow hitch or hook as long as the vehicle has a battery. That’s utility.

If 4 pulleys is too complicated, we shouldn’t be wheeling.

 

The receiver mount front and rear solves all of the issues mentioned but one. The winch/mounting plate can get heavy fast.
I have a almost forty year old Warn. They weighed more then than now. Still the receiver mount is doable for an old man. However I haven’t met any women and quite a few young men that can manage it.
My point is simple, if you receiver mount make sure you buy based on what you can haul to the front of your vehicle.

 

That right there. Ive had to winch myself out once. Winched others maybe 3-4 times. Every single time I was pulling 60+ feet of rope out to get where I needed to go.

If you're running a 4:1 system and still leaving enough on the drum to meet manf. recommendations, Im not sure you could even get 10 feet away. That doesnt seem super great to me.

 

It sounds like you don’t understand the force multiplications of MA systems.

There is no need to run an MA system the entire length of the line.

 

Maybe you should explain to everyone what this "MA system" is

 

There’s no reason to run the 4:1 all the way up the line. I’ll look for a video to explain.

 

@TomHGZ means Mechanical Advantage, but what he does not factor is that with an ATV winch at 4:1, he will run out of line unless he is doing a 10 foot pull, and he will likely be exceeding the WLL of his line. Additionally, a winch is rated with one wrap of line on the drum, so my 10K winch will only pull about 5k with a full drum.

 

This would take a whole lot of extensions to rig a 4:1 setup with a low pull winch. A winch rated to be strong enough is a lot more useful when you need line length and pulling power.