Maybe you don't need that 10k lb. winch!?

[Bill McC]

I have looked at all the winch manufacturers' sites and seen their recommendations for winch size. Here I present a little gem for those thinking they may need that winch which will recover a vehicle from the bottom of a mine shaft.

I was helping an old lady with her sheep fencing and ultimately got my truck stuck. My truck is a F-350 4x4, extra cab, long bed, diesel. I buried the front axle in lovely NH forest goo and couldn't move a bit. The rears were beginning to work their way in too. Now, I could get my tractor (JD790) and try to drag it out but I was well off the farm and the drive would take quite a while. So I though what the hell, my Kubota RTV has a winch and it has been useful so why not. I have a road plate for it so off I went.

I arrived at the scene of the crime, pulled out most of the winch cable and hooked myself up to the truck. Then, as the RTV is a light thing, I put a strap around a tree behind me and connected said strap to the tow hitch on the rear of the RTV.

My wife is in the truck, we have it in 4wd and reverse and I run back to the RTV and get the winch going. In 4 or so minutes the 2500lb winch dragged the behemouth out of the goo to a spot where it got some traction and was "safe" I used the winch for about a truck length.

Now, why would I need a 12,000+ lb. winch to rescue a landcruiser when here a 1.25 ton winch saved the day?? I am going for a 6-8k lb. winch.

Over a month later and I am stunned, but in a good way, that so many are reading and giving their 2 cents.

Just my story, yours may vary.

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All:

Sounds like you were either very lucky not to fry the ATV winch, or the F350 really wasn't stuck that badly; perhaps more aggressive tires and/or a rear diff lock would have done the trick.

Regards,

Alan

 

[Bill McC]

Perhaps I was lucky. But it is not a bad story.

As for being stuck badly, I will admit the soil I was in was quite soft and relatively light. If I were stuck in clayey muck it would have been a different story. I also did not have any of the wheels caught behind or between logs or rocks.

 

[e9999]

cute story

but all it tells us really is that you didn't need the 10K winch *in that particular instance*. IOW, we could get away with a little winch in an mild stuck situation similar to yours. Good, but those are not the situations we are usually concerned about / preparing for.

 

[Mark W]

That really means nothing. I have tugged a road grader and a dumptruck out of stucks with different Cruisers. The guys at the yard across the street from my shop got them stuck on a couple of different late nights, none of there people were still around and my Loadstar had not been started in weeks, so we used a '60 one night and a '40 the other...

All it means it that they were just barely stuck. Same for your pickup.


Mark...

 

[Exiled]

I've seen a 60 stuck so bad it took the M12K and an FJ40 with an 8274 pulling together to get it out.

No doubt you were lucky in this particular case, but it's not a case study for winch size. I've never been much to care a lot about winch speed, but winch capacity is not something to be ignored when dealing with a Land Cruiser, these are heavy pigs and once you throw in a family or three well-fed buddies and all the accoutrements for an expedition, you're *way* past the safety point of a 2,500lb winch!

All this said, I would loved to be there to see David pulling Goliath out of the mud bath!

 

[Bill McC]

Yes all,

It may mean nothing, it may not be representative, it maybe folly, but how exciting or interesting is it to learn a 12,000 lb winch pulled something out. Of course it did, it is a 12,000 winch.

Fear not for me for I will be getting a 10k more or less winch for my cruiser. Or would 5 2500lb winches work?? I am kidding.....really I am.

 

[cruiser88]

I use a 5500 pound winch on my Mini...I always use a couple of snatch blocks to be sure .

 

[80t0ylc]

Quite the story. I think good judgment was your friend, meaning, you went for help before you buried the rear, too. Generally, I believe, we are our own biggest handicap when it comes to getting "stuck". There are exceptions, but it's usually our ego that makes, what starts out to be a bad situation, even worse. "I ain't stuck, yet", 2 hours later its "Hey, call Billy Bob. He's got that brand new Warn 12K, remember!" That's what makes the larger capacity winches so attractive. Some still believe that a big winch is the ultimate substitute for lack of judgment.
Before the flames start, don't get me wrong, I think you should be prepared. But, unless you're on search and rescue or your idea of a good time is to see how deep you can bury your rig, an 8K or 9K winch with a snatch block or 2 should be sufficient for 98% of your problems with our Land Cruiser sized rigs. The other 2%, a 12K prolly wouldn't help. My point is: a bigger winch is no substitute for good judgment. If you're an experienced wheeler, you know what you need for your application and this post doesn't apply. Some have found that they need the extra pulling power of the larger winches on a regular basis, but for most of us, for the occasional stuck when you're on your own, such as: help out of a snow drift; Or pulling you back up on the road after you slid off; or occasional work around the farm, the smaller winches mentioned should work fine. My .02 - YMMV

 

[Mark W]

I took my '80 out for a drive and did not get stuck at all.... so maybe no one needs winches at all?


Mark...

 

[knixen]

2x8k winches with snatch blocks and two trucks as anchor... and we barely made it!

 

[FJ40_owner]

I once winched an F350 with full side tool boxes and was loaded with two XR350 motorcycles, He was stuck to the frame rails in frozen hard snow.

My F250 has a 15000 winch on it with two very large batteries in parallel.

I used my tree saver to tie off my rear end and set up a pulley system to winch the idiot out. We dug as much snow and ice out as possible and began to winch.

It took everything my winch had to move his fat stupid ass. I had to let my winch rest and batteries catch up. We got him free and turned around.

Then we continued on our way to go shoot.

The sad part for him is he got stuck again and we again encountered him on our way out.

He was suprised he got stuck because "he had 4 wheel drive." I encounter dozens of mis guided folks who think 4x4 is gods answer to no traction.

So I guess there are two morals here. Buy the winch you need to do the job you expect to do.
Watch out for flatlanders.

 

[craptabulous]

i have had my quad stuck enough that i couldn't get it out with my 2500lbs warn on the front with a snatch block . all i did was snap the stupid cable eventually and then pull it out with my truck .

i have had my 10 k ramsey wrom drive powered right out on the first wrap trying to pull out a chevy .

i wouldn't put less then a 10k on a cruiser unless i carried a snatch block which i carry with my 10 k even .

i have seen people get unstuck with a come along , maybe you should just carry one of those instead . i also saw some guy tie a rope on his nuts and pull a bus in china on ripleys , maybe he could help you out when you get stuck .

 

[weez440]

at deercamp one of the guys got stuck with a 3/4 ton chevy and i pulled him out with my arctic cat atv with a 2500 pound winch. in another instance we were playing around in the mud one time and my buddy got stuck with his polaris ranger and we couldn't get him out with 3 winches hooked on 2 2500 pounders and a 3500 pound winch. finally we got it out so it all depends on how stuck you are and i believe when it comes to putting a winch on it is better to have too much the not enough.

 

[80t0ylc]

..............and i believe when it comes to putting a winch on it is better to have too much the not enough.

Words of wisdom - well almost. Trouble is - with that philosophy, you ain't ever going to have a big enough winch! When you do your wheeling, - banking on your winch keeping you from trouble or always rescuing you from your follies, you're going to end up disappointed. If you're needing help regularly 'cause your winch ain't big enough - getting a bigger winch will only be a temporary fix. 'Cause after you get that bigger winch - you'll just find a bigger, deeper hole, and start the whole process all over.

 

[weez440]

a winch wont get u out of 100 percent of the time but it helps to have a friend or two with winches with u to big good to small bad though as a winch that is pulling more then it is rated for is asking for disaster.

 

[shelfboy1]

its anoying to go wheeling with someone who uses to small a winch then asks for help because they screwed up.but we always help and some times make a new friend so small winches can be a good thing.

 

[informationjunky]

Just add this Jeep Articles / General (Wish I Thought of That... Trail Recovery Hook) - MoabJeeper Magazine to your recovery gear and you will be all set.

Please note sarcasm

 

[73fj40lc]

My winch doesn't factor into my decision of what I am going to drive through. I don't look for mud just to play in. I go through it while hunting or on the trails. My winch is just another tool to try and keep me self sufficient. Usually I end up helping the idiots that you describe out when they are stuck. I do look for recovery points before going into a nasty mess. There are different types of "mud". I have seen a vehicle in soupy mud. It didn't look bad at all but you could hardly move it because of the suction on the vehicle. Other times a vehicle was just about buried in the mud but came right out because of the consistency of the mud. My point is alot of times if you are alone or the first you don't know what you are getting into until you bite the bullet. During these times a heavy winch sure makes you feel better.