I just purchased a used Warn M12000 winch. I have downloaded the user’s manual, spare parts list, and winching techniques manual. I am concerned about the mounting of the winch. I have an old ARB bumper and it says that it can hold an M10000 or an M12000. The Warn manual says to mount it onto a bumper that has a thinkness of 5/16” (0.3125”.) I don’t think that the ARB bumper is that thick. Are there any plates or modifications I need to make in order for the ARB bumper to handle the theoretical maximum of 12,000 lbs? I never plan to use it for that load as I would use a snatch block before that.
Is there good reading I should be doing to prepare myself to use the winch properly? My 4x4 club has a recovery day where techniques and practice are done so that’s a start. I found a nice article on pirate4x4 showing the multipliers to calculate the force needed to pull out a vehicle (i.e. mud and incline means multiply GVW by some number.) I understand common sense will go a long way but I believe that educating myself properly will also help me use it safely.
Any recommendations from the experienced winch users out there would be much appreciated. I have only been into offroading for a short period of time and I want to make sure I use the winch as a proper tool rather than some flashy toy I dangerously mess around with.
As a side note: I have already purchased a tree protector and snatch block. Warn says a choke chain should also be carried but when does carrying so many extras become too much?
Is there good reading I should be doing to prepare myself to use the winch properly? My 4x4 club has a recovery day where techniques and practice are done so that’s a start. I found a nice article on pirate4x4 showing the multipliers to calculate the force needed to pull out a vehicle (i.e. mud and incline means multiply GVW by some number.) I understand common sense will go a long way but I believe that educating myself properly will also help me use it safely.
Any recommendations from the experienced winch users out there would be much appreciated. I have only been into offroading for a short period of time and I want to make sure I use the winch as a proper tool rather than some flashy toy I dangerously mess around with.
As a side note: I have already purchased a tree protector and snatch block. Warn says a choke chain should also be carried but when does carrying so many extras become too much?
