1. You will need to store it somehow, this stuff is heavy, bounces around easy.
2. If your stuck and your receiver is covered, your gonna have trouble getting it attached and working.
3. Only allows a retreat as an option
4. As with all winches, your only as good as the strength of the anchor point or the anchor point you can reach.
There are severall brands arround, I saw them live at the overland expo "abenteuer allrad" in germany - but sadly, forgot the brand who shows their product there.
NO! For the amp load you'll be pulling, you will have to use the heavy gauge harness that comes with the winch / mount kit and connect to the battery, preferably through a continuous duty solenoid and a high amp fuse .... these things draw a few hundred amps at rated load.
So for the winch being located on the rear, what will I need? An additional battery or can I run heavy duty wires to the car battery from the rear of the car?
You don't need an extra battery. You will need to run good heavy gauge wires to the plug in point and solenoid. Some people go to a welding shop and get their high quality cables because they are still flexible even when thick.
Look at how much electrical load you will have, then search the gauge cable you need for the distance you are running them. The last thing you need is too small a gauge of cable that can heat up or catch fire.
^ x2. For occasional use, the cables and quick connector that comes with most trailer hitch mounting cradle kits will be adequate for your needs. Simple hook that up to your battery.
As a side benefit, Warn makes jumper cables that connect to the same connector.
I am thinking about having a portable winch setup amd am considering the Warn 9.5cti and a Pull Pal. What do you guys think? Also any preferred on line retailers per your experience?
I think for your primarily sand and mud excursions those should work very well for you.
Remember that if you get a single pulley, you can double your winches pulling capabilty, so, take that into acount when getting shackles or when deciding on which weight pull-pal you get.
Also keep in mind that the weight of that winch is 125lbs. If you swap out the cable for a synthetic line and do a hawse fairlead you can save a ton of weight, I think near 40lbs. I think I bought a winch from winchdepot.com years ago.
Another option is getting the 8k Warn, finding a cradle mount for it, and being ready to use the pulley if needed to get you to 16k lbs. Link to cradle: http://www.okoffroad.com/stuff-winchcradle.htm. Doesn't look hard to make.
