mikeinatlanta

Getting a new 150 and sadly will have to give up my Mile Marker hydraulic winch. I've hade it since 2000 and it has been flawless for thousands of cycles. Longest pull it did was a 7,000lb rig through 300 yards of deep sand in 110 degree Arizona heat. Worst pull broke a 3/8 steel cable (twice) motivating the same rig through a deep snow drift on the Luis and Clark trail in Idaho. After dumping the steel for rope, biggest tree it's pulled down was 22" diameter at the base. Of course the rope was way high and the truck chained down.


Here is the question. For those who actually work the crap out of their winch. I mean those who use it for pulling down trees and pulling up stumps. Without regard to cost, what's the best winch compact enough for a hidden mounting in the grill and tough enough to give years of reliable beating. Nothing will ever match my hydraulic, so I'll pay what I need to in order to have the best. The Mile Marker is a 9,000lb, but a hydraulic can run at stall all day without ill effect so you don't need to oversize. Lacking electric experience, I'm assuming I'll need to be in the 11,000lb range with a backup battery??

I've spent hours searching winch comparisons and have found all of them to be nothing more than marketing for a particular brand and the occasional "best value" comparison. I want the no $h1t best that I can get and I'm struggling to find it.

Thanks

Steve83

Any working winch you have with you is better than any winch you don't have, or that doesn't work. There isn't a "no $#!+ best" of anything - winches included. What's best for you isn't necessarily best for me. Every answer you get will be someone's opinion, based on HIS OWN criteria - not yours. YOU have to weigh your needs & budget against each potential choice's advantages & drawbacks.

But for raw reliability, I like Ramsey worm-drive (RE series). It's the only brand I see on cement trucks & wreckers, which I consider the hardest-worked winches around. And they're made in USA (I'm only talking about the worm-drives), which is another big plus in my book. They offer it in electric or hydraulic; 12V or 24V; std.-width drum or extended-drum (for more line); roller or hawse fairlead; black or chrome (if you want to leave your winch out where thieves will notice it). My truck is too old for ready-made bumpers to still be commonly available, but even if they were, I designed & built my own. It has MANY more features than most, and some unique features. But other than the fairlead & hook, it hides the winch from passersby, so it's fairly inconspicuous (as full bumper/grill guards go). And it's still easy for me to get to the winch for operation or maintenance. So consider designing your own.


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Many of the other "brands" are just stickers - the winches all come off the same Chinese assembly line with the same crappy parts, and exaggerated load ratings (including Ramsey's cheapest line).


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The universally-accepted rule-of-thumb for self-recovery winches is 1.5x the curb weight of the vehicle it's on. But if you carry a ****** block or 2, and you're not in a rush, you can get by with a substantially-cheaper winch. If you think you might one day get stuck on a long, slick hill with a loaded trailer, you might want to go heavier ($$$er). My Bronco weighs almost exactly 6Kip (yeah, it has a LOT of extra weight), but Ramsey doesn't make a 9K worm-drive. So I was hoping for a 10K, but I lucked into a 12K. Go figure...


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When I rebuilt the truck the last time, I integrated a 2nd battery into the chassis & wiring to support the (hog) winch, and it HAS paid for itself. So if you do a lot of winching, it's worth the cost & effort. Mine is set up so it's cheap, reliable, repairable, and versatile - I can start & drive on the aux. batt. even if the main batt. is dead or stolen, just by flipping a little switch on the dash. And it's right beside a little light that tells me if either battery is weak, and WHICH is. But both batteries get full alternator voltage (UNlike most commercially-available isolators), and can be linked/isolated by the dash switch at any time. I don't have to stop, open the hood, & work some monster switch dial.


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STingray1300

As a Warn Zeon (not a VR) owner, the only input I will give is this: you get what you pay for...

mikeinatlanta

Thanks for the input. That is why I tried to be clear on how I use the winch, and also stated that I'm looking for compact enough to use a hidden mount. Is there a worm drive that will fit with hidden mounting? How are the Ramsey hydraulics powered? My Mile Marker uses the power steering pump, but of course that is no longer an option.

Steve83

I don't understand why the PS pump isn't an option - do new F150s have all-electric PS? If so: yes, you'd need some other hydraulic pump for the winch. Either a PS pump you hook to the belt, or a PTO-drive off the trans/t-case.

Did you look at mine? As I said: it's fairly hidden. The bumper I built is <2 inches deeper (fore-aft) than stock, and the same in the other directions. But most new trucks I've seen have more room between the bumper & condenser, so you might not need extra depth. Have you looked behind the new bumper or measured how much space there is?

jp360cj

All 2011+ F150s have electric power steering (with the exception of the 11-14 6.2s). And I'm not sure if the trans or tcase will accept a PTO.

But there is a lot room behind the bumpers of these trucks (although the 11-14 Ecoboosts have an intercooler behind where you mount a hidden winch).

Woods Truck

I picked up a Warn 9000i for my Bronco, realized I may never need it so I tucked it behind the bumper of my '12 F150. Spring loaded plate mount covers the whole thing up pretty nicely.

mikeinatlanta

Interesting post. Are you saying the 18 3.5 eco has room for a hidden winch? I was of the understanding that they would not fit.

jp360cj

I have no idea what might fit on a 2018 EB. Does anyone make a winch mount for behind the bumper?

mikeinatlanta

All I have seen say they won't fit with the EB. Several on the market for non-EB.