| WINCHES |
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| You may not get stuck often or may have never been stuck before, but the day WILL come when you will need a winch. If not for you, then a friend in need. If you ride with others that have winches then you are normally OK. But still, those who take care of their own troubles are much more respected than those constantly crying for help. Not to mention, a winch can be a very handy thing to have even around the house. They can do alot more than pull you out of a mudhole! You can uproot small trees and bushes, move large trees that have been cut, drag vehicles around, etc. I built a fencepost driver that mounts to the bumper and uses the weight of the truck to drive post down. Also made a "Gin Pole" attachment. Two 4" pipes(12' long) that form an "A" with a pulley in the center where they meet. Being adjustable(up and down by chain) they are great for pulling a motor straight up out of a vehicle and then driving it wherever it needs to be. So anyway, you can't go wrong with having a winch. They are a bit on the expensive side, but between the peace of mind you get and the relief you feel after the 1st time using it, they are worth every penny they cost and more! What kind? There are several different types but probaly 95% of all 4x4's run either electric or PTO. And probaly 75% of those run electric. Each type has it's good and bad point's, and most people tend to go electric even though the PTO is a much stronger winch. Electric: Have a pull rating from 2,000 to 12,000 lbs. An 8,000 lb is the standard for most trucks. As long as your battery and charging system is in great shape it will unstick most trucks. If you happen to have an extremely large vehicle or simply find yourself extremely stuck, that is when the 12,000 lb is nice to have. Electrics are also "User Friendly". They normally come with several different line speeds(from super slow to zip), reverse, auto-brake, etc. Plus an electric allows not only the winch to pull, but lets the truck help also. You can run the winch and gas on it at the same time. They are remote controlled. Their biggest drawback is how much electricity they use. Under full load, they can drain a fully charged battery in less than a minute. Which normally requires either a BIGGER battery or dual batteries(one for the winch, one for the truck) All things considered, the electric is a good choice for most people. They do their job quite well. PTO: Power Take Off units. A very different creature than an electric. These are powered by your engine itself. PTO units can't be rated as electrics are. An electric rating(8,000lbs) is the point at which the winch stalls and can pull no more. PTO's do not stall. They just keep pulling....no matter what happens. They are what is found on tractors, bulldozers, Tow Trucks, 18-wheelers, etc. Simply put, when you engage a PTO winch, SOMETHING is gonna move. They are set up as a small gearbox mounted to either your transfer case or tranny. This gearbox has a small driveshaft running alongside your engine to the front bumper. By having a couple of small U-joints in it, it angles upward directly into the winch itself. When you engage the gearbox the gears mesh together so that the driveshaft starts spinning, then there is a lever on the winch itself to engage or dis-engage the spool. Line speed is directly controlled by the gas pedal. As is how HARD it pulls, also! It has a very slow line speed compared to an electric, but it will keep on pulling LONG after the electric has given up. Usually, about the only ways a PTO might let you down is by a snapped cable, broken U-joint, front bumper gets ripped off, or the tree you are winching to comes uprooted. Their biggest drawback is simply trying to find one. They seem to be getting more popular and are getting harder to run across. So if you happen to find one, snatch it up. Even if you don't use it, makes for great parts trading. Some of our really Hardcore trucks have the best of both. PTO's in the front and 12,000 lb Warns in the back. Perfect setup for a leader to have! |
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