What's A Good Winch !

[Whopper Stopper]

What’s a good winch for pulling out a stuck truck (Tahoe)

I have been thinking about a winch for some time. With the thread going about the size of a timber in an 8-inch hole, I thought I would throw this out. I am not crazy about a hand-operated winch (lazy) but if some one knows of a good quality smooth jacking one I am all ears. I had more in mind an electric winch of some sort. I am not looking at breaking the bank but I certainly want one that will last and will have the power to get me out of a drift. If it could be put on and taken off fairly easily all the better.

Thanks for any suggestions you can throw my way!

WS

[jeffreyd]

warn winch the best out there

[minnbowhunter]

I have a Ramsey on my Jeep and like it alot, they're not cheap but you get what you pay for. When you are depending on a piece of equipment to get you out of a possible dangerous situation I don't go cheap.

[JSK76]

I put a no name 12,000# winch with a movable cradle so I can pull forward or back wards. I have $700.00 into it, but I will need $100.00 worth of battery cable to run to the rear of the truck. My winch looks exactly like a Smitybilt, witch after reading many pages of reviews people seem to be happy with them. Warn make a good winch but I couldn't get my self to spend the money on one.

[LucasMN]

Think about this...how often do you plan on getting stuck? I had a cheapo winch on my Explorer for years and never used it to pull myself out, only a couple four-wheelers. For me, it was a waste of money but may have been worth it for the possible convenience factor.

[JSK76]

I normally try to buy the best thing out there and for off roading or mudding I would go biggest and the best, because the suction of mud can make your truck weigh twice as much or you could be winching up hill and stuck in heavy mud. When it come to getting stuck on a lake in a drift just having a person able to push you by hand will get you out of most situations so to me having a cheaper or even a smaller winch for use on a level lake is acceptable or that at least how I talked my self into it!

[JumpStart73]

the one that brings ya beer

[minnbowhunter]

Think about this...how often do you plan on getting stuck?

I think I can honestly say that I have never planned on getting stuck. I also have never planned on getting a flat tire, or a dead battery. Just say'n

[Eelpout08]

the one that brings ya beer

10-4 it helps if shes easy on the eyes too!

anyway, Ramsey and Warn are two of the best ones out here. you are definitly gonna get what you pay for when it comes to a winch. if your using it only on a lake like was mentioned earlier and not very often or ever the elcheapo china model will hang there just like the rest of them. if you plan on it always getin the job done i would spend a little more the first time.

[Random guy]

We use our winches constantly up here, actaully a rig without one is a bad idea. Now we have both Warns and Ramseys that are great but the Superwinches need to be left at the store.

Now for lake use you are going to need a dead man to stick in an ice hole or you are going to have to drill two holes and down one and up the other making for wet arms.

[harvey lee]

A vote here for the WARN.

[McGurk]

Now for lake use you are going to need a dead man to stick in an ice hole or you are going to have to drill two holes and down one and up the other making for wet arms.

So Jonny, being you actually have experience getting rigs unstuck in ice fishing situations, what is your recommendation for a dead man? There is a separate discussion that has come to either using a 4' long 6"x6" in an 8" dia hole, or a 4x4 or stout metal pipe with a tie-off chain in the center dropped all the way down the hole and brought back up to span the hole under the ice. Any thoughts?