Winch Capacity Chart

[wyperfield]

While researching winches for my D3, I came across a table on the Superwinch USA site. Its the only one I have seen that gives an explanation for winch capacity selection.

4x4 Winch Selection - Superwinch (http://www.superwinch.com/4x4_Winch.html)

It suggests selecting a winch that is 1 1/2 times the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW).
Landrover D3 TDV6 GVW (lbs) = aprox 7,000 lb
Minimum Winch Required (lbs) = 10,500 lb

Lots of people have 9,000 lb winches on their Disco 3's so they must work fine, although going by this recommendation, a 10,500 or 12,000 lb is preferable.
I have used a hand winch several times (5,500 lb rating) on smaller 4WD's and the only time the shear pin has given way was when pulling the fully loaded up D3 out of a spot. You definitely notice how heavy it is when winching.

[amaruskanic]

I assume thats on a straight pull, so add a block / pulley and your easily covered.

[101RRS]

It also highlights that you only have a few mtrs of real pulling power as there can only be a few meters on the drum at max pull - I guess this is where the standard 101 winch comes into its own being a capstan with heaps of wire.

Garry

[rmp]

A 9000 or 9500lb is fine on the D3.

It's more than enough to recover the other vehicles in the convoy.

[isuzurover]

It wasn't too many years ago that an 8000lb winch was considered huge. Military series landies were fitted with 6000lb winches.

Considering that most of the time a winch is just a dead weight doing nothing but increasing fuel consumption, I prefer to fit a smaller winch, and use a snatch block or two if the situation requires it.

The above assumes that you want a winch for touring or occasional recreational use. If you are looking at comps - then forget the 12000lb - go an 8274 with triple motors! :twisted:

[RichardK]

My Mile marker is 10500lbs, just fitting up the hydraulics before the High Country run, due to the amount of rain and I'm pulling the camper I've chickened out and will set the winch up