Thread: Winch Selection Advise

Originally Posted by RVR110

I'm sorry ugu80, but Post-purchase rationalization would NEVER happen on this forum. Everyone here is completely objective about their vehicles and totally brand agnostic, same as on other 4WD forums.

lol gotta agree....on the other hand you have those that are happy to bag a product but have never experienced it, had one fitted or afford it.........

I have had 2x Aldi, 1x Warn 8274 Hi-Mount and 1.5x Thomas PTO winches through my hands. The Warn has been with me the longest therefore must be most reliable on a number of failures vs time graph, the Aldi jobs only survived a few weeks, but the PTO is easily my favourite, I like oddities and alternative solutions!

Interestingly, the Hi-mount and the PTO winch date from the same period, back when winches were very expensive rarities in the 4WD world that were moved from car to car and manufacturers didn't build in obsolescence (thus made reliable goods). There are a fair few 20+ year old 8274s around, and still will be around in another 20 years.

The hydraulic winches I suspect would be just as robust and reliable as the PTO and 8274 winches.



Now, just because none of my winches have been used by me has no factor in it at all, certainly not making me an expert at hearsay or anything. Heck, of the four, only the Warn has been on my 110 (for a week or two) and never wired up!

Oh, you wanted useful feedback

Buyer's Stockholm Syndrome,

Not for me. I`m a tool maker by trade. So I have a reasonable knowledge of engineering principles. Hence why I brought the winch I have.
Cheers Hall

Originally Posted by Hall

Not for me. I`m a tool maker by trade. So I have a reasonable knowledge of engineering principles. Hence why I brought the winch I have.
Cheers Hall

stop teasing us and tell more about your set up please

Hydraulic Red Winches look good

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VItKSl1BVk]Very Stuck Unimog Hybrid Recovered By A PTO Driven RED Winch - YouTube[/ame]

Originally Posted by inside

Hydraulic Red Winches look good

Very Stuck Unimog Hybrid Recovered By A PTO Driven RED Winch - YouTube

They look great but a mate of mine has one and it was a lot of work to hook up and get right and its very heavy. Also comes with a reasonably large price tag.

stop teasing us and tell more about your set up please

I did post up some info on the winch. It is a Hickey side winder winch circa1988. Works through a gear box and a worm drive. Also is a capstan style drum as the drums sits vertical. This allows winching at angle to the winch with out the cable bunching up one side of the drum. Worm drive acts as a force multiplier, so with the reduction from the gears it does not take a lot of motor to get the job done. Speed is between a Warne high mount and a low mount. I believe they fell out of favour because they are not a straight mount up as the bolt pattern is not what the 4wd industry now uses as a standard. Also they could occasionally pinch the cable. Now with the advent of rope this problem would be no more. One other good point of these winches. They can be mid mounted real easy for two reasons. First is the drum being vertical, so the cable does not have to spool from side to side allowing a much neater cable path. Secondly the drum engage and release is easily adapted to a remote system. Parts will be a issue, but it has lasted some time now and the only thing I replaced in rebuilding it was a machined pin. Seals and bearings where all readily available. Built real strong. Have tested it. Pulling a log up a bank, log dug in, ute dragged forward wheel chocks and all. Good enough for me.
Cheers Hall

Originally Posted by chook73

They look great but a mate of mine has one and it was a lot of work to hook up and get right and its very heavy. Also comes with a reasonably large price tag.

yes Hyd is expesnive if buying all new parts of the shelf. Not sure that its a lot of work to hook up and get right though. The winch itself, any idea what that cost? Mile Maker could be cheaper?