ok i've been reading which winch is the best. That just gave me a headache. so what i really want to know is how big of a winch do i need? i have an 84 4runner, 5inch lift soon to be 33" tires. is there some kind of table or calculation to use? mainly going to be pulling out of mud. TIA

 

Id go with an 8-9K pound warn of your choise. I have seen to many Mile Markers break the casing, Ramsey's almost never work, and i have yet to see a T-max on the trail, so i cant comment on them as i have no real experience with them. I personally like the 8274-50's the best, but they arent cheap.

 

I agree with Joe. 8-9 k is all you need and I also recommend Warn. I have the Warn xd9000i and it has plenty of power to spare. I was trying to move a large piece of structure with mine, with a huge Dodge diesel as an anchor and 10 foot 4X4's blocking my tires (front and rear). When I fired the winch up it dragged both trucks forward with the 4X4's plowing dirt. Amazing. It finally got to a point where it just lifted the front of my runner off the ground. Get a snatch block and you'll double your pulling power (not that you'll ever need that much power, but what the hell).

 

1.5 times vehicle weight is sort of a minimum. I went w/ 9000# on my '85 and have never regretted that, a bigger winch will pull less current than a smaller winch at lower loads:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/4R_bumpers.shtml#Winch

First time I used my winch to pull myself out of some deep, wet snow, I stalled it (too far away to the anchor to use a snatch block), so you can never have too much winch.

 

I went along the lines of what Roger said. I read a article/FAQ on basic winch questions and one was how much winch you need.

1.5x your gross vehicle weight was the answer. For me that came out to 7,700+ or so lbs. I decided 8000lb was too close and got myself a 9000lb winch.

 

Regarding MileMarkers, the hydraulics are fine - better than fine. The electrics are made by another company and I wouldn't use those.

 

The electric winches are made in China. I have a Milemarker E8000 and this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40764 as well and they are identical with the exception of the winch plate that comes with this one. They are priced similarly as well. I have had my Milemarker for almost 3 years now, and I have no problems with it. I had Masterpull 5/16" line on it, but I swapped it to my other truck that has the HF winch since it is my main wheeler now. I have no complaints with either one. With the money that I saved on the winches, the synthetic line seems that much cheaper.

 

i have a ramsey 9000lb on my 85 runner it is awesome. ramsey says in their promos that 9out of 10 tow trucks use ramseys on them, and you know everytime i get close enough to a tow truck lately i look to see if they are full of crap, everyone i have seen has been a ramsey all beat to hell and still working....

 

one other thing to think about hydraulics are great till you are on your side or underwater......

 

Hydraulics work fine underwater. The only time they don't work is when your engine isn't running. But if your engine isn't running for a hydraulic, it isn't running for an electric. So you better have a dual optima setup or you won't be winching far. Or, if you do manage to get yourself unstuck, you'll be out of juice by the time you fix whatever has stalled your truck in the first place.

 

how hard is it to install a hydraulic winch? would my stock powersteering pump handle it?

 

If you're talking mud, I'd go w/ the biggest you can afford.

A lot of guys here are West Coast guys, and aren't familiar w/ our East Coast MUCK...

9500 Warn would be my starting point...