Advice for putting winch on my F 150

[Madman_Mark]

I have a 2008 Ford F150 4x4 and Im looking for a winch to put on the back of it. I've decided to get one made by "Warn" that mounts into the rear receiver hitch and can also be pulled out and mounted on the front ....depending on where you need it at the time. I own a small " part time" tree and brush removal business and it will mainly be used for sometimes winching trees/blowdowns and logs around houses and driveways etc...It has 9000 lbs of pull and in my opinion should work fine for what I need although I realize it will pull the truck backwrds if I try hauling something too big. Just looking for opinions about this set up or any experience with this particular winch etc....Is it possible I could damage the frame etc....if atttempting to pull too much ? What do you think ?

[madmari]

Better off to straight cable to a tree. Takes a heavy duty winch, like > 4 ton to count on a safe pull.

[pineywoods]

I assume you are talking electric 12 volt winch. You are not likely to damage the truck frame, but you most likely will toast a battery or 2 and burn up some electrical cables feeding the winch. These things pull a lot of amps. Better to use a separate heavy duty battery for the winch. Cheap jumper cables won't do the job. Cables and connectors between the battery and the winch need to be heavy enough to carry 200-300 amps.
Also if you read the fine print, you'll find that most of them are rated for intermittent use only.

[Ga_Boy]

In the interest of due diligence, have you considered a Mile Marker winch?  They are hydraulic, and use the power steering pump to supply the winch.

They are a little more expensive in up front cost, but you have greater pulling power.  You do not have to worry about routing electrical power cables, the power cables cables over heating or dead dead batteries.

Food for thought.

[Ironwood]

Your electric Warn should serve you fine. The problem with hydraulic is you'de need to run "wet lines " front and rear.

Sounds like a good match.

Ironwood

[Madman_Mark]

I dont want to get into hydraulics,I like the fact that I can mount it on the front or back in minutes. Its 12V,9000 lbs pull ( 4 tons ) and requires a 650 CCA battery. May even need to haul my truck out of someones septic tank with it someday also  :-[

[T Welsh]

Mark, I have had 3 winches in the past. all Warn! 2 8000,s and the current one that,s on my F-350 is a 12,000. They will serve you well, as stated they are intended for intermittent use, but I have used them all day with little or no problems. They do draw a lot of amp,s. I run two 1000 amp battery,s in the truck, and also have the truck running while winching,letting the alt. charge as you use it. Mine have all been on the front of truck. if you like the idea of dual use front and back on receiver hitch you will need to wire it, disconnects front and back and enough cable to get to the back. thats where you,ll get sticker shock, I use welding cable and the last time I checked it was around $4 to $5 @ foot. good disconnects are pricey too. Happy Winching! Tim

[bill m]

Another thing to consider is that receiver hitches do not hold up to a side pull very well. Try to have your line of pull as straight as possible. AW Direct has power cable sets with quick connects. That is what I used for the winch on my trailer.

[John Woodworth]

I have a waren 8000 on my truck, the winch was new in 1977 and am using a single battrey, I couldn't possibly tell you what this winc has done for me in the past, tree work, parbuckling oversize logs on my mill, lifting and as you guess getting out of mud, the Warn in a tough winch and trouble free (one brake band and one bearing in 33 years) it has good line speed and will not harm your truck if used with common science, good brand, good choice.