So i got stuck last week on wed and didnt get it out until friday night. Somehow managed do do it with out breaking anything though. A testiment to how tuff these trucks are. Any ways, for the money I spent getting myself out of that hole I could have bought a winch so im thinking about just going ahead and doing that in the future.

My question is, has anybody successfully been able to mount one behind the stock front bumper without having to have a huge texas looking bumper in the front. I know it can be done with a gas truck but I hear it cant be done on a diesel because of the inter-cooler. Also if anybody has some cool pics of there trucks and how they mounted their winches that would be helpful.
Thanks in advance for all the help guys.

 

you could get a front mount hitch and mount the winch the the square hitch tubing and that way you can go from front to back... if you run power to the back anyway

 

I just got the 10,000 lb. winch from Sam's Club. It's a Champion (I think made by MileMarker) and it was a STEAL at $270 complete with the hitch mount and front and back detachable power cables. I wasn't really looking for a winch but saw this with all the accessories and couldn't resist. The thing is well put together and I figure if I use it only once it will have paid for itself....

 

Electric, I take it?

 

One thing i ment to ask earlier is has anybody ever tried a hydroulic (sp?) winch. i know we have a PTO on the gear box. That would be awesome to have a big ol rowdy winch and lines sitin up front ha.

 

PTO pumps are $$$$$ most people dont run them

 

Yeah, electric. Nicely put together. The problem I thought with hydraulic winches (other than the million bucks to buy them) is that the truck has to be running (and your PS system has to be intact) for them to work. $270? Fuggeddaboutit.... Captain Coop, as for the PTO option, I know we (as in me) have the plate on the transfer case, I believe Dodge pulled the internal components prior to my year to save exactly $6.37 or so. I don't know what you're driving so I can't speak to your personal situation....

 

Oh, well it sounds like a moot point anyways but I have an 01. it does have the PTO plat but idk if it actually has the internal workings. But ya, by the time i got out of that creek last week i had spent about 500$ . Hopefullly i will have a winch installed before I make that mistake again. If not I will just by it and install it on the trail haha.

 

Mine's kept in the truck bed tool box. Weighs like 90 pounds or something. It takes about 3-5 minutes to drag it out and have it hooked up ready to pull. Nice insurance, though....

 

I am in the process of installing a hydraulic Mile Marker on my truck as I write this. The argument of "you have to have the truck running" does not mean anything to me. If it ain't running, the electric winch won't move it by any meaningful amount. For the price I'd also rather have an electric than nothing but if I plan to ever use it I prefer hydraulic. The videos of tests on Milemarker web site are as convincing as it gets.
I will post pictures of my hydro setup once I am done. I decided against front mounting (I like the stock look and the fact that it fits in the garage, and dislike the $1k+ price of winch bumpers) and going with a center mount. Spare tire had to go into the bed, that is a bummer But I plan to see if I can route the winch both fwd and rear. Unfortunately I put the e-brake in the way of cable going fwd...

 

Im pretty much going all out with my winch setup. I got a Warn industrial 12,000 pound hydraulic winch. I am going to be removing the stock vacuum/steering pump and running a dedicated 15gpm hydraulic pump. the hydraulics will run the winch and steering. eventually I am going to upgrade to hydroboost which will be ran off the pump also. It will probably be overkill with a 10 gallon resivoir, 1 inch high pressure lines, filters etc.

I am going to be mounting it above the rear axle under the bed. the rope will be running to the rear bumprer and around a removeable ****** block and then down the passenger side frame rail to the front bumper where the hook will be. that way I can use it in the front or rear without changing anything around. I do alot of offroading though.

 

I've fabbed a similar setup in the past. However, you limit your angle, both horizontally and vertically, at which you can pull with that setup(unless you attach a stout eye hook made of 3/4 "or so bar stock to run the line through...front and rear..there by changing your winching point).. A receiver placed front and rear is easier, and you can use to mount a vise also.......as far as a PTO driven or electric......electric gives you more options with a dead engine......I would argue that a battery will operate a winch just fine with the engine not running( I've done it many times......slower, but strong enough to pull you out).......I've even mounted a dedicated battery for the winch for some applications. I also do alot of off road driving.

 

I am working on some stout bumpers right now that will have roller fairleads to allow for angled pulls.

 

Sounds like you have it figured out.....good luck........being stuck is no fun.

 

Wait...? you can mount a winch under the truck in a way that allows you to pull in both directions!!!! how do you do that. that def sounds like the best way to go. What is the downside to doing this.