Electric Winch Install

FireFighterHill said:

Id love to go the electric route because its so simple. But I dont think 18,000 pounds is enough. A snatch block to double the pulling strength would be a necessity, and if you run into a situation where you need the entire length of your winch line and not half, you may be screwed.

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The stock pto winches are if i recall 10,000 lbs.... i don't see your argument.

ShaggyTheGreat said:

The stock pto winches are if i recall 10,000 lbs.... i don't see your argument.

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Stock front 5 ton winches are 20,000 lbs

We installed a 12,000lb Electric Winch in the front of our 25K Tag Trailer last summer, which we use primarily to haul our race truck.

So far it is a big disappointment, for all the reasons mentioned so far. BUT, since neither my M52A2 or M109A2 is set up with a PTO

we are also considering a much larger electric winch over all the problems of converting over to a PTO unit.

Now here is a twist of an idea from my fabricator son: Use a small(5-10hp) gas engine mounted on the front of our trailer, that would power

an hydraulic pump for a 20K PTO winch mounted above it.... Not a viable option for a truck bumper mounted unit, but could still be used

for recovery operations.

And it can double for your wood splitter power source! I think many have a dual pump with a high and low flow rate so may work for a light load (full flow, low pressure) or a heavy one (low flow, high pressure) . Make sure you have about 1.5 times the cylinder capacity in the tank.

(Sorry, had dump cylinder in mind). Motor would not need large tank, but fluid would heat some.

Or use a electric over hydraulic pump setup like a dump trailer uses, that way you just flip switch on and have hydraulic power even if truck isnt running. I have thought about trying this setup before, you would have reservoir/motor/pump all in one package.

I have a dump trailer with the setup. Not very much hp. Would be slow with a winch. VEEEEERRRRRRYYYYYY slow I think.

One can purchase a 24Vdc motor pump from a forklift that might come close if the winch motor is just the right size. You won't do it with the motor on the winch on my 925...looks to be many gallon/minute... way more than you'll have at any reasonable pressure with the electric.

A nice size Honda with a two stage pump would be sweet. Doesn't every trailer need a log splitter attached?

ShaggyTheGreat said:

If the truck is stalled say when fording water and it wont start, a electro winch will get you out, with a pto winch EDIT.

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It "might" get you out provided you don't drain your batteries before you are out of the water etc. I mean electrical winches has their merits, but its not for fun and games when people that are using their winches in a professional and regular capacity tend to favour Hydraulics over electrics. But I agree for the occasional recovery etc you can get a decent acceptable electrical winch for a fraction of the cost of purchase and installation of a hydraulic one.

I have a 1991 M925A2 (factory front hydraulic 20k winch). I also have a rollback tow truck of which I installed a used 10k Mile Marker hydraulic winch, bought it for $500. These run off the power steering system, are 2 speed, and work fabulous. I believe these are also stock on the front of some H1's. Hydraulic won't burn up, and works underwater, as compared to electric. They work fabulous.

If doubled back with a snatch, it becomes a 20k winch, which installs easily. I am adding one to the rear of my M925A2. If I needed to add a winch to anything with power steering, this is how I would do it, and for $500.

i installed a warn 12 000 24 volt winch on my 923a2.
Im having problems posting picks Pm with your e mail i will send you some

winches

I like one of each. An electric on the front for pulling out little stuff like Fords and Toyota's etc. Or, when I'm by myself, an electric winch is much easier and safer. I don't pretend it will do near the job of a PTO. And a 20k PTO on the rear for serious jobs and a soldier B to help.

WHERE --- where can I find different winches to decide on what and how I would like to add a winch to my rig?

I got got stuck and called the wrecker Co. Work great for the M35A2 I got...The bill wasn't to bad..Got home ok and eat the luch with the wife also...Lots of quality time...I now have a Wern 16,000 Electric wench on the M35A2..

Big Tex said:

WHERE --- where can I find different winches to decide on what and how I would like to add a winch to my rig?

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The only gov"t surplus electric winch easily obtained is the Warn 18000 from the MRAPs.

NDT said:

The only gov"t surplus electric winch easily obtained is the Warn 18000 from the MRAPs.

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Not to bust anyone's bubble, but these winches will not recover a stuck 5 ton.

As soon as you put a good strain on it the overheat/overload kicks on, had to use a 5 ton wrecker w/hyd. winch.

I used 2 different warn equipped trucks.The winches will pull out stuck pickups all day long, just not a 5 ton.

MRAPS are heavier and they come standard with an 18k electric winch. Be careful of the junk on GL right now as you can purchase a like new warn 18k in excellent shape with all the accessories for 850 or less delivered. As with anything electric you must size your wire to have a less than 3% voltage drop if you want to increase the duty cycle of the winch. Also, electrics are easier to install and they are sealed to prevent damage from submerging the winch in water. I have 2 on my 923A2. The other thing about a winch is the rating. An 18k winch is what the 3rd layer is rated, the second is 14k, and the first layer is 12k. So any winch will loose quite a bit of its rated capacity with the winch cable extended to the first layer. Around 33%. Just something to think about.

infidel got me said:

Not to bust anyone's bubble, but these winches will not recover a stuck 5 ton.

As soon as you put a good strain on it the overheat/overload kicks on, had to use a 5 ton wrecker w/hyd. winch.

I used 2 different warn equipped trucks.The winches will pull out stuck pickups all day long, just not a 5 ton.

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Just add snatch blocks as necessary. Put enough snatch blocks on it and a little girl on an tricycle can pull out an LVS.

A snatcher cuts the line length in half, and electric winches don't have a huge spool to begin with. I had my 925A2 stuck in several feet of mud, the closest tree was 190' away, and there is 200' of cable on the spool. Even so, the 20,000lb hydraulic winch pulled it out effortlessly with the truck in neutral. I am more of the mind of larger winch and no snatch (pun?), spent the $ up front to get the hydro winch (925 vs 923). Worked so well I bought a second to add to the rear under the bed. I should be able to hook to 2 trees and make a hammock out of the truck.

74M35A2 said:

A snatcher cuts the line length in half, and electric winches don't have a huge spool to begin with. I had my 925A2 stuck in several feet of mud, the closest tree was 190' away, and there is 200' of cable on the spool. Even so, the 20,000lb hydraulic winch pulled it out effortlessly with the truck in neutral. I am more of the mind of larger winch and no snatch (pun?), spent the $ up front to get the hydro winch (925 vs 923). Worked so well I bought a second to add to the rear under the bed. I should be able to hook to 2 trees and make a hammock out of the truck.

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That was about the same position I was in.

Hydraulic is the way to go, we are putting a 20,000lb in my buddies bed, going to use a log splitter set up to power it.

It is self-contained and should work fine, plus we don't have to hunt pto parts. He still has the 18000lb on the front to pull the 20,000 winch cable out lol