hey, ive got a 2WD ranger, and im sick and tired of getting stuck in the mud. so i decided that i would like to get a winch. i have absolutely no background on the subject, so i was wondering if you guys could help me out.

so basicly, i dont need a reallly high power one. just to get me out of the mud. im not looking to spend that much money on it, and there is no way im going to get a new bumper, or a brush gaurd, ( im planing on getting a friend to weld a bracket onto my bumper, to mount the winch.) my truck is, (i think) 3000lbs. im not sure though. i could be more, or less. (its a 1994 ranger XL)

so, heres where you come in.

any ideas on witch one to get?

how much it would cost?

how good it is?

is it worth it to buy one on ebay?

any better ideas on whereto mount it?

thanks a lot fellas!

 

You can get a smaller winch and keep some pulley blocks if it is ever not enough to get you out. Slower recovery, but it'll get the job done. :)

 

You can buy a smittybuilt for about $300.

Its an 8000lbs and would be perfect.

Your best bet for mounting would be to put a hitch on the front of your truck.

Anything less than an 8000lbs winch wouldn't be worth it IMO.

The measurements of a winch are a rolling weight. So a 3000lbs winch is for 3000 rolling lbs. If you are stuck it won't work.

The smittybuilt would probably be your best bet if you do not want to spend a ton.

 

x2 on the smittybuilt.

check 4wheelparts.com for it.

i know a few people that have that winch, and they absolutely love it. and it works great. i've been pulled out a time or two by one haha

 

If you've only got a stock bumper on your truck, chances are pretty good that you could rip it off when you try to winch yourself out.

You might want to look into getting a front reciever, which has already been mentioned. On the plus side, you can remove the winch when your not using it -and if you make your wires long enough, you could put the winch in a rear reciever if ever you need to go in the other direction.

 

Here is the cheapest I found one for.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Smitt...ht_7683wt_1120

 

as you guys can probably tell, im pretty noobish at this. but what are the odds that i would need a front hitch?

and what would i have to do in order for me to get a front hitch? i only know one person with a front hitch, and he made a custom skid plate/ front hitch.

and what would this cost?

 

You could get a front hitch for a ranger but they are gonna be expensive. If I were you I would just look for a hitch from a small pickup or jeep on CL and get that. Then cut off the ends where it mounts to the frame and then weld it onto your frame. That would be your best bet.

 

are you guys sure that i would pull off the bumper? its mounted right to the frame too. seems to me like, frame->metal bumper-> winch. would work as well as, frame->front hitch-> winch. but i really dont know any better. im just thinking this cause it seems like ive got a pretty solid metal bumper.

 

Where are you going to mount it to the bumper? There is no place to do it. And yes it will not hold up if you do mount it to the bumper. Frame is the only way to go.

 

i was thinking about welding a bracket right on to it. but now i guess otherwise.
im trying to have the lest amount of work possible. so does anyone think i could mount it to the rear bumper where the toeing hitch is already? and if so, how would that work?

thanks for the help you guys, and good looking out 98'.

im sure ill have more questions in he following days.

 

This is what you want, as stated by 98liftedranger...This is the set up I have on my 93 Ranger, the front hitch bolts to existing frame holes.





Yes, you can also use the rear hitch, you need to order a "multi-mount" winch carrier. This is a pic of the multi-mount on the rear of my 04, I still need to get a hitch for the rear of my 93...I was hoping to find one on craigslist

 

i must say. that is pretty damn badass.
how much did you spend on all of that?
and where did you happen to get all of the brackets and what-not?

and it looks like your ranger is lifited. does it have to be? (mine isnt, and i dont plan on doing it either)

 

No you don't have to have a lift in order to have what he has.

That just plugs into the hitch. And is just like having a receiver in there. Just slide that in the hitch and put the pin in. All there is to it.

Here are some options for a multi mount.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002Z9SYC
http://www.streetsideauto.com/produc...YMM&Reset=True
http://www.gowarn.com/search_result....rtNumber=26370
http://www.autoanything.com/winches/...x?kc=ffproduct

Not the cheapest but worth it if you ask me.

 

All you need to get is...No special brackets needed and no lift needed

Front Hitch

Multi-mount winch carrier

Winch

All you need to get is a Front Hitch from a local place that sells trailers, the hitch costs about $120, the multi-mount was $100, and the Winch (10,000lb)was $349...Oh, you need to get the Warn "Quick Connect" wiring kit for the rear if you want to use the winch from the rear.

These companies sell Mult-mounts (Anyone else that knows of any just post them up)

Warn
Draw-Tite
Mile Marker

Here is a link to my local trailer place, you can see what the price of a front hitch is and then below the hiches is the multi-mount winch carrier

http://www.hitchesforless.com/frontmount_main.htm

 

i will use that last post so very much. thanks so much for putting that up for me, sea-bass.

but i must ask more questions. im sorry if im getting really annoying. i just wanna know all of the choices i have before i make a purchase

i am now off the idea to mount the winch on the front bumper,

but i just thought of somehting,

/Users/Ashik/Desktop/1222081653.jpg

if you can see this photo, ( i dont know how to put up pictures in a post,{i just dragged and dropped})

you can see that where i have the toe ball, there is about enough space for a winch, (note that i have only see one winch in my life)

the toe ball area is rated for, " max tungue weight is 200lbs. max trailer weight is 2000lbs."

instead of buying a hitch mount, for the front/back, getting the cradle, could i put the winch on this? i would mount the license plate on the side.

i think it would work, because i looked under the bumper, and it is mounted right to the frame, and its used to tow things anyways.

but im no expert. what do you guys think?

 

oh and also, i wount be using the winch for extreme off roading or anything. just to get my self out of the mud whenever i get stuck off the side of the road. so im guessing that i wont need that much power coming from the winch. im sure like a 4000lbs winch will be wayyy more then enough. what are your thoughts?

 

The pic didn't work no. You need to host it on a site like photobucket or imageshack.

Do you not have a hitch in the rear? Are you talking about just the bumper?

And I doubt a 4000lbs winch would be good. Reread post number 3 again. And if that doesn't make sense let me know and I will explain it more.

 

i do not have a hitch in the rear. all i have is a toe ball, thats mounted to the bumper. and the bumper is classed at 2000lbs towing.

i think i might understand the post,

say my car is 3000lbs. if i get a 3000.lbs winch, it will be able to pull me at a dead stop, if the car is in nuetral?

pretty much all i need is a winch that will do half the work (at least i think)

what tends to happen to me is ill be dring down the road, pull over in the dirt, wet grass, mud. and try to go again. and just spinning tires. the winch would have to pull me out slowly, until i get traction.

will i still need a 8000lbs winch for my 3000lbs truck?

http://www.shoplocal.com/dl-50534461...table-winch.fp
could i use this? it comes with a tow ball bracket. and a buddy of mine has it. we used it to pull my truck up a towdolly when it broke down. and ip pulled it up a hill with ease. and its really cheap.!

ive got to go to work, and i wont be back untill at least eleven. so this is me signing out. next time i can be the forum is tomorrow around 8:00 DC time.

thanks so much for you help. looking forward to chatting with you soon.

 

hey another va person!

 

Umm... Yeah you kind of got it right. Do not mount a winch to your bumper. It will not work.

If you are trying to get out of this 'cheap' just don't buy yet. That winch you posted won't work. And if it does it won't last long. Go with a 6-8K winch.

If you are buried frame deep somewhere a 2-3K winch will not pull you out. Just go with a 6-8K winch. You will thank yourself in the end.

 

alright. ill take you advice. ive allways been an impulse buyer.

so this is what i will do, when i have the cash. if you could look over it, and tell me if its a good set up, it would be highly appreciated

http://search.cartserver.com/search/...anger&GO=GO%21

this is the front hitch i would get. ^^^

http://www.hitchesforless.com/front_...ounted_acc.htm

this is the winch mounting plate. ^^^^

but witch winch should i get? i bought the car for $500 and the front hitch and winch plate+ shipping is $240.00 and i really dont wanna spend that much on the winch. i really do not think i will be using a lot of towing power. im not going to be in that sticky of a spot. just something to help me out of the mudd.

 

Its up to you on the winch. You can take my advice and buy the 8000LBS winch (like I would) or you can buy the one you posted. That is up to you but that is my advice.

 

1:Buy a winch

2:Cut your bumper out so the winch can be bolted/welded to your frame and you still have your bumper in place MINUS the part cut out to accommodate the winch that will be nicely mounted in the MIDDLE of your frame.

3:Enjoy

This is what I will be doing on a poor mans budget,I already have the shop picket out and told them that I need a section cut out of my bumper so I can install a winch to the frame.

I hope this made sense to you.

Good luck

 

Ummm you do know you can cut your own bumper correct?? And how are they going to weld the winch to the frame?? There has to be some sort of mounting plate/bracket/holder.