As this very thread shows, choosing a winch, like almost every other choice, is a compromise. There's no right answer, it's just a matter of the importance that you, as an individual, attach to the various features and advantages (or lack thereof) of each possible choice.
I like lists, so:
- Personal safety
- Rope capacity
- Drum configuration
- Ability to take synthetic rope
- Pulling time without the engine running
- Duty cycle under load
- Load capacity
- Reliability
- Durability
- Weight
- Ease of installation
- Cost
- Maintenance requirements
- Mounting configuration
- Line speed under load
- Respool speed
- Ease of operation
I'm sure there are many more considerations - these were just the ones that occurred to me, and in no particular order.
What makes it hard to choose a specific product is that it's not just deciding which factors are most important to you, it's deciding (and assessing) the trade-off rates. So how
much extra cost are you prepared to incur to get (how much?) extra reliability? And how would you usefully assess the reliability on that scale, of a cheaper versus a more expensive winch?
It becomes a matter of knowing the circumstances under which you will be using a winch, and judging the experience and opinions of others who use theirs under similar circumstances.
So, for what it's worth, here's my reasoning for a vehicle used primarily for expeditions to remote places:
Firstly, why have one at all? For a start, one winch between several vehicles may be enough. And even alone, if you think you are unlikely to get stuck, and that if you do, you will be able to get free after a few hours with a high-lift jack and a Tirfor, then the weight and cost of a winch might well be avoided altogether. Provided the consequences of being unsuccessful are not too dire, of course.
Ok, so you are going to a place where you might get quite badly stuck, and where an hour with a winch can save you a day without one...
Firstly, I would say if it's worth having a winch at all, it's worth spending money on a good one. If the winch seals poorly against water and dirt, and the components are low-quality, then come the day you need it, you'll find it's all corroded, or the gears strip or the motor seizes or whatever. I've had
that happen a few too many times.
I'd choose a mechanical or hydraulic winch. Yes, they don't work if the engine doesn't run. In reality, that
only matters if you're in a river too deep for your engine to run. So don't go there (certainly not solo). You'll drown the engine even before you need the winch. Send the other guy and see what happens. Then you can winch or pull him out and rebuild his engine together.
Other situations where it's vital to winch without an engine are very rare - you need a lot of imagination to come up with any compelling scenarios!
Once one's got over that disadvantage, then mechanical and hydraulic winches are pretty clear winners (cost aside). The plus-points below apply to the Milemarker hydraulic H12000 specifically (I think it's a very good hydraulic winch for the price), but most of them apply to hydro and mechanical winches in general:
1) They will run all day, quietly, with no overheating, no loss of power, and without having to rev the engine. This fuss-free operation is a huge benefit when you undertake a long, complex recovery - i.e. when you really
need a winch.
2) Simple - therefore (in my experience) reliable, durable, and low maintenance.
3) Slow and powerful (4-5 tons actual line-pull in my experience), but with high speed respool.
4) Speed and line-pull are both very constant. Electric motors react to resistance by drawing more amperage, so a nearly-stalled electric winch can generate huge line-pull spikes, way in excess of their rated capacities. Other things being equal, hydraulics are less prone to breaking dangerous rigging for this reason.
5) Small, low-profile, and lightweight.
6) Wide drum allows long pulls per layer of rope.
7) Easy to install.
I would definitely fit any winch with good synthetic rope if possible, rather than wire rope. It's much easier to rig and re-rig, and much safer. On the downside, it's more expensive by a long chalk, and it can be damaged in ways that would leave a wire-rope unscathed (though the reverse applies too).
Two or three snatch-blocks with matching shackles, and a long winch extension rope of good synthetic will make your winching kit much more flexible. Together, this kit can allow you to alter the angle of pull, increase the maximum line pull several-fold, or use an anchor that's too close or far to use with the winch alone. Remember that the snatch-blocks and shackles must be safely rated for
at least twice the pulling capacity of your winch and its fitted rope! The extension rope should also preferably be double the capacity (in case you need to use it in-line with a snatch-block, rather than around the sheave).
So that's my vote cast - hope it makes some sense, at least in the context I placed it in.
Happy adventuring in 2007, everyone.
M...
