# How much wench do I need?



## schmauster (Jan 21, 2017)

I'm looking into getting a wench for dragging trees and whatnot. I don't off-road much unless it's for tree work. I have a 2000 4x4 v6 4runner. Weighs around 4000lbs. 

I just want something powerful enough to drag the car/ be at my maximum pulling power. Thinking used or harbor freight. I'll probably mount it on a hitch reciever in the rear and run wires back with a big fuse.

Thanks guys


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## Ryan'smilling (Jan 21, 2017)

I wish I could find a wench to drag trees for me. Good luck finding one.

I think you'll have much better luck finding a WINCH to mount on your rig. 

I think rule of thumb for winch sizing for trucks etc is 1.5X your maximum operating loaded weight. So, if your truck weighs 4000# with fuel, tools, saws, etc, then a 6000# would do it. Personally I'd probably go with an 8000# because that's a common size and they're reasonably inexpensive. 

One thing to know is that these winches are really best suited for recovery of vehicles. There have a short duty cycle and put a heavy draw on your battery and alternator. Using one to drag a log will probably work. Using one to drag logs out of the woods all day would be a bad choice. They're also pretty slow. Better than nothing, though. Before you use it heavily, though, you may want to determine how easy it is to replace your alternator.


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## schmauster (Jan 21, 2017)

A sled team of wenches would be ideal. Haha


Thanks, great to know. I've never owned a winch.. maybe I'll stick with a long braided steel cable.


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## northmanlogging (Jan 21, 2017)

8k avoid harbor fright,

bigger winch will handle a lighter load longer.

Smitttybilt makes a pretty good winch, and about half the price of a warn or ramsey. I picked up a 9,500 version for just over $400 new, use it fairly regularly.

the 2k-4k winches are waste of money, slow and under powered, they are rated at single layer pull, the more layers of cable the less you can pull.


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## gary courtney (Jan 21, 2017)




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## greengreer (Jan 21, 2017)

A good 1/2" rigging rope and some nice heavy duty pulleys are way better for dragging logs than an electric winch. Look at 150' of stablebraid or sta-set. The stainless 5/8" cmi pulleys are great for this application and relatively inexpensive, then you just need a sling and steel carabiner or shackle. Probably $250 worth of stuff or about as much as a crappy 8k lb winch
Electric winches are decent for vehicle recovery but not made for the same uses that a hydraulic or pto winch on a piece of forestry equipment are.


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## Marshy (Jan 21, 2017)

gary courtney said:


>


I'm glad someone picked up on that! Nice wench.


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## djones (Jan 21, 2017)

Any wench in a storm, I think I hear some rain.


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## rwoods (Jan 21, 2017)

Because it is worth repeating, I will repeat what others have said. A DC electric winch rated at least 8000# is fine for the occasional short duration (talking mere minutes) vehicle recovery of your size. It will also work for occasional 25 to 40 foot drags of stuff. It is a poor choice for anything continuous or repetitive. Been there done that. Continuous will toast the motor. Repetitive will drain your battery(ies). 

Ron


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## schmauster (Jan 21, 2017)

Thank you for your input.. sounds like I'll stick to using the vehicle to drag things. 

I'll look into the rope. Maybe marine supply stores will be cheapest. I'd rather have something that lasts hence the cable vs rope, but if it'll last years then rope it is. Handling that braided cable really isn't fun.


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## rwoods (Jan 21, 2017)

If you use a fiber rope then invest in a wire or chain choker to use with it. Ron


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## greengreer (Jan 21, 2017)

Chain with a sliding hook makes a nice choker. 
Check out some arborist suppliers. They are gonna have everything you need and have great prices. Cough treestuff.com cough


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## northmanlogging (Jan 21, 2017)

Ropes and skidding logs is a good way to cut ropes and break windsheilds.

Just use cable, 5/16 or 3/8 is available at any hardware store and will work just fine.

Use a chain if you like, a proper cable choker is easier to deal with.

Get a couple cheap snatch blocks yer not working over head so no need to spend the money on certs


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## ChoppyChoppy (Jan 21, 2017)

Warn


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## schmauster (Jan 21, 2017)

Got a new 100' spool of 3/8 braided wire for 20 bucks from a friend. Going to go to a rigging supply place around here and get a choker and thimble (loop) installed. Everything is working out


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## Mad Professor (Jan 21, 2017)

You want something real heavy duty like this 

Have you considered a lewis/chainsaw _*winch*_


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## schmauster (Jan 21, 2017)

That wench might be a little more than I want....

I only cut firewood for 3 houses in northern California.. we only burn for about 4-5 months out of the year. I think a winch might be overkill and hard on the rest of the car. I found a 100' spool of 3/8 steel braided cable for 20 bucks. Going to get a choker and loop on either end and use that.

I have a snatch block and a 5000lb rated caribiner that should do the trick for now. I don't sell wood, just trade firewood for access to trees and splitting on their property. Good deal if you ask me.

Thanks guys


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## Woos31 (Jan 21, 2017)

Marshy said:


> I'm glad someone picked up on that! Nice wench.


That was my first thought too, good luck getting any wench to do any labor for you!


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## SliverPicker (Jan 21, 2017)

Typically you will find that you need roughly 5X as much wench as you can afford.


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## schmauster (Jan 21, 2017)

I have a wench to sit behind the wheel and pull logs while I run around with the lines. Glad she doesn't read my posts or I'd be on the couch for a few nights.

Plus she can run the 025. I'm a happy man

5x the wench you can afford.. that's just waiting for a comment...


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## Odog (Jan 30, 2017)

SliverPicker said:


> Typically you will find that you need roughly 5X as much wench as you can afford.



I had 5x more wench than I could afford and it didn't work out, she was a real expensive job, but she was fickle and nickel and dimed me to death.


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## Ted Jenkins (Jan 31, 2017)

I gave up on having a pretty wench about thirty years ago so I built my own winch which still gets used. A great wood cutting companion that does not whine too much and is always happy to put in a hard day it is your typical wood cutting dog. My winch however is powered by a 10HP Tecumseh and used about 600' of 3/8 aircraft cable. The cable is rated in excess of 12,000 lbs but it only gets exposed to 8,000 lbs. However with one or two snatch blocks no log has every stopped it no matter how green or stuck in the dirt. A few times for fun I climbed about 30' or 40' up a tree just to yank it out of the ground, but it was so much work getting set up that it was only fun about 1 1/2 times. Its slowest pull is about 30' per minute and its fastest is about 90' per minute. The best use is to pull many logs up a bank and then cut them up on the bank so that loading them onto a truck is a snap. At this moment as time allows my hope is to automate it so some one can totally operate it remotely. Thanks


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## schmauster (Jan 31, 2017)

Neat little contraption!!


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## muddstopper (Feb 6, 2017)

I would probably go with a hydraulic winch. You can get one of those hyd pumps that runs off your fanbelts, to fit about any truck motor. Mount the hyd winch and pull logs all day long as long as your truck will run. Electric will kill a good battery and will run one down very quick. The gas motor one I wouldnt even try to tote in the woods, just looks way to heavy, but I am sure it will pull a lot of weight and should work as long as the little engine runs. Personally, I keep a 100ft long cable and a couple of snatch blocks on my truck when cutting wood. Hook one end of cable to the log, the other end to the truck, hang a snatch block on a tree and pull the log/tree where ever you want it. I have used the truck and a shorter cable or chain to skid logs to a landing. Works pretty good when your doing a small project and dont want to bring in a lot of heavy equipment.


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## Ted Jenkins (Feb 6, 2017)

Hey mud stopper do not have too much to disagree about. Having access to a 100' of cable and snatch blocks works just fine for some applications. It is especially difficult to use a vehicle to pull your logs around when you are alone because your logs often get caught on obstacles. The hydraulic winch concept is especially difficult to set up, but it can work. One thing that is very limiting are the hoses unless they are very long. If the hydraulic winch is mounted in conventional fashion to the front bumper then it will work well, but the whole set up is expensive and heavy. One person certainly could operate a hydro winch after securing the vehicle to a tree or digging holes for the tires. My motorized contraption needs about 2' X 4' space to carry it around. It fits well into my Bronco behind the back seat if the tailgate is open. It weighs a little over 300 lbs as I normally use it. It has a battery, starter, generator, and a 100' lead that I use some times, but adds to the weight. The whole concept was started because moving a tractor to every job site was not always practical, but a winch that could be stashed in the bushes and moved around with one person was way more practical. If a snatch block is put up into a sturdy tree 15' or 20' high then it is pretty easy to stack a dozen logs into a convenient pile. The chain saw powered winches work well if you need to pull no more than 4,000 lbs and no farther than 100'. Always looking for a better concept or idea to make scrounging better. Thanks


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## muddstopper (Feb 7, 2017)

Ted, a lot of difference in getting out a little firewood and logging for a living. Different tool set and mindset needed. I logged when growing up and we used everything from farm tractors, small dozers and pto winches to get logs. Now days, when i go to the woods, its to get one or two trees. I aint going to be going deep inside the wood line to scrounge a tree for firewood. I am to old and have no desire to get back into the logging business My cable works pretty good for what I use it for. I always wanted one of those chainsaw winches, but havnt ever seen one for sale around here. My plans for future firewooding is to mount a tilt boom and electric winch on my small dump trailer. I should be able to drag up small logs and load them on the trailer without any other equipment. One of those roundtoit projects.


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## Gypo Logger (Feb 8, 2017)

My self proclaimed cleaning wench of 20 years.
Robyn is quite lovable and glad she has been a close friend in spite of the fact that I'm an arsehole.


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## KiwiBro (Feb 8, 2017)

Mad Professor said:


> View attachment 552750
> 
> 
> You want something real heavy duty like this
> ...


This. Powerhouse have copied the Lewis winch, it's much cheaper and reviews seem good so far:
https://www.amazon.com/Powerhouse-Log-Splitters-Xm-100-Chainsaw/dp/B01DF9883I


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