Well here in ohio after that "blizzard" we had last weeked I was out at one intersection for about 8 straight hours pushing or for the most part pulling cars out of snow banks and across the intersection to get them out of the slush and ice. First off I have to say I had a blast doing it but after pulling out two small shuttle buses I wanted to ask, when going to pull out a vehical should I be in 4x4 or 4x4 low, and should I put it in drive or leave it in first gear?
Also another off question, I'd like to put a front reciever hitch so I can put a winch on, I already have a grille guard and I know they mount in the same location, will they interfere with each other. Like will the bolts be long enough to go through the tow hooks, grille guard mount and a hitch?

 

Low 4x4 and keep it in drive. Yes they will be long enough to even keep the tow hooks to which i recommend. I have that exact setup on mine. send me some pics because on brush gaurds the lower cross bar prevented the winch cradle from sliding all the way in on mine and had to be cut out. Didnt affect teh strength of the gaurd at all. Send me a pic or 2 or post a couple and I can tell you what all has to be done.


And my recommendation on a winch is the vortec 12000. For $360 you cant beat it. Ive used it to get me out of some very hairy stuff and hasnt failed me yet. Dragged me up a 45 degree rutty hill with no problems. Cant be beat.

 

I looked at the lower cross bar it is flush with the lower valence

 

youll have to install the front hitch. Id have to see te hitch actually installed due to i dont know where the hitch hole will actually be. I dont think with your model youll have to cut anything. It should fit just fine.

 

What I generaly do is 4Lo and 2nd gear in most cases. Not sure about pre-04 trucks but with ours 2nd doesn't start in 1st like most think. It only uses that 2nd gear. Keeps slippage in mud, sand, etc... to a minimum while adding the 4Lo torque.

 

Do you have a link to this Vortec 12000? I've searched the internet and can't seem to find it.

Thanks.

 

I think its vortex but still cant find them anywhere

 

I agree with the others, 4wd low. Always the mechanical advantage, in this case gearing, to avoid increased wear on your truck. Pull from the rear of the truck as the rear axle handles loads better than the CV's, gears are cut for better wear in foward pulls & 1st gear is lower than reverse

 

Found the seller:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZzjig


And here's the product:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-12000-LB-120...QQcmdZViewItem

 

First does anyone know if with a front hitch my grill guard will get in the way? Also anyone else deal with this brand winch, cant really seem to find them outside ebay. Not that I would use it a lot I dont off road a lot just more for emergency situations.

 

They are only available on ebay. The guy is very reliable and fast with shipping. Im not sure if the front hitch will fit but I think it will. If it hits the brush gaurd it will hit where the bottom cross bar is. Which if thats the case then you could cut part of the cross bar out so it will fit. It wont weaken the brush gaurd at all or anything. Thats what I had to do but I dont think youll have to. On the older body style the front hitch comes out the lower valance air holes so right about the lower cross bar in your pics. Atleast when you look at pics of your bodystyle with a front hitch installed, thats where it shows the hitch coming out. And dont pay more then 110 for the front hitch. I got mine for 80 on ebay with my cradle for 45. Its a hidden hitch front hitch and a cradle from summit racing. So theres no japanesse knock offs hear. But in my opinion definitlry the way to go if you want something more powerful then a 9k winch or you just want an inexpensive setup.

 

post some pics of the summit cradle please, they have 2 different styles of them on there website for there cradle.

Also how does the vortex winch perform? is it reliable? what is the duty cycle on it? Does it come with the required wiring/switch hardware?

 

yes it performs, and it is very reliable, and it is fully water proof and heavy duty, and it comes with everything needed to install.


I got the cradle with the straight handles. Took the handles off for better look.


And get the cradle from summits account on ebay. Its cheaper then through the summit site.