What specs do I need to get for a winch for my 5.4L V8 FX4 SCREW... And how about voltage? 12 or 24V? Whats the difference? Thanks!

 

The general rule of thumb is you want a winch that can pull 1.5x the weight of your truck, so around 9000lbs. But that doesn't account for resistance of mud, terrain, etc. I wouldn't get anything less then 12,000 lbs.

You want a 12v winch. A 12v winch is going to wire right up to the trucks electrical system.

Now you need a way to mount it. Since you have an 08, the hidden winch mounting system won't work. You can either get a full replacement bumper, or a front receiver hitch that you can bolt a winch cradle to.

There are a lot of different options, expect to invest about 3-4k in a decent set up if you go the replacement bumper route.

 

Ya I was looking at the Milemarker setup with the grillguard mount and SE1200C low profile box and waterproof soleniod

 

Just make sure the grill guard can handle a 12K lbs winch

 

okay... thanks guys!

 

Since you have an '06, like was mentioned, the hidden hitch mount won't fit right... You can swap over bumper / etc... from an '04-05, do a full on replacement bumper like a Boondock Bumper / Road Armor, do a front receiver hitch and a swappable winch mount (Do you REALLY want to be slipping in the mud carrying a 150LB winch to the front of your truck?), or a brush guard winch mount like the MileMarker Extreme.

24V will not work with most modern passenger cars, and light trucks. 24V is for heavier duty trucks, and military vehicle usage...

A 9K lb winch would work, BARELY. You really want a 12K winch. (Which is why I don't have one yet).

While I find the Milemarker Extreme winch mount, and their hydraulic winches to be top notch, it would be wise to avoid their electric winches. A LOT of bad reviews on them burning up solenoids and such at the WRONG time... Warn and Ramsey both make excellent winch products.

A winch is only PART of a proper off road recovery equipment setup. You will need chain, a tree strap, shackles, a block, a hi lift jack, etc... Actually, you would be amazed at what you can do to get unstuck with a Hi Lift jack and Hi Lift recovery accessory kit...

And no winch, jack, or even bulldozer with a recovery strap is going to take the place of sanity, none of it can fix stupid. I see way too many guys strapping a winch on their $30K trucks, and then head off into the deepest goo they can find, only to find that the entire truck gets sunk in it...

Like Ron White says... "You can't fix stupid..."

 

lol... "cant fix stupid"....

Ya, I was looking online last night at the Warn Tabor 12K winch too... I kinda like that one alot too... The only problem I have with the winches is I can't find a good looking winch-carrying grill guard. I like the looks of the black powder coated MM extreme setup.... but I really would like those bars the cross over the headlights too... none of the winch/grill guard combos seem to have those... And i want to stay away from the replacement bumpers - I just don't have a need for one and as awesome as some of them are, I don't think I would want it on my truck - just personal preference.

 

You have a valid point. Honestly I wish I could add a winch mount to my existing brush guard. I REALLY like the looks of it...

Would it be possible to have a body shop add those bars for you for a reasonable fee?

 

I imagine, if you could find the bars or something like it, to use, you could probably take it to just about anyone with the skills and tools like the guys at the muffler shop or somewhere like that.

 

dont waste your money on a 9k lb winch. suzuki samurai's and jeeps use that size. i would go for 12k winch.

 

How do I wire up the winch? Or should it come with detailed instructions?... I'd really rather not pay someone to install it for me.

 

It's not hard at all, it should come with detailed instructions

 

I just bought and installed a MM 9500 lb winch on my 69 Bronco. Very easy to install, one positive wire and one negative wire to the battery. I also built my bumper to install it on. My Bronco weighs about 4100 lbs, so I've got overkill. You should go at least 1.5 times the weight of the truck. I got a good deal on this 9500 lb ($600), so I jumped. One other thing to consider, you need a good alternator to use it, at least 100 amp. And a good battery. I need to upgrade my alternator next. Here's a link to some pics:

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=139947

 

That looks really nice man! I would love to have a bronco like that to offroad with... it would be a lot more practical than offroading with my f150. But its going its getting the a lift and some 35s put on it before the weekend gets here, so I try and have fun with it for now.

 

Look into Go Industries.