F150 which winch to get?

[shooter12]

I am thinking about getting a winch on my F150 ecoboost, but not sure which one.
Any ideas on what to get ? And also do i need to go custom bumper with it or stock will do?

Thanks

S12

[SHEDHEAD]

What year is your truck? I had a hidden winch mount installed on mine. You will want to have a level kit put on your truck as winches are heavy on the front end.

[shooter12]

Originally Posted by shedhead

what year is your truck? I had a hidden winch mount installed on mine. You will want to have a level kit put on your truck as winches are heavy on the front end.

2011
I am gonna use it mostly for offroading/hunting.


s12

[SHEDHEAD]

I used the rough country hidden mount kit. It was a few hundred bucks. And a warn winch rated for 12000lb. I think it was around $1200 at the time. ill try and take some pics tonight when im home.

[bezzola]

Smitty built if you in Edmonton go see kevin at rapid revolution

[Dean2]

First off, check out what winch mount kits are available for your model of F150. Warn still makes the best winches, a 9000 with synthetic rope, two snatch blocks, a tree strap with a 150 foot of synthetic rope extension will go a long ways. Synthetic rope and snatch blocks are half the price if you buy them off amazon.


I have bought a lot of recovery gear from these two Amazon vendors. They sell quality stuff at very good price.
Ranger Equipment Ltd.
Best Offroad Store


Hidden winch mounts look nice but they are a pain to deal with if you are bogged in mud or water. Also a problem if you get a cable bind or over wrap.

[NCC]

Can you reach the knob to free spool your winch with the hidden kits?

[Coiloil37]

I would be looking for a 8-10k warn and I would carry at least one snatch block. Three snatch blocks if you ever want to winch backwards and don’t want a rear winch. Preferably get a warn with a contactor instead of solenoids or install a contactor yourself. Use heavy welding cable to feed it and not the #2 awg wire it comes with. I much prefer synthetic rope to cable and a cordless remote is very handy. I prefer the warn ATV cordless version which is very simple to wire into the system under the hood.

I would take a 30 year old warn before I put a new superwinch/smittybilt/pos on the front of my vehicle.

[Redneck 7]

I’m looking at doing the same thing to my 2017 f150 after this moose hunting trip. I have an 8k on warn on a receiver but I’d like one on the front of my truck.

I was looking at hidden winch mount kits but I think I’m gonna settle for a westin winch tray and have the winch sit in front of my bumper, easier to run and maintain or clean. Keep an eye on the cable spooling, or even easier to free spool. 4 wheel parts in Edmonton carries Westin, I was gonna get a grill guard with a winch mount but they’ve gone up a few hundred bucks since I last looked at them.

[Positrac]

Originally Posted by Coiloil37

I would be looking for a 8-10k warn and I would carry at least one snatch block. Three snatch blocks if you ever want to winch backwards and don’t want a rear winch. Preferably get a warn with a contactor instead of solenoids or install a contactor yourself. Use heavy welding cable to feed it and not the #2 awg wire it comes with. I much prefer synthetic rope to cable and a cordless remote is very handy. I prefer the warn ATV cordless version which is very simple to wire into the system under the hood.

I would take a 30 year old warn before I put a new superwinch/smittybilt/pos on the front of my vehicle.

If anyone knows winches it’s Coiloil. All good advice.

I run a 12,000lb Warn on my truck and I’ve been stuck a few times where anything less without running a few snatch blocks wouldn’t have got me out.

[Dean2]

Resized_20191210_132348.jpg

This mount has been on the truck 24 years. It has winched this 7000 pound truck out of a pe of mud holes. Being up front it is much easier to work with. I have replaced the wire rope with synthetic after this picture was taken. With the weight of the truck a snatch block is mandatory.

[MPH]

One thing to keep in mind on the Ecoboost is keeping air flow to the intercooler which is in the lower section of the front bumper. a lot of winch mounts and aftermarket bumpers block that so they only really work for the 5.0 trucks.

If I was looking to add a winch on my ecoboost, I would first look to do a receiver mounted winch and add a front receiver to the truck.

[Positrac]

Originally Posted by MPH

One thing to keep in mind on the Ecoboost is keeping air flow to the intercooler which is in the lower section of the front bumper. a lot of winch mounts and aftermarket bumpers block that so they only really work for the 5.0 trucks.

If I was looking to add a winch on my ecoboost, I would first look to do a receiver mounted winch and add a front receiver to the truck.

Good info for someone with the Ecoboost.

I’d run some #2AWG wire to the rear bumper and just use the rear receiver hitch. Over the years I could have used a winch on the rear of my vehicles more than the front anyways.

[Coiloil37]

Originally Posted by Positrac

Good info for someone with the Ecoboost.



I’d run some #2AWG wire to the rear bumper and just use the rear receiver hitch. Over the years I could have used a winch on the rear of my vehicles more than the front anyways.

Maybe some 00 welding cable but #2 is to small even for the shorter run to the front winch. Besides the heat issue as voltage drops amperage goes up. You want to burn your contactor/solenoids up or cook the motor #2 AWG is fine. If your going to winch much, use at least 1/0 welding cable for the wiring and I also put a volt gauge on the dash with it connected at the winch motor to see the voltage at the motor itself. I also ran a 160 amp alternator and two batteries.



I also hate receiver winches. Not only was your receiver not meant to be pulled on at an angle, when do you put the winch in the receiver? After your stuck? This guy ran a receiver winch and I watched him haul it around in the mud once before I started winching him out of everything he planted himself in. You can’t go wheeling around with it installed because it sticks out like dogs balls.









I used 1/0 cable to my front winch and 00 to my rear winch. Both were soldered and crimped with clear heat shrink on the connections so I could watch for corrosion









Good luck blocking the airflow to your rad or intercooler with a low pro winch. Even down in the desert in 40 deg temps idling around jeeps handle a mans winch like the 8274 out front blocking the rad without any ill effects.









Your right though, winching backwards is awesome but if your going to play that hard put a winch on the caboose.





Keep the electronics under the hood and out of the elements.

[nast70]

My dad has his mounted on a hitch. Truck has a front receiver, and the winch has plugs front and back. He can put the winch either way depending on the application, and store it offf so the truck fits in the garage.

[Puma]

Have a look at Mile Marker. Stock equipment on military Humvees.

2 speed, LOW PRESSURE HYDRAULIC WINCH

No duty cycle, no issues under water.

I have one Im putting on my Chevy.

[Coiloil37]

Originally Posted by Puma

Have a look at Mile Marker. Stock equipment on military Humvees.

2 speed, LOW PRESSURE HYDRAULIC WINCH

No duty cycle, no issues under water.

I have one Im putting on my Chevy.

Great option until your engines not running. Twice I had to winch myself out with no engine to repair the Jeep. Once was a broken fuel line and the other was a dud crank position sensor. Both would of been impossible to repair where they broke.

[Dubious]

Dont run synthetic rope. The road salt and all the moisture makes that stuff rot Traditional Cable will last for ever. I’ll never make that mistake again, they always break where the walk to cell service is the longest.

[Coiloil37]

Originally Posted by Dubious

Dont run synthetic rope. The road salt and all the moisture makes that stuff rot Traditional Cable will last for ever. I’ll never make that mistake again, they always break where the walk to cell service is the longest.

If your going to buy rope it has to be quality. Don’t buy the cheep Chinese junk and expect it to last. I ran 3/8” Amsteel blue for a long time. Probably used it for 500+ pulls. The only time it ever broke I had my JKU stuck by going through the ice. I hooked the winch up and started pulling. Eventually the mud hole was deep enough the tires no longer broke the ice because the ice was 2/3 of the way up the tires. The winch didn’t stall but the rope snapped about 2’ from the thimble eye. It took me about 10 minutes to splice the eye back on and another 10 min to fix the ice problem with the chainsaw and I kept going. The rope is meant to snap at 21,000+ and I’ve got no idea how hard I pulled on it. The winch was said to pull 10k lbs with a 2.5 hp motor and I ran a 7.8 hp motor. All I can say is it had one heck of a strain on it and even when it broke it wasn’t whipping wildly like cable does when it breaks. It fell to the ground.

If your going to use rope buy quality and learn how to splice it.

Even with years of abuse like this the rope held up.







It’s easy on the hands, easy to drag, no memory and it floats.




I would peel it off the winch and put it in a bucket of hot soapy water after a days wheeling and it’s still on my Jeep... not that I’m there to use it though.

[Hunt4Ever]

It’s a F150! What do you need a winch for? Just kidding
I carry a portable 5000lb winch that can be mounted in the front, rear and box(for ungulates) of my F150 Eco.

Originally Posted by shooter12

I am thinking about getting a winch on my F150 ecoboost, but not sure which one.
Any ideas on what to get ? And also do i need to go custom bumper with it or stock will do?

Thanks

S12

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Coiloil37

If your going to buy rope it has to be quality. Don’t buy the cheep Chinese junk and expect it to last. I ran 3/8” Amsteel blue for a long time. Probably used it for 500+ pulls. The only time it ever broke I had my JKU stuck by going through the ice. I hooked the winch up and started pulling. Eventually the mud hole was deep enough the tires no longer broke the ice because the ice was 2/3 of the way up the tires. The winch didn’t stall but the rope snapped about 2’ from the thimble eye. It took me about 10 minutes to splice the eye back on and another 10 min to fix the ice problem with the chainsaw and I kept going. The rope is meant to snap at 21,000+ and I’ve got no idea how hard I pulled on it. The winch was said to pull 10k lbs with a 2.5 hp motor and I ran a 7.8 hp motor. All I can say is it had one heck of a strain on it and even when it broke it wasn’t whipping wildly like cable does when it breaks. It fell to the ground.

If your going to use rope buy quality and learn how to splice it.

Even with years of abuse like this the rope held up.







It’s easy on the hands, easy to drag, no memory and it floats.




I would peel it off the winch and put it in a bucket of hot soapy water after a days wheeling and it’s still on my Jeep... not that I’m there to use it though.

This is excellent info and completely matches my experience. If u are breaking synthetic rope it is either bad rope or you have exceeded its rating. Exceeding the rating is hard to do. The rest of the info he has posted is just as spot on as the rope info.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Best winch I ever had was PTO driven one on my Scout. It would never slow down during heavy pull and also had 3 speed capability from transfer case. Water would not affect operation.

[shooter12]

Originally Posted by Hunt4Ever

It’s a F150! What do you need a winch for? Just kidding
I carry a portable 5000lb winch that can be mounted in the front, rear and box(for ungulates) of my F150 Eco.

We got stuck pretty good last week in the mountains far away from any road .
Another hunters whose truck was equipped with a winch helped us out , so I decided to get one too.

S12

[Andrzej]

I have Toyota Tundra 2003 and Tacoma 2018 so I decided to get a front hitch receiver for booth vehicles.
I have an extension heavy welding cable so I can run my Warn ZEON 10-S 10000 lb Multi-Mount in front or back of each vehicle.
Bonus, if I don't go hunting, the winch is in my garage and I can put the bike
carrier or hitch trailer up there.
The battery in each vehicle has a Quick Connect plug and about 3 ft of welding cable. I can use those as a booster cable.
Not for heavy offroading but works for me.
I don't use locks on the hitch receiver as it is almost impossible to unlock them if your winch is in deep semifrozen mad. (Ask me how I know)

[obsessed1]

I run a receiver mount hitch front and back. I don't do the serious off road stuff like coiloil so I've never put enough stress on it to need a better set up. Generally getting stuck hunting or plowing or pulling others out of ditches lol. Even used it for a hoist to pull up a relatives deep water well. lol
it's a 10k winch and with snatch block it's never had an issue even with my old work truck that was 7+k but again I'm not intentionally burying it the deepest mud hole I can find either....although it looks like fun.
I generally use the quad for trail driving so my deep mud story's are usually about winching the quad out.

[CptnBlues63]

Originally Posted by MPH

One thing to keep in mind on the Ecoboost is keeping air flow to the intercooler which is in the lower section of the front bumper. a lot of winch mounts and aftermarket bumpers block that so they only really work for the 5.0 trucks.

If I was looking to add a winch on my ecoboost, I would first look to do a receiver mounted winch and add a front receiver to the truck.

This!

Having some experience with getting stuck I can tell you being able to connect your winch on either front or back is a big plus.

Subsidiary Murphy's law states, if you get stuck and there's a tree or something nearby to pull from , it's going to be on the opposite side of your truck from where you have the winch mounted

Voice of experience speaking here...........LOL My one hunting partner gets stuck every year because he loves to offroad and considers it fun. Less than 50% of the time he's gotten stuck where his front (permanently) mounted winch was useable. He keeps threatening to go with using the receiver front and back but never does.

On the plus side, adding a receiver mount on the front of your F150 shouldn't impede airflow over necessary cooling devices.

[Dean2]

Receiver mounted winches is a very bad idea. Any side pull at all, especially snatch blocked and you can do serious damage to your truck. If you need to pull yourself backwards 2 or 3 snatch blocks can easily accomplish this with a front mounted winch. Way easier than moving a badly mounted winch from the front to the back. If there is nothing ahead of or beside you to winch to or snatch block to than carrying cable extension of 300 feet is a better option and if you do that a lot, swamp anchors are a great option. Best overall option is permanently mount a rear winch, carry cable extnesion of at least 150 feet and at least 2 snatch blocks. All of these half measure fixes being recommended are just guaranteed to create more problems than they usually address.