the way they are designed they dig deeper the more you pull... grab a root or stick it behind small stumps or something and it should hook well... ive never used on but you guys are more then welcome to donate to me buying one and ill let ya know how they hold up... ARB wants WAY to much for them... course they want WAY WAY to much for everything...

 

im kidding of course in my last post

 

i like to venture out by myself sometime when i get bored and i don't want to have to dodge things because im worried about getting stuck, so a winch would be very nice. i can think of one situation i've been in where a winch wouldn't have helped. but i can also think of 25 other situations where the recovery woulda been alot easier with a winch. i think i'll spend the $500 on a winch (have a 10k engo on order). i like to be prepared when it comes to a recovery. most people around my area don't even have pull points and are hooking chains to the leaf springs and axles for recovery.

 

it is better to have and not need then too need and not have

 

X2

I try not to go wheeling alone, but it does happen. I keep a poor man's winch lol a 6k come-along. I have my hi lift and recovery straps. I'm new to jeeps, but not to offroading. Arizona, and the desert in general is a much different place to wheel. A breakdown in the summer here, alone, can be a life threatening situation. We only have mud a few times a year, so the winch hasnt been a top priority for me. I have axles, shafts, lockers, and gears To buy first. Like I said, my jeep is a pretty new build. That said, as soon as I am able I want to buy a winch.

 

Here is an idea. youre buying a bumper anyways right? Just get one with a winch mount. It doesn't mean you need to put a winch on it. You could add one on later on once you realize you need/want one.

 

Sure, that was half my question originally in terms of finding out if the expense related to a bumper with a winch-plate or mounting points or receiver, etc was needed when I purchased the bumper.

I think I've figured it out now with some great input from everyone and once I get the savings built up again I'm going with the Warrior Products bumper, brush guard and winch mount system for my front end. Way cheaper than the modular Warn system that doesn't even replace the factory bumper.

 

Build a tube bumper with a winch mount and that get a smittybuilt 8 k winch for $300.

 

Snowman, the best ground anchor I've found is a Disk like a farmer uses on his tractor, a piece of heavy channel iron and a large eye bolt.
Cut the channel iron so it is a wedge shape" |\ "drill a hole in it for the eye bolt run the eye bolt though the disk then through the channel iron and install a large washer and nut behind the channel iron.
Then you just hook the winch cable to the eye bolt and as the winch pulls the disk it will go deeper and work as an anchor.

 

I'm not picturing what you're trying to say.

 

i vote to get the bumper without. i dont have a winch on my jeep, but i do pack gear to pull it out (have not had to use it yet).my jeep is a mild daily driver, packing around an extra 100 LBS on the nose of my tin can is really not an option, if it was more of a beefed heavy bush machine, i would have a full time winch

if your being honest with yourself about what your going to do with your jeep, i personally would not want to have to change my coil springs and have an ugly park bench for a bumper, im not sayin all winch bumpers are ugly, but alot of them IMO would look pretty huge rolling around on 30" tires.

im just about to rip off my stock bumpers and replace them with some slim style bumpers with front and rear receivers, im going light on the winch, cradle mount, when i know im going out to get in trouble, i will bring the winch along. leave it at home during the week.
i do however plan on making something inside the cab that will allow me to anchor the winch down..keep it out of the weather, keep it from saggin one end of the jeep down, and keep it from killing me inside the cab if i flop it.

i still dont expect to have to use my future winch all that often, but i want one just so i dont have to pack as many chains and straps and come alongs, all that junk takes up lots of space and is also heavy as hell

 

Style is in the eye of the beholder I like my park bench and with winch well over 100#s but at least I have a place to sit while I watch you and your buddy's pull each other out

 

First, do you know what a disk harrow is? If you don't look it up online.
The guy that I saw use one had it disassembled and stored in the back of his rig. To use it he ran the large eye bolt [ 3/4 inch diameter or better ] through the disk, then through a wedge shaped spacer, and then he installed the nut.
That is all there is to the disk ground anchor, then all you do is hook the winch cable to the eye bolt and start winching the cable in and the disk digs into the ground and the rig starts moving forward.

 

If I had to choose one in this scenario I would take the strap and highlift, cause my winch sure as hell won't hold 200' of cable.

Now a combo of both would be best.

There is also the Tirfor or Griphoist option also, they work great if you want a work out.

 

I use synthetic winch cable extensions they are 100 ft long and have loops on both ends. I have one on my winch and one in the back on my rig plus two 30 foot tow straps and a 12 foot tree strap.
This gives me a reach of at least 250 feet, if you use extensions your winch doesn't need to hold 200 foot of cable.