Winch Replacement, possibly aftermarket? Please Help!!

[ramv]

Most every winch is standard 4x10" mounting pattern if memory serves

Except the large frame Warn which is oem on the PW. Hence the need for a M12, M15 or M16.5

[TwinStick]

http://www.aev-conversions.com/isheets/ ... nWinch.pdf

IMHO, that is f**ked up. Why in the hell would they drill a hole (or 3 of them) into a structural & integral part of the winch ?? Not sure when they started doing that ? On my 3rd Gen PW, the remote control plug is on the winch itself, specifically on the control box. Maybe I am one of the few who have had to pull the front of my truck completely sideways (not a misprint), 90*'s, through a 4-5' snow drift. that was so hard packed I could walk on it without leaving footprints. There was only 1 tree, so my options were pretty limited that night. That puts a tremendous amount of stress & tension on the winch mount, as does any winching that the cable/rope uses the side rollers. Not all winching scenarios are perfect. Maybe that wouldn't make a difference, IDK. But drilling ANY unnecessary holes in a structural piece just does not seem like a good idea to me.

[Reloaderguy]

http://www.aev-conversions.com/isheets/ ... nWinch.pdf

IMHO, that is f**ked up. Why in the hell would they drill a hole (or 3 of them) into a structural & integral part of the winch ?? Not sure when they started doing that ? On my 3rd Gen PW, the remote control plug is on the winch itself, specifically on the control box. Maybe I am one of the few who have had to pull the front of my truck completely sideways (not a misprint), 90*'s, through a 4-5' snow drift. that was so hard packed I could walk on it without leaving footprints. There was only 1 tree, so my options were pretty limited that night. That puts a tremendous amount of stress & tension on the winch mount, as does any winching that the cable/rope uses the side rollers. Not all winching scenarios are perfect. Maybe that wouldn't make a difference, IDK. But drilling ANY unnecessary holes in a structural piece just does not seem like a good idea to me.

I'm not sure what you're talking about regarding drilling out structural holes. The plug on 4th gen trucks is on the cradle, AEV includes a bracket to relocate the plug next to the solenoid box. You have to take out a couple of rivets.

[Low_Sky]

http://www.aev-conversions.com/isheets/ ... nWinch.pdf

IMHO, that is f**ked up. Why in the hell would they drill a hole (or 3 of them) into a structural & integral part of the winch ??

I'm not sure what you're talking about regarding drilling out structural holes. The plug on 4th gen trucks is on the cradle.

I think the factory location of the plug in the winch cradle arm is what TS is talking about. It can't be that much of a problem if they've been doing it for 8 years and owners with failed winch cradles aren't ranting and raving about it.

[RAM4ROKS]

If my Wagon didn't have its winch and cradle, I would get a Superwinch 18SR (almost 50% off on their website last I checked!) and either build my own bumper or get a local shop to build one. Then you would have a winch that was designed from the start to run synthetic rope (thicker drum and eternal 100% load holding brake) AND you'd be able to build a higher clearance bumper than any aftermarket offering and higher clearance than what you can build when you have to leave room for the stock cradle. Even though my Wagon has its winch, I am still tempted to go this route, I just don't have the $$$.

[Reloaderguy]

http://www.aev-conversions.com/isheets/ ... nWinch.pdf

IMHO, that is f**ked up. Why in the hell would they drill a hole (or 3 of them) into a structural & integral part of the winch ??

I'm not sure what you're talking about regarding drilling out structural holes. The plug on 4th gen trucks is on the cradle.

I think the factory location of the plug in the winch cradle arm is what TS is talking about. It can't be that much of a problem if they've been doing it for 8 years and owners with failed winch cradles aren't ranting and raving about it.

Ah, got it. I was thinking it was in regards to AEV's conversion. I'm not sure the hole for the plug has any influence on the necessary strength. I assume RAM did an FEA and destruction testing but who knows. I don't think I'd ever heard of a PW winch mount failure.

[Colibri]

Challenge accepted

[Low_Sky]

Challenge accepted

Where are you gonna find deep, hard packed snow for that 90-degree pull test?

[TwinStick]

http://www.aev-conversions.com/isheets/ ... nWinch.pdf

IMHO, that is f**ked up. Why in the hell would they drill a hole (or 3 of them) into a structural & integral part of the winch ?? Not sure when they started doing that ? On my 3rd Gen PW, the remote control plug is on the winch itself, specifically on the control box. Maybe I am one of the few who have had to pull the front of my truck completely sideways (not a misprint), 90*'s, through a 4-5' snow drift. that was so hard packed I could walk on it without leaving footprints. There was only 1 tree, so my options were pretty limited that night. That puts a tremendous amount of stress & tension on the winch mount, as does any winching that the cable/rope uses the side rollers. Not all winching scenarios are perfect. Maybe that wouldn't make a difference, IDK. But drilling ANY unnecessary holes in a structural piece just does not seem like a good idea to me.

I'm not sure what you're talking about regarding drilling out structural holes. The plug on 4th gen trucks is on the cradle, AEV includes a bracket to relocate the plug next to the solenoid box. You have to take out a couple of rivets.

From the pic in Figure 1, it shows the remote control plug mounted to the winch cradle. There is a hole for each of the 2 little screws/bolts that hold the mount to the cradle & one larger hole between them for the wiring. And, it looks like it is mounted right at the end of a reinforcing triangle for the winch fairlead rollers. Thats what it looks like in the picture to me.

I have never heard of a failure either, but 3rd Gens are NOT like that. The remote mount is on the winch controller box/solenoid cover box.

And, for only the $100 difference in price (if he is going to go with WARN), i would get the 16.5 for sure. http://ok4wd.com/shop-by-vendor/warn/12 ... up-winches .

I did not realize that Superwinch prices were so much better than WARN. I would not hesitate to go with Superwinch either.

[nts007]

Challenge accepted

Where are you gonna find deep, hard packed snow for that 90-degree pull test?

My yard right now

[Colibri]

Challenge accepted

Where are you gonna find deep, hard packed snow for that 90-degree pull test?

My yard right now

I've never even seen such a thing first hand lol. I guess it's an excuse to travel

[votedave]

If my Wagon didn't have its winch and cradle, I would get a Superwinch 18SR (almost 50% off on their website last I checked!) and either build my own bumper or get a local shop to build one. Then you would have a winch that was designed from the start to run synthetic rope (thicker drum and eternal 100% load holding brake) AND you'd be able to build a higher clearance bumper than any aftermarket offering and higher clearance than what you can build when you have to leave room for the stock cradle. Even though my Wagon has its winch, I am still tempted to go this route, I just don't have the $$$.

If you start feeling froggy...just jump! I'll gladly take your stock winch and cradle setup off of your hands!! LOL I still haven't been able to locate a factory one for my wagon.

[RAM4ROKS]

If my Wagon didn't have its winch and cradle, I would get a Superwinch 18SR (almost 50% off on their website last I checked!) and either build my own bumper or get a local shop to build one. Then you would have a winch that was designed from the start to run synthetic rope (thicker drum and eternal 100% load holding brake) AND you'd be able to build a higher clearance bumper than any aftermarket offering and higher clearance than what you can build when you have to leave room for the stock cradle. Even though my Wagon has its winch, I am still tempted to go this route, I just don't have the $$$.

If you start feeling froggy...just jump! I'll gladly take your stock winch and cradle setup off of your hands!! LOL I still haven't been able to locate a factory one for my wagon.

Wish I could!!!!

Good luck with your search!!!

[votedave]

Guys,

I'm still looking around for a winch and mount if anyone comes across one. These things are super hard to find used!

[olyelr]

Maybe this one would work?

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-other/red-d ... nFlag=true

[votedave]

Thanks for the lead! Hopefully this one will work!