Hi all first post and looking for some advice. Recently i'm looking into very nice DII that was very well maintained and and had all the big ticket items done. Some other bonuses were the brand new ko2 tires and the rovers north front winch bumper. The guy who I was looking to buy it from mentioned that if I want to winch off of it I should pull the bumper and reinforce it with some sqaures tube welded on and add some more bolt points in the frame. I trust him as he has a serious DII lifted on 35's the whole nine yards, and he said that he ripped his clean off when he was doing a hard pull. I know it happened but what have y'all done/ what would you do is this necessary?

Second on winch sizing, I am going with a budget winch probably against my better judgment but my last china winch I had on the truck outlived the truck itself. Specifically the tungsten 4x4 winch. The price between 9500 and 12000 is so low what should I go with? Or do I really only need 8-10000 and that opens some doors. Thanks in advance!

 

Depends on intended purpose of vehicle. Do you really want to daily drive an already gas hungry vehicle that now has big tires and 1000lb of extra weight? I'm of the opinion that lighter is better but I'm probably in the minority. I would rather run a removable winch setup with a synthetic line, black and tackle, etc, and just load it up when I go wheeling.

That being said, if you aren't on 35's (and all that that implies relative to suspension and drive train modifications) then how heavy duty do you really need to go? You planning on driving your disco into the same mud pit that the big boys are diving into? Do you plan on recovering vehicles that are 7000lb and stuck to the doors in mud?

​​​​​​Do you have the battery power necessary to sustain a big winch and long pulls?

​​​​​​just take a practical point of view is all my saying. Discos have weak axles, paper thin frames, ancient engines, and "British" electronics, how far are you really planning to go?

 

Our trucks have a gvwr of just over 6,000 lbs. General rule of thumb for winches looks to be 1.5x that amount, at a bare minimum. Also need to factor in surface and incline. I've been looking at 12000 lb winches, gives a bit of a cushion on power. Read up on the vitals for winches and reviews of the ones that you like. Lots of info out there. I've got my eye on a couple of smitty models and maybe an engo. Lots of factors go into deciding what's best for your needs and budget. Have fun...