The LED interior lights won't run down your battery if left on by accident, forgetfulness, or door latch sensor failure.

Otherwise, a dead battery is a big time failure of reliability.

OEM bulbs are really hot (fire!). LEDS are cold.

OEM bulbs burn out. LEDs last a long time.

 

If buying a winch I would not go the cheap route. Better off not having one than running a cheaper winch and having it fail creating a potentially more dangerous situation imo. Look for an older used Warn that was made in the US if you don't want to buy new and load it with a new cable. Hi-lifts are petrifying but have a ton of uses, just make sure to use grade 8 hardware where ever you mount it so it doesn't become a 40lb projectile in the event of an accident. My winch has come in to use much more than my hi-lift for what it's worth.

 

This^
and I like synthetic line too.
After seeing 2 steel winch cables snap over the years...nylon seems to be a little less lethal.

 

Agreed. Also buy multiple straps and D-rings and at least 2 ****** blocks. Just good practice to have spares, sometimes esp in the desert straps aren't used quite as they are intended as there aren't very many trees to anchor to lol so having a spare strap or two gives you some flexibility in case you thrash one on a boulder.

Actually, regardless of the addition of a winch I would carry all of the above. Like someone posted above there are plenty of people carrying hi-lifts and winches that have never used one and probably don't carry recovery gear either....the number of people I've recovered with all of my own gear is pretty staggering and it would be nice if whoever I'm pulling out at least had their own straps or hardware to keep the wear and tear down on my own stuff. I know that may seem unpopular but if nothing else you'd be as prepared as you could be in the event you needed someone else's assistance.

 

I've used winches from Warn, Smittybilt, Ramsey, and Harbor Freight. Sadly Warn is NOT 100% Made in the USA and their VR line = 100% China which puts it into the same group as the Smittybilt and Harbor Freight winches. I had an XD9000i and the winch line speed was to much for the synthetic line at the time and the inner line would just melt to the drum. The Smittybilt XRC9 I had worked, but had a slow line speed. The Harbor Freight 12K I have has proven itself by pulling out a Diesel Ford Ford Excursion buried up to the doors twice (stupid neighbors).

I prefer Cable to Synthetic line any day as it will last forever if treated properly (cleaned after each use, inspected, and sprayed down with WD40). Synthetic doesn't like UV and like I mentioned earlier it can melt to the drum. Winching is dangerous no matter what type of line you are using. If you use a steel cable you MUST place something over the line not only to stop the Kinetic energy but to also make the line visible at all times. ****** blocks are your friend along with good shackles, and a strap to wrap around the tree.

The small piece of 2x4 strapped to your tires might seem stupid, but I've seen it work time and time again. Cheap and something easy to carry.

 

I do that. I've got 2 boards and 4 mini-ratchet straps so that I can strap 1 to a tire (flat on its treads) through the wheel on each side of my Disco (i.e. do both fronts or do both rears). They are a little longer than the tires are wide and provide that "emergency grip" that you might need out on your own when stuck.


I can also strap one board on top of a non-stuck tire, and the other near the bottom of that same tire, and tie my synthetic cable to one such that as that tire spins around the tow rope wraps around the 2 boards, acting as a Poor Man's Winch.

Like an electric winch, you've probably also got at least one wheel/tire spinning when you are stuck. Anything that spins can wind up a cable if you have 2 boards sticking out past the width of your tires a little bit.

 

Sometimes you only need to move your Disco a few inches to get it unstuck. In a pinch, you could just use a tow rope and a ratchet strap. That little ratchet will barely move your truck with each pull/push flip, but at that point you've probably got the time to spare to move a few inches manually that way (tow rope around tree at one end and tied to your ratchet strap on the other end connected to your Disco), then click, click, click).

Sometimes you have to "make do" with what you have on hand, and most people have a ratchet strap.

A few might have a ***-a-long. Same concept. Maybe a little more efficient!


A hiigh-lift jack can operate the same way to winch you manually as a ***-a-long, for that matter:

 

I know the warn products are not all made in the US any more hence the distinction. There are definitely pros and cons to synthetic and wire rope, I haven't found any issues after I swapped to synthetic and I just pulled a line off that was heavily used with no melting or other damage. Even with synthetic line it's still good practice to put a weighted flag I think some people call it or even a heavy coat will do in a pinch near wherever the shackles or ****** blocks as they can still come flying in the event of a failure.

As with any manner of recovery knowing and practicing safe procedures is paramount. The come-a-long or poor mans winch is still putting an immense amount of force on the components.