For those of you out there that have winches, I need some help.  I've used them plenty of times in Iraq, since we had them on all of our vehicles, but I don't know what weight rating I need for my truck...I was originally thinking 9000-9500 lbs, but then I looked at my GVWR and it was 8800...am I going to have to start looking into the 1200-1400 lb range, or can I stay with 9000-9500?  
Oh, and the truck is a 2001 Dodge Ram, 2500 Cummins 4x4 club cab short bed...  

unless you completely bury it in muck the 9500 will work for you, especially with a block to double the pull power. the 12 or 14 would be the best way to go for the huge beast, and last longer if you use it a lot. I have a 9500 on my jeep. It has pulled a 34' class A motorcoach hooked to a 22' utillity trailer full of quads buried down to the frame in the sand at Florence, Or. that was a straight line pull, we drug it about 40' on a continuous pull, the jeep was straped to a tree that nearly got pulled over. I've got a raised mount on thejeep an it looked like it was gonna get pulled off the frame, the flex may have saved the TJ frame. may even have some pics, we had a large audience. I actually wouldn't be afraid of a 9500 pounder. mine has a 216 or 214, (now i can't remember), reduction. milemarker 9500si

MileMarker is also used by the US Millitary  

sounds good...thanks for the info...  

US Millitary Aproved Mile Marker Winches  

I have to disagree. The rule of thumb for winch power is to start at 1.5 times the weight of your rig and go up from there. A 9500 is inadequate for an 8800 lb rig. Bear in mind that the winch only produces the rated pull when the cable is pretty much fully extended. As the cable wraps around the drum, the pull decreases.
Bear in mind too that the GVW of 8800 is factory. If you're building it, it will get heavier. If you're carrying tools, spares, camping gear.... it will get heavier. If you load in a few friends... it will get heavier.
I have a 12K MileMarker hydraulic on my Dodge, and a 12K MileMarker electric on my Wrangler. There have been times when I've had to use snatch blocks even so.  

yeah but isn't GVW what the rig is legally allowed to weigh, and not the actual weight of the rig? my 1973 shortbed chevy half ton has a GVW of 6400lbs but on the scale i know it doesn't weigh that much ( but i can't remember the actual weight ).anyway i always thought GVW was a fully loaded weight, i could be wrong though.  

Dirty_Dog:
I have to disagree. The rule of thumb for winch power is to start at 1.5 times the weight of your rig and go up from there. A 9500 is inadequate for an 8800 lb rig. Bear in mind that the winch only produces the rated pull when the cable is pretty much fully extended. As the cable wraps around the drum, the pull decreases.
Bear in mind too that the GVW of 8800 is factory. If you're building it, it will get heavier. If you're carrying tools, spares, camping gear.... it will get heavier. If you load in a few friends... it will get heavier.
I have a 12K MileMarker hydraulic on my Dodge, and a 12K MileMarker electric on my Wrangler. There have been times when I've had to use snatch blocks even so.

thats right dirtydog, like I said, bigger is better, it would be fine for most people that buy them and never use them. a 12K having trouble with a wrangler is probably due to the lack of voltage. I've also got a mm 12k on my full size. It'll break something before it slows down.  

chopperfreak2k1:
yeah but isn't GVW what the rig is legally allowed to weigh, and not the actual weight of the rig? my 1973 shortbed chevy half ton has a GVW of 6400lbs but on the scale i know it doesn't weigh that much ( but i can't remember the actual weight ).anyway i always thought GVW was a fully loaded weight, i could be wrong though.

thats exactly right, the GVW is the max weight legal for the axles to carry, however there is also a Gross camper weight, the vehicle and trailer combination. you'll notice gvwfr and gvwrr, the front and rear load capacities are not the same.

your 73 weighs around 5300#
the dodge diesels weight around 73-7800# as do the fords. If you google the year, make and model of your vehicle, you can find the curb weight (unloaded) NADA, KELLY books also have curb weights listed. I may be off on your weight maybe a 100# +or- I didn't look it up, I have a few in the driveway.  

what are some of pro's and cons of electric vs. hydraulic winches? anybody hear good/bad stories about t-max winches?  

the hydro is limited to the presure of the pump and unless it also has an electric pump will not work with a dead engine,

electric also has obvious limits and will not live as long as long as the hydraulic.

theres tons of motor sizes and gear ratios for both  

then there's also a PTO winch... and both the hydraulic and pto can be used underwater... if they're well taken care of and sealed properly... and there are two types of electric gear setups too... one's a worm gear setup... one has planetary gears... usually the multi speed winch has planetary gears... the main thing you have to remember is that a 4 or 6 gauge wire will run a starter on a little 350... but my cummins diesel has 2 guage just for the starter... i've switched to 00 gauge becuase i relocated the battery to the rear... and if it's having trouble gettin enough amperage from the battery to the winch it'll heat up faster then normal or stall out... so while nice little 6 gauge wires look clean on the front of a vehicle... they may kill some of the capacity of your winch... you've also got to know what amperage your alternator is putting out... because if you've got a 90 amp alternator and you're sucking down 110 amps extracting yourself from some nasty mud hole you'll kill your battery... your engine can't maintain charge on the battery... it's better then if you have a dead engine... but still... know your limits... with a small charging system you might be better off with a slightly smaller winch and just know your limits... keep a block and tackle or two on hand... or upgrade your electrical system... i.e. 130 amp battery isolator and alternator... with dual batteries one for your vehicle one for your winch and other accessories...  

chopperfreak2k1:
yeah but isn't GVW what the rig is legally allowed to weigh, and not the actual weight of the rig? my 1973 shortbed chevy half ton has a GVW of 6400lbs but on the scale i know it doesn't weigh that much ( but i can't remember the actual weight ).anyway i always thought GVW was a fully loaded weight, i could be wrong though.

mudb8-.:
thats exactly right, the GVW is the max weight legal for the axles to carry, however there is also a Gross camper weight, the vehicle and trailer combination. you'll notice gvwfr and gvwrr, the front and rear load capacities are not the same.

your 73 weighs around 5300#
the dodge diesels weight around 73-7800# as do the fords. If you google the year, make and model of your vehicle, you can find the curb weight (unloaded) NADA, KELLY books also have curb weights listed. I may be off on your weight maybe a 100# +or- I didn't look it up, I have a few in the driveway.

so what size mile marker should i use? i was thinkin a 9000?  

the 9500si should be plenty unless you wana be like the tool man.  

consider the hp, ratio,braking and free wheeling before you buy, the mm 9500si has 4.8hp 210 ratio it pulls in almost as fast as my 8274 warn
T-max has some high hp ratings at a decent price, I don't know antone that has one though  

wow i thought i would have to go to a 12000lb winch. i'm glad you were here to save me the money! so i'd be safe winching my truck out of some sticky mud up to the axles with the 9500si?