I would have liked to have seen some approximate pull weights of regular vehicles in regular stuck situations. It's hard to know how much weight you're really pulling. I'm planning on installing a Ramsey 12,000-pound winch on the front of my pickup and a MileMarker 10,500 in the rear. For approximately $700 extra, I'll be running the tranny PTO to a separate hydraulic pump instead of using the power steering pump. I'll be able to pull all day long and won't burn up pumps, and the pulling capacity should be increased with the higher pressure of the PTO-driven pump. Also, I'm told MileMarker is coming out with a higher tensile-strength winch which should alleviate the twisting on the mount that you experienced.
Lewey Davis
Stillwater, OK
A regular stuck situation? We reported that a dead pull up a Surprise waterfall netted a load of about 5,200 pounds.
As for your winch shootout, I find your results skewed and favorably prejudiced toward the Warn. I have owned a 9,000-pound MileMarker for more than two years. During that time many high-country four-wheelers have been glad to see it. My winch has never stalled, even under 20,000-pound loads, nor has it ever burned up a power steering pump or even the power steering fluid. It has been a constant and dependable winch.
Rather than go on and on about the attributes of a MileMarker, let's do this: Why don't you bring whatever winch you want to western Colorado and we'll go 'wheeling together. I'm about two hours from Moab, Telluride, and Ouray. The Grand Mesa, granddaddy of the flattop mountains, is also close by. We'll take a Jeep and drive it down the boat ramp on Grandby Lake No. 2 and see which winch gets it out. The last two times I tried this, it took the MileMarker and a snatch block to accomplish the job.
David Bernatis Sr.
Clifton, CO
We stand by our test as being fair and accurate. In fact, we believe it was more fair than what you've proposed since the winches in your test would be on different vehicles. By installing both winches on the same vehicle, we held constant most of the variables that affect winch performance and the load placed on the winch. In fact, we could argue that the MileMarker had an advantage since it was installed by professionals who are familiar with the product, and we bolted the Warn on in the middle of the desert. Also, we pointed out the shortcomings of both winches, and we went through great lengths to keep the MileMarker in the contest by replacing the power steering pump. Furthermore, we used a winch dyno to test true loads-we seriously doubt your ability to judge a 20,000-pound pull without such test equipment.
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