Hydraulic Winches Pros Cons

rbo1577186

rbo1577186

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Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Location
Winston Salem
MileMarker makes these, runs off of the power steering pump??

Since this greatley decreases the load on your battery/alternator, why aren't these more popular?

thx, just curious..
 
Sloooooooooooooow.

Don't run when your engine isn't.

Most people's PS systems are already plenty stressed.
 
Worthwhile only if you u/g the ps pump. Best deal if you want hydro is either a belt-driven or PTO-driven hydraulic pump, with a real hydraulic winch on it (ex. from Pierce or AWdirect) like a 10k ramsey. Use a 12v solenoid controlled valve to control.

In hydraulic winches (and in general terms), PSI governs pulling ability (weight), hydraulic flow (GPM) governs line speed. MM's running off a power steering pump don't have the flow rate to do the job right.
 
I have also heard from people that have them don't plan on turning the steering wheel and winching at the same time. You can do one or the other but not both.


They make sense for a lot of things but they don't seem to be particularly suited for this sport.
 
The entire engine running thing kills it for me. Typically if I am recovering myself. It isn't running. Would be great on a work truck with a PTO but for crawling I want a winch that works no matter what I have done to my rig.
 
Pro's

Pro's:
You see them mostly on Wreckers that are normally chocked down on/ or into the pavement...sitting idle, not steering a vehicle....the hydraulic system is separate, normally off the tranny PTO but sometimes a belt driven pump or electric pump.
The hydraulic fluid helps cool the winch itself and can handle a ton of load and keep on ticking. The hydraulic fluid also powers the boom and wheel lift and/or rollback, so it makes since.

Con's:
As mentioned...slow and engine must be running, meanwhile robbing most of the steering ability. Also, to use a hydro winch on most normal 4x4's it would require much more equipment than simply running the 12 volt cables to the battery.

I've seen plenty of people rig up all kinds of cool stuff, so its all up to what YOU want to do or have laying around and time on yer hands. :beer:
 
the MM's don't have enough cooling capacity via hyd. oil. In a "real" hydraulic system, ideal reservoir size is equal to the GPM of the pump. 15gpm pump = 15 gallon reservoir = 15 gallon heat sink.

Full-on hyrdraulic (or mechanical PTO) is 100% duty-cycle, though. Great if you are the winch man on top of a hill and have to bring up one after another. No cool-down time, no charging time, not burnt up solenoids or motor.
 
Power Take Off, usually driven off a bull gear on the transmission. Easy to install if you have the right trans, but rarely are they able to afford ground clearance for off raod use.
larger trucks (class 7 and 8 ) the PTO/pump is driven off the front of the engine via a crank mounted driveshaft, but the space/mounting provisions are pretty limited on smaller light duty vehicles due to radiator placement.
easiest and really not tough to due ( but expensive) are accerory drive "clutch pumps" a hyd pump mounted to the engine, driven by it's own belts and switch on/off with a clutch pulley like an AC compressor pump.
problems with the clutch pump is they are REALLY slow unless you have a sizeable pump, you need a large resivior for hyd fluid for opreration/cooling, keeping the belts adjusted is a PITA, and expense
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...ne&fullTime=none&totalSounds=none&rotate=none $430 just for the pump, then you have all the other plumbing involved, the rez tank, and control valve.
 
Power take off. Some tcases have a third output (pto) for powering things...like a tractor.

:edit: I was beat. The pto's I've seen on non-commercial trucks have been run by the tcase. Some early broncos came with pto winches and plenty of older ford tcases have the option for a pto.
 
I have a MM hydro. It's the 10.5 dual speed. The speed is fine. I am using the chevy saginaw pump and it also does fine. I can steer while winching, but I can feel the extra load. The big problem for me is that the motor must be running when you use it. Get an electric winch and two batteries without isolator.
 
My .02, if your like most and find your self wheeling alone at times, definitly get the elec. While the bats won't winch you forever without the rig running, it will be enough to get you righted, or at least secured etc..

IMHO - this is the big difference in the larger/faster winches. They tend to draw a lot of amps while running at full load 500+amps, which equals less usage without recharging the bats.. An older slower rep8000 style usually only draw 300amps at FULL load and imho you will get more run time on it with the lower amp draw..

But if your the type that never wheels along, and you have a decient pump.. The hydro might be the thing for you..
 
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