Winch Questions

[andyman32392]

Hey guys I am having a warn winch installed tomorrow and had a few questions. I have a Shrock, do you need to just drop it down in there or do you need to take off any pieces? Are there built in mounting spots for bolts/screws? Do I need any extra power such as a second battery,(I currently have four offroad lights and a set of hids hooked up)?

 

[andyman32392]

Also, what do I need to do for a fairlead with Shrock? Do you have to get the flat style like what they have in thier pics?

 

[d2huffman]

As far as battery, you should be fine with one. I had a winch on my previous vehicle and liked the Optima (blue) battery - nice to have dual terminals so you can bolt winch leads directly to battery. You definitly want a heavy duty.

 

[andyman32392]

As far as battery, you should be fine with one. I had a winch on my previous vehicle and liked the Optima (blue) battery - nice to have dual terminals so you can bolt winch leads directly to battery. You definitly want a heavy duty.

So your saying I should trade out my stocker for a heavy duty battery?

 

[d2huffman]

If you have the stock Panasonic battery - it is a very good battery and if it is still going strong I guess I would have a hard time advacating replacement. One of the issues with installing a winch is getting adaquate connection to the battery as the draw is high. The dual post battery makes this very simple. It is really important to study the connection points you use and make sure they are clean. Some conductive grease is a good idea.
While trying to winch a friends vehicle that was stuck in his yard with a trailer full of furniture as the water was rising (flooding) I melted the post out of a battery from the heat. Kind of extreme as we were rushing the process - water was about 2" below my door. I should have used the conductive grease here.

 

[Huskey]

I have a Warn10K also, fantastic winch. Mine is in an ARB bumper but the install should be the same - easiest with the bumper off. The fairlead that comes with the winch didn't line up with the bumper with regards to bolt holes, I needed to drill new ones in the fairlead. More importantly, the gears may require rotation depending on where you hand hole is to engage/disengage the gears. This is only an allen key and some patients to get it back together. As far as I've seen, winch bolt holes are pretty standard and should line up for you without problems.

 

[andyman32392]

Anyone who has a Shrock know how to mount the winch? Do you have to mount it foward

 

[Doozi]

From what I've seen, the winch will mount against the inside, vertical surface of the front plate of the Shrockworks bumper which I think is pretty nice as there will be very little, if any shear force on those winch-mounting bolts.

I think that most winches recommend a battery with a minimum of about 650 CCA (Cold Cranking Amps). I'm planning to get something like an Optima with about 800 CCA when I get a winch.

 

[Optima Bill]

Andy,
Let me add a couple things here if I may.
First, since you are adding a winch, please get a dual purpose deep-cycling battery. With Optima that means either a YellowTop or BlueTop. In automotive applications, we recommend the YellowTops. BlueTops are marine/RV batteries and will work also but sometimes size is an issue. We have a great spec page about our YellowTops and our BlueTops on our website to help you with size and fitment. As long as a battery's cranking amps meet or exceed the requirements to start the engine, reserve capacity and the ability to be deep-cycled are the most-important considerations for batteries used in winching applications.
One thing I need to caution you about though and this probably holds true with most manufacturers. We do not want you to hook up winch leads to the wingnut or sidepost terminals on our batteries. These terminals are not designed to handle the continuous amperage draws when winching and could fail if used. While they are the correct size and most people assume that is fine, it isn't and we try to get that word our as much as possible especially on sites like this. Winches should always be hooked up directly to the SAE terminals.
I hope this helps you make the right decision on your application. Feel free to ask other questions about our products if you have them.
Thanks,
Bill Howell
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries. Inc.