Don't know the first thing about winches! Would like to put one on the Rancher, just for emergencies. We don't have mud out here in the desert, so I won't be hauling myself out of any mud holes. It won't see frequent use.

Usually, the Rancher is light enough, that if I get stuck in the rocks, I can pick it up and carry it.........but you never know. Mostly, just want something to help if a bike happened to skid off the trail in the snow or something like that. Something adequate for the job, but don't want to load the little Rancher down with a bunch of weight.

 

IMO, you can't go wrong with WARN or RAMSEY winches. They range from $250-$500 on the net.

 

For the desert and you want to save money go with a hand ratchet winch. If you do not plan on using it much it is a great alternative. I did a google search and this is the first one. I don't think they run more than 70$ either. It will have no problem pulling your rancher and a load on it. The one below has a 900lbs cap.

Ratchet Winch

Hope this helps.

 

Good idea, RE: the hand winch. They are way cheaper, and MORE reliable, after long periods of disuse!
I had forgotten about those winches.

 

Thanks! Going to give the hand rachet a lot of consideration. In addition, I could keep one in the truck when riding SPORT bikes. If someone got stuck, could send someone back to the truck for the rachet.

If I get a winch for the Rancher, the Warn 2.5ci only weighs 15.4 lbs!! Looks like Warn has gone to some effort to keep the weight down. I imagine the mounting hardware would add a few more pounds, and you would have to carry tackle, etc. to use with it, adding some more weight.

 

I put the Warn 2500lbs series on my Grizzly and noticed the weight immediatley in the front. I am going to buy the hand ratchet one and mount it on my raptor when I trail ride. I get stcuk 10 times more than anyone I ride with due to the ground clearance.

 

Different riding conditions out here! We have never had anybody stuck so bad, either sport bike or ute, that we couldn't wrestle the bike out of it. The guys I ride utes with have winches, so I have just figured I could depend on them if I got in a real bad bind. But, best to be self-sufficient, and not have to rely on anyone else!

On the sport bikes, we travel light and fast. Even putting a rachet on them, would be sacreligious. Thanks again!

 

I had a Superwinch on my Recon and I think I used it twice. Once I hooked it up to a pole and pulled the Recon up through the yard. Just to try it out. The second time I came across a tree in my path. So I decided to pull the tree off the path with the winch. The tree was stuck behind a stump so the winch just pulled me and the Recon (skidding) toward the tree. I didn't have the tires locked with anything except the brakes. So I've come to the conclusion that I don't really need a winch but do like having one just in case. So I think I'd buy one of those cheap $110. 2000lb Tusk winches. The mount and fairlead are about $75.00 more. So for around $200.00 you could have a "just in case" winch. rockymountainatv.com sells the Tusk. I have a friend that has one and it's worked well so far.

If I was going to sink a decent amount of money into a winch, I'd probably buy a Ramsey with a remote.

I also have a cable hoist/puller or "come along" that I used to carry in my 1959 *****'s and never used. So I could just carry that but I always forget about it. The good thing about the winches is the long cable length. The atv ratchet winch also seems like a good idea because it is compact. Remember that the length of cable on a winch doesn't exactly mean that it will extend that distance. Some of the cable has to remain on the winch while extended.

 

OK, I bought the Warn 2500. The winch may weigh 15 lbs., but with all the mounting hardware, wiring, accessories, etc., the whole thing weighs 30 lbs.!!! The Ranchers best feature is that it is small, light, and nimble. Not sure I want to stick a 30 lbs. "beer belly" out on the front of the little Rancher. Just doesn't jive with my "travel light and fast" philosophy! Doesn't exactly help when doing wheelies either. Considering returning it.

 

I'm trying decide if I want the extra weight in the front of my Foreman. It may strip it of the little bit of fun factor it has. The extra weight didn't help the fun factor of my Recon. I went from hopping over trees to sliding. It changed the handling and ruined the wheelies. I'm just afraid that a Foreman with the extra weight (600 lb machine) will be impossible to get out of trouble. I'm also afraid that the extra weight (600 lb machine compared to the 400 lb Recon) will get it into trouble worst. I might just get a plastic trunk for the back and throw my "come along" and tow strap in it.

One thing that makes me nervous about "Atv Winch Ratchet" is the weight capacity. It is rated at 900 lb. I wonder what it's rated at when extended. (The strap is only 20'.) With a 2000 lb winch the pulling capacity reduces with each layer of cable that is extended.
cable layer-1.- 2000 lb, 2.- 1650 lb, 3.- 1375 lb, 4.- 1200 lb, 5.- 1050 lb, 6.- 945 lb.
So, how strong would a strap be while extended and it has a 900 lb cap.

Northern Tools has a 2 Ton "come along"/"hoist-puller" for $12.99 with a shipping weight of 9 lb. The only negative thing is that it only has 12' of cable.