My company owns a 2003 330 Polaris magnum and I need to know what winch will be best suited for the job. We do forestry-consulting work and we handle blow downs constantly. What I have been doing before is cutting the blow down with our saws then hooking up a recovery strap and jerking the tree to the side. We get stuck occasionally in snowdrifts. So I need to know what is the best winch to use that will fit my companies’ budget, remove blow downs and unstuck us ?
When will I need a 2000, 3000lb winch?
I am good with tools and instructions so will the winch kit allow me to put it on myself or would I need to seek professional help?
And where does everyone get good deals on ATV winches? Cabelas has super winch 2000 and mount w/ ****** block for about $275

 

deffinetly get the warn 300 pound and you will never have to worry about not being able to get unstuck or pull something,but when you are pulling something make sure that youre parked behing a tree or something to keep it still or the winch will just pull the bike forward.

 

sorry 3000 pound warn winch

 

I use a Warn 2000lb winch, with a snatchblock the line pull is doubled. Never seen anything it wouldnt pull my 1000lb Sportsman 700 out of. I suppose a 2500 or 3000 is even better, but if there isnt much a doubled up 2000 cant do, why bother. If you need a 3000 lb or more line pull, you probably cant pull it with an ATV. it's one thing if you want to move the 4 wheeler, but if you want it to sit still while you pull that much, good luck. A Magnum 330 is what, maybe 600 pounds? It isnt going to want to pull much more than that before it slides. I've never heard the park behind a tree trick. What I have seen, and hate to admit I've done, is tie off to a tree to keep the winching machine in place. This is a good way to lengthen a 4 wheeler, but it is very bad for the frame. Use a snatchblock, and a "deadman" whenever possible. This helps take some of the load off of the winch. Also, hold the brakes on the winching machine. If you dont have all four wheels locked, the weight on the unlocked wheels is working against you, not for you.
I'm not crazy about the Superwinch products. I had one and it was okay, but only marginally. Side by side they look a lot cheesier than the Warn and Ramsey. Personally I prefer the Ramsey name, but it wasnt available when I bought mine. Warn makes a great product, though. If you were going to be doing a lot of winching, there is a winch out there designed for more continuous severe duty. I think it was called the X-1, and if I'm not mistaken Superwinch made it. I saw one used before and it was wicked fast.
If the strap and yank method works for you and nobody gets hurt, I'd keep doing that. It's going to be a lot faster than winching. The winch is better suited to self-recovery anyway.
As far as installation goes, I put mine on all by myself, it only took me a couple hours and I'm an idiot.

 

Go warn.

 

I kinda regret not going with the Warn 2.5ci just cuz it fits in nice and snug inside the SP700 winch opening BUT I opted for the Superwinch 3k# thinking it wld be designed in the same manner and its NOT!

Anyway I havent really used it that many times yet but Ive read nothing but good things about this winch, the best part is I got it for $380 delivered to my door w/ the mounting kit from atvoutfitters.

 

2000 lbs is big enough for a magnum (@600 lb bike)., just make sure it free wheels out so you don't have to use power to get the cable out. Also, when I bought mine, I mounted it up front, got into the deepest mud hole I could find...then realized that a 50 foot cable couldn't reach that tree which was @ 250 feet in front of the bike...and that the winch on the front was useless for the tree which was only 20 or so feet behind my bike.

When I did get home, I fabbed my own brackets that could allow me to put the winch on the front or rear of the bike as required. That was back in 1997 and it has worked great since then. Check out my page if you want some Ideas. The winch can also be removed and left home when I want.

 

Thanks for everyones help. I truely appreciate it.