Quote Originally Posted by okiemark View Post
I usually start thinking ahead a little bit on what I want to do and I have been thinking about a winch on the front. I don't plan on getting radical or too far back in the wilderness, but wouldn't mind having the luxury of a winch if I happened to get in a bind or stuck. What size would be appropriate? I was looking at some today just out of curiosity and they had a 4300, a 9000, and a 12000. No way I need 12000 but would 4300 be too small? Another thing, I am trying to avoid buying anything made in China as much as possible and that is hard to do. Are there any US made winches that aren't outrageous in price. I wouldn't even mind if they were made in Mexico. Any advice on this is appreciated.
My choice for most normal-sized 4x4's is the tried and true Warn M8000. that's what I have on mine. Built in the US (with domestic and imported parts), Low profile, reliable, fairly fast loaded/unloaded pull, good parts availability, nice controller, robust solenoid system, standard mounting bolt pattern. Pricey-er than Chinese models, but I'm in the "buy once, cry once" camp when it comes to winches. There are much more expensive winches and much cheaper ones. I think this is the least expensive "quality" winch you can buy.