I finally spent the money on a $700 winch for my dredge and it paid off in one afternoon.

I put off buying a proper winch for like two years because I figured I could just muscle through with my old manual setup. Last month I got tired of fighting with cables that kept tangling and slipping, so I pulled the trigger on a 12V winch off a local supplier for just under 700 bucks. First job with it was clearing a clogged intake on the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, and I had that thing back online in under 15 minutes. In the past I would have spent a whole afternoon sweating and cussing with the manual crank. The winch handled the weight smooth and steady, no jerking or jamming at all. I actually looked forward to the next snag just to use it again. Has anyone else here gone electric and felt dumb for waiting so long?

3 comments

3 Comments

fionamurphy13d ago

Spent more on a winch than my first truck. Worth it though.

william_craig713d ago

Pretty sure you could have strapped a come along to a tree and saved yourself a few grand, @fionamurphy. Half the time people buy fancy winches just to show off at the trailhead. If you're getting stuck that often, might be time to look at your driving instead of your bank account.

the_laura13d ago

Fiona you could have bought a hand crank for what that winch cost, just a shame to see money thrown at problems instead of skill.