My new Warn winch mounted on my F150

Raul B

Explorer
And weight? Seems like you have the same rig I have. Had u considered the rough country hidden winch mount?

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SDDiver5

Expedition Leader
Nice!

To sum it up:
Steel winch line can rust, get caught in the spool, give you metal splinters (which hurt like crazy) and if it breaks the cable snaps back and can put a nice size gash in whatever it hits.

Synthetic lines dont rust, and dont snap like steel can. But from what Ive heard they can fray easier, and if not properly taken care of they only last a few years.

Truck looks good! Its always nice seeing a fellow F150 on here!
 

AFBronco235

Crew Chief
Steel is the more resilient of the two. However, anything breaks if not cared for properly. Part of the reason why you hear so many people snapping synthetic line is because they don't winch properly. The other problem is they use a hawser instead of a proper roller fairlead. And while synthetic rope might not fray with steel wires, it can still pick up debris and stick that can hurt just as bad if not worse. The other problem is that because synthetic tow line is so new, people often think of it as a miracle tow line. Its not. You still need to size it according to your application, and the go a few sizes bigger. Most experienced winchers swear by steel, but that's partly because they know what they're doing and how to do it right and safe. The biggest problem with synthetic is with abrasion, as mentioned earlier. A snag on a small branch can drastically weaken a synthetic line, while a steel cable would just snap the branch. Then you have the myth that hawser fairleads are required equipment for synthetic lines, when they're probably the most damage causing part of the system. Go with over lapping rollers and you will avoid a lot of wear and tear on the line. The last thing I would say, and this applies to both types, is don't use a roller fairlead like a pulley! It wasn't designed to act as such. If the line of your pull is more than a few degrees off the natural pull direction of your winch, use a snatch block or pulley. Ideally, you don't want your line touching anything as it unrolls from the drum except for a pulley designed for such a task. Rollers that I've seen are usually 1 or 1 1/2 inches thick, which is not nearly a large enough curve and can put extra stress on a line causing it to break. This is how steel lines get birdcaged and deformed and how synthetic lines get stretched and frayed.

I guess to sum this up, either will really work, but ONLY IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING! After all, you can't fix stupid, and I'm a big believer in natural selection.
 
And weight? Seems like you have the same rig I have. Had u considered the rough country hidden winch mount?

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I didn't know that existed. Price is nice, but I wanted to mount a bull bar too in case I needed to chase down any four legged lunches!:chef:
 

Raul B

Explorer
I didn't know that existed. Price is nice, but I wanted to mount a bull bar too in case I needed to chase down any four legged lunches!:chef:

ah ok. I'm running the hidden winch mount because I didn't want a huge aftermarket bumper and I didn't want anything sticking out to far that would limit my approach angle. What other mods have you done or plan on doing?

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I'd like to do a lift, get taller tires, skid plates, lights ect. The guys that mounted my winch did something and now my steering wheel is seized up and my Advanetrack light says it must be serviced and I can't figure out how to fix it. Battery is near death, they didnt do something rightwhen they mounted my winch. I'm curently waiting on a tow truck to take me to the Ford dealership to be robbed by them.
 

AFBronco235

Crew Chief
Did they use an isolator or a relay to control power to the winch? When I installed duel batteries in my 91' Bronco, I used an isolator. That isolator somehow managed to drain both batteries, even though it was hooked up correctly. I ended up dead on the side of the road. Fortunately, I keep a jump box handy and plenty of on board tools. I was able to disconnect the isolator and jump start it with the box and I was off again. Got a refund on the isolator and now I'm just waiting on a dual battery relay from Painless wiring to replace it with.

As for the steering wheel, I'd call the guy who did the winch install and ask them what they did. If they had to touch the steering at all to do the winch install (I honestly doubt it, but there are stupid people in this world), and see if they'll fix anything they did wrong. A good shop runs on reputation so give them a chance to fix it if they broke it.
 

Raul B

Explorer
I'd like to do a lift, get taller tires, skid plates, lights ect. The guys that mounted my winch did something and now my steering wheel is seized up and my Advanetrack light says it must be serviced and I can't figure out how to fix it. Battery is near death, they didnt do something rightwhen they mounted my winch. I'm curently waiting on a tow truck to take me to the Ford dealership to be robbed by them.

oh man that sucks. was it mounted by a shop? if so they should reimburse you for your troubles

on a side note. i have pretty much everything you want to do to your truck dont to mine already if your interested to see how it would look. i have a build thread in my signature.
 

clandr1

Adventurer
Take the truck back to the place that installed the winch, and if it needs to go to Ford, have them pay for towing, service shop fees, etc.
 
I don't know about an isolator or control switch. When the shop installed it, they said all they did was connect the wires to the battery and nothing else. Then went on to say I must have a dead cell in the battery. My steering wheel was locked up in their garage due to something involving the advancetrac, when they were done, and I had no prior problems before bringing it to them. It is now at the dealership, hopefully they'll be able to tell me if its the truck or the idiots at the shop.
 

clandr1

Adventurer
What shop did you use? I wonder if, in the process of installing your winch, they accidentally shorted the battery contacts causing your computer to go nuts. Either that, or maybe they managed to drain the battery so low, it's causing problems w/ the computer?
 
I used the Leonard topper shop on tunnel rd in Asheville. Never again. I ordered my mount and bull bar from them which they said it would be in on Monday. Then Tuesday, weds they said it was shipped that day.. It'll be 7 days. After 8,9,days they said it was shipped to Minnesota. Then said it'll be in on Monday. Monday comes along and oh gee whiz it got shipped to our main office in mt airy 3 hrs away. It will be here on weds. It didn't show up until late weds. Mounted it thurs and my other problems began....
 

clandr1

Adventurer
Holy crap... What a grand spectacle of incompetence. Thanks for sharing, and please keep us posted as you have updates.
 

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