P700 Winch Options for Plowing

[lawoftangent]

Hello everyone. New to the forums here. I'd post to the "newcomers" area but they're still assembling my 2021 P700 at the dealership and it seemed like that would be anticlimactic to post there without a photo.

Anyway, I plan on using the P700 for plowing this winter in central/southern Maine and I was hoping to get some opinions on winch options for the plow. Of course there is potential for the winch to be used for recovery purposes, but I'm asking in particular about the utility while plowing. I guess I have the following questions I was hoping somebody may be able to shed some light on before I put an order in.

1. The main brands people seem to be going with are Warn, KFI, and Viper? Are there other brands I should be looking out for?

2. Is it worth it to spend the extra money on a KFI or a Warn winch vs a Viper? The salesman at the dealership noted that at that particular location, they were having better luck (read: shorter install times) with the KFI winch mounts vs the factory Honda mounts

3. Is it worth it to spend the few extra bucks on a 4,500 lb winch vs a 3,500 lb winch?

4. Is synthetic cable worth it?

5. It seemed like most plow setups come with either a lever setup or a pulley to reduce the severity of the load-angle on the winch, as well as a plow strap. Is there anything else I should be looking into for a plow setup?

Any input is greatly appreciated. I'm supposed to be loading the unit onto a trailer in about a week and a half and I was hoping to get everything ordered to be ready for then.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Admin]

 

[allgm1]

I have a badlands 3500 lbs winch from harbor freight on my 700. It hasn't given me any problems since it's been I've owned it. I prefer a steel cable for plowing, but I know some prefer synth. rope, I just feel the steel line lasts the longest. My eagle plow set up has taken a crap ton of abuse with minimal repairs, the pivot bolt is getting sloppy but they all get like that after a while. I have totally enclosed cab and heat in my rig so plowing snow with the 700 is the way I go.

 

[lawoftangent]

Appreciate the feedback. I've heard good things about the bigger Badlands winches on light pickups and Jeeps, maybe that they're a little slow but still solid. I plan on doing a soft cab setup and they're installing the heat at the dealership, good to know that seems to work well. I've been using a 26" snowblower for my driveway for the last two years, anything would be an improvement.

 

[z4abraha]

I have a 3500 lb Viper winch with steel cable to the Denali 72” plow. Works fantastic, no need for the extra pulley fairlead system in my opinion.

I’m really impressed with the 700’s plowing ability. Cuts my hour + long snow blowing job down to about 15 minutes. Could be 10 but I’m a bit of a perfectionist. Windshield, soft enclosure, and heat are worth their weight in gold and make me a lot more willing to help the neighbors out when the windchill’s below zero.

I should add... I bought the plow through the forum and got a GREAT deal.

 

[Glock21user]

I run a 5k cap. Badlands with synthetic rope and have not had a single issue.
Slower than others i am sure but I do not feel like I am giving up reliability or pulling power.
It has been used often and has never let me down.
At the end of the day any and all things mechanical can fail no matter the name on the tag, I spent the difference in cost of the winch on other things I wanted.
I am working on a rear mount and another 5k Badlands for rear pulls when it is more convenient.
Do what feels right and don't look back just enjoy.

 

[lawoftangent]

I appreciate all the feedback. I ended up going with a KFI and the install went pretty smoothly, I just need to finish up the wiring the next time I get a chance.

 

[Headhunterf100]

How’s the quality of that kfi look? Thinking of picking one up for mine soon.

 

[lawoftangent]

How’s the quality of that kfi look? Thinking of picking one up for mine soon.

Speaking strictly on fit/finish it seems good. I ended up getting a good deal on the 3,000 lb winch which is maybe a little small but figured it would be enough for plowing at least this winter, especially using a snatch block on the plow side. The mount specifically seems very rugged with using the top 4 bolts from the bumper mount combined with two additional bolted connections that clamp around the frame. Time will tell, but the install was probably less than an hour as far as getting the winch mounted to the frame.