P1000 Winch size. 4500, 5000, or 6000. Viper

[Kelldog]

For 1000-3 with 72 inch snow plow. Will all 3 fit with no modifications? No second battery? If yes why wouldnt everyone just go with a 6000?

 

[dnjones161]

$$$

It was my understanding when I was buying that you wanted at least 1.5x your machine weight in rating (for pulling yourself out of things).

I run a 3500 lb winch I picked up cheap with a trailer and it has done me just fine. 85 bucks in it vs 400ish on the top end of what you're looking at if I'm not mistaken- that's why I went with a lower weight rating.

I couldnt speak to what's needed for a plow, but I can't imagine it's more than needed to tug your machine out of the mud.

 

[Dirtstiffs-1000]

6000# Elite widespool on a second battery.

 

[russknight]

I went with the 6000# with dual batteries.

 

[bumperm]

I can see having the 6000 lb winch and maybe even two extra batteries would be handy. Let's say you are free solo climbing and you'd like to bring your P1000 with you for the trip back down . . .

 

[Gunsite Guy]

I'm sitting on the same horns. It must be the grunt in me but I want the lightest weight winch that will do the job. If you watch your ounces, the pounds will take care of themselves. The machine I am talking about is a P1000-3 which Honda says weighs 1567 pounds. I have a windshield, roof, and seat covers installed. Let us round it off at 1600 lbs. So the formula would imply a 3000 # should be okay, a 3500# more than enough. A winch and mount, a plow/pushbar/and mount adds up weight fast definitely tasking the suspension. I've used a SXS w/snow plow since 2008 (PolarisRangers). I would bet money a 2500# would do fine for the plowing.

But...being of the normal male mind set, bigger is better, I am looking at a 4500#. I guess the lightest 4500 :^)

s/f Steve

 

[Kelldog]

So is a second battery needed for a 5000

 

[bumperm]

So is a second battery needed for a 5000

I guess that depends. If you can't run the engine for the alternator output due to the UTV's positon, the stock battery is, what (?) 20 amp hour. That's often rated at 2 amps for 10 hours! You start loading it to 100 amps or more with a 4.5K winch at full tilt, it isn't going to pull hard for long. Then you still want enough reserve for starting the engine. Two batteries starts looking like that old Boy Scout's motto.

Disclaimer, still waiting for my P1KSE (but I already have the spare battery).

 

[Gunsite Guy]

As I scan the Hondasxsclub, I see where 2 batteries are often mentioned. I have never done that. For plowing, I have had a 2008 Polaris Ranger for 4 years, moving to a 2012 Ranger which I kept for 9 years and 6,000 miles. The stock battery went out in the 2012 in the first 12 months and the replacement from Big R lasted the next 8. When at home, parked, I put them on battery tenders. The two Teryxs I had I didn't use for plowing. They were mainly for hot rodding and hunting. One of them had a battery go out in the first 6 months and the dealer replaced it, after he tested the alternator. Anyhow, same for them and battery tenders.

My 2020 P500 (10 months old) and my 2021 P1000 (2 month old) have battery tenders on them while parked at home. The P500 has been out for two weeks at the time but it was driven everyday. Then of course, keeping in mind the watch your ounces thing, no excess lights, stereos, heaters, fans, etc. I am also a if it ain't broke, you can't fix it kind of guy. Living the KISS Principle.

s/f Steve

 

[Ridinfool]

As I scan the Hondasxsclub, I see where 2 batteries are often mentioned. I have never done that. For plowing, I have had a 2008 Polaris Ranger for 4 years, moving to a 2012 Ranger which I kept for 9 years and 6,000 miles. The stock battery went out in the 2012 in the first 12 months and the replacement from Big R lasted the next 8. When at home, parked, I put them on battery tenders. The two Teryxs I had I didn't use for plowing. They were mainly for hot rodding and hunting. One of them had a battery go out in the first 6 months and the dealer replaced it, after he tested the alternator. Anyhow, same for them and battery tenders.

My 2020 P500 (10 months old) and my 2021 P1000 (2 month old) have battery tenders on them while parked at home. The P500 has been out for two weeks at the time but it was driven everyday. Then of course, keeping in mind the watch your ounces thing, no excess lights, stereos, heaters, fans, etc. I am also a if it ain't broke, you can't fix it kind of guy. Living the KISS Principle.

s/f Steve

Ok, if your just plowing and nothing else, do the 3500# wEnch...BUT... if your going to use the wEnch for pulling you or someone else out of a hole/ mud /ditch/rut all of the above... go with the bigger wEnch. If you figure your buggy +gear + suction of mud, your going to need a bigger wEnch. The dual battery thing is very easy to do and the wEnch should run off that leaving your primary battery to run nothing but the buggy. There are some reports of transmissions not working properly due to voltage drop while wEnching. Saving ounces/ pounds is a good practice but don’t skimp on the one thing that could make the difference between spending the night on the trail or making it back to camp. Good luck.

 

[Gunsite Guy]

I like the way you think. Makes perfect sense.

Which puts me back on the horns, you know, of the dilemma I mentioned.

s/f Steve

 

[Ridinfool]

I like the way you think. Makes perfect sense.

Which puts me back on the horns, you know, of the dilemma I mentioned.

s/f Steve

By “horns” do you mean the big horn tires that come stock? I have a viper 5000# winch I installed first thing and it did not make any difference in the tire wear or handling of my buggy.

 

[russknight]

Saying you don't need a bigger winch is like saying you don't need any more horsepower.

 

[Gunsite Guy]

Hmmmmm..."The Horns of a Dilemma" is a proverb, a way of thinking. Think of trying to decide on a course of action. Both courses make sense and then trying to decide.

So, on russknight response, I have a 12,000# winch handy. Is he suggesting that would be more better?

s/f Steve

 

[russknight]

What I'm not saying is be stupid.

 

[StewB]

I have a Superwinch Terra 45 (4500#) on my P1K5LE, which I use mostly for a 72" plow. Because of the plowing, I did go with a dual battery set up. For the six prior years, I had a Superwinch Terra 35 (3500#) on a 2015 Teryx 4, which I used mostly to plow. I burned through one battery and about 8 (out of 50) feet of cable due to wear. The winches worked great and I do recommend the Terra line. KFI makes an inverted mount that gives you a better cable angle out of the fairlead.

As for whether you need more pulling power, I don't know. What I do know is that of the 6-7 times I had to pull someone out of a bad spot the 3500# winch was not the limiting factor - it was the lack of weight in my machine. I'd wind up dragging my Teryx to the stuck vehicle. Had one instance with six people sitting on my Teryx skidding it across the road trying to pull a Jeep back on the road. The winch had the beef to pull, but we didn't have enough beef in the Teryx to hold anchor.

And because folks say that if there aren't pictures it didn't happen:

 

[SP82]

My two cents , I agree with the above 1.5 x the weight on your winch. I got a deal on a kfi4500 so that what I have. Used it once to pull a rzr up a hill. Worked great. As for the second battery the biggest issue I’ve heard was the trans shifts on electrical power. If you sap the battery with accessories (winches use a lot) the trans can have issues. Do it a lot plus lights radios etc and you could smoke your trans. Second battery is an easy install and all my aftermarket accessories run on it alone. Winch lights 12v plug usb charger. Keeps the oem battery for only the oem stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Gunsite Guy]

All, and I mean all,

Thanks very much. This has been a very informative thread and has gone a long way to helping make up my mind.

s/f Steve

 

[Teammontana]

I have been using my 1000/5 for three years plowing snow with a 72” KFI plow setup. My winch is a 4500# Warn Axon with synthetic. Only have 1 battery and never had an issue with it. Pulled a small Kubota tractor sideways 3’ to get it unstuck and had to use it 3 times last weekend pulling my Pioneer out of snowbanks after getting high centered. One thing about the Axon winch install is there is no contactor to deal with. I did have to redo the rope at the plow due to it finally wearing through from plowing. With my other plow setup with wire rope, it was once or twice every season splicing the wire.

 

[ldhmaddogranch]

When considering a winch, there are a few things you should think about before selecting any given brand/model. What weight is the maximum you would ever expect to pull? You probably already know that Murphy is hiding behind every tree and his law is that "you're going to need more than you planned for". With that said, remember that a winch's pulling power is greatly affected by the number of wraps on the spool. Yeah, the first wrap might net you the full power of the winch but the 4th or 5th might reduce that to 50%-70%. Can you live with 50% of a winch's power? Another thing is battery power. At full load, a 5000# winch may draw 300 amps. Of course, it can only draw that if it's available. Don't underestimate the battery and the winch's requirements of it. Cable/wire size also plays a part. If you need a full pull at max draw yet your wiring can't handle it then you should expect to see smoke in the process. Straight-line pulls obviously use the most resources. The use of snatch blocks is a game-changer. For example, if using a snatch block with the cable running back to a recovery point on your UTV, the load changes from 1:1 to 2:1. Less pulling power is required and fewer amps are drawn. So when looking at a winch, look closely at what its amperage draw and line wrap specifications are. And you'll need to consider the size of the circuit breaker so that "smoke thing" does not occur. Of course, this forum is fantastic for seeing what has worked for people. I wish there were more people that shared "Don't Do This" moments, but I understand why they don't. Learning is what this forum is about! Be safe!