Heavy duty recovery options.

[Salty4Life]

Hello all, newbie here. I’m I’m the process of out fitting my rig and the next items will be self recovery gear. Most of the information I have been able to find is pretty Jeep and Land Crusier specific. When I find a write up on full siz trucks, they are usually referring to half tons, leaving us heavy duty guys wondering if that info even applies.

So first of my rig is as 2018 ram 2500 CTD
Bilstein 5160 shocks with 2.3 inch leveling springs
17” Method 314s with 35” Toyo RTs
Decked truck bed drawer system

Right now the truck weighs between 7000-7500 pounds. Do I need a 12k winch or would a 10k or 8k do the job? Is something like a high lift jack even an option for me since they all seem to be rated right at 7000 pounds? How strong are the front factory tow hooks and could they be used as a high lift jack point? What is the minimum weight rating for things like winch’s and snatch straps that i can use safely?

 

[Desert Runner]

Plastic bumpers complicate extractions. Hi-lyft =1 corner at a time. Uses the wheel lift attachment on your alloy rims, to raise a wheel. Use a rear hitch "stinger" as a rear extraction point. Front hooks on a RAM are either good or bad, depending on model generation, aka....strong or weak. On your winch size selection....10k minimum with 2 snatch blocks. A 12k would be a better choice.
Although you didn't mention it, a HD Winch bull bar would be an excellent choice, as the winch would have a dedicated/designed mounting point.
Get some recovery straps, or better, the new bubba-rope recovery rope. Get a a static tow strap, a static tree saver also. The static tow strap also works as a winch line extension. When working with big heavy pickups, make sure you have enough safety factor in the equation.
I hope this answers some of your questions and gives you a direction to work towards.

PS.......some schackles.....steel or new soft(correct rating) are needed also. I have steel, but 1 or 2 soft are in my future.-

 

[Salty4Life]

The bumpers are painted steel not plastic. I’m unsure if the wheel lift attachment will work with the method wheels on the truck.

 

[avgjoe624]

second to what desert runner said.

minimum 10k winch should suit you fine as long as the mounting point is solid. a 12k wouldn't hurt at all and isn't much more of a price difference. snatch blocks = lighter load to pull, I recommend atleast one, but 2 is always better if you have the options.
A Hi-lift would work just fine as well, just use it where you need it, although rarely do I need my jack instead of my winch. in sticky situations, the winch usually does the trick for me.

ditch the plastic bumper if you plan on doing a lot of offroading, it will hinder the process and probably get broken in the long run.

and a winch dampener. lol. last time I winched a ram out of a hole I was crouched over behind my dash standing on the brake pedal because I was pulling the jeep and I swore my cable was about to snap.

ADD* if you want the wheel attachment for the hi-lift, just get some soft shackles and use them through your wheels. they will work and wont scratch them up

 

[Desert Runner]

The bumpers are painted steel not plastic. I’m unsure if the wheel lift attachment will work with the method wheels on the truck.

Factory steel bumpers are not going to cut it either. They are just too thin a gauge of metal. Look into the wheel lift attachment question. You need to get a 4 or 6 ton bottle Jack with some solid wood base pieces. Won't work in all cases, but will in most. If you have the room, a single vehicle stand will add some safety, if your working under or close to the truck.

 

[Desert Runner]

Factory steel bumpers are not going to cut it either. They are just too thin a gauge of metal. Look into the wheel lift attachment question. You need to get a 4 or 6 ton bottle Jack with some solid wood base pieces. Won't work in all cases, but will in most. If you have the room, a single vehicle stand will add some safety, if your working under or close to the truck.

Winch dampner,.....forgot to add that. Good catch. I have 1, but need a 2nd. Get a quality 1, they are not equal. I have a WARN, BUT PLAN ON A ARB. Both of these are HD, and constructed well.

 

[smritte]

I would say 12k winch. The price difference between that and the lower ones is not that much. I have stalled a 9.5 warn on my jeep pulling someone out of mud. All my vehicles only get 12k now. You will need a very strong mounting point for it and I would upgrade your battery as well.

Forget the high lift, too dangerous and what would you use it for? I've had high lifts on my jeeps for years, They only got used when I got a rock wedged underneath. Lift vehicle and drive letting jack tip over. Even on pavement, sketchy to lift with. There is the "I have a high lift" cool factor though. You need to keep a bottle of WD40 to spray it down before you use it.

As desert runner suggested, get yourself a good hydraulic bottle jack to change tires. My cruiser with the armor is around 7k. A high lift would just take up space. I have a 5 ton bottle jack from harbor freight. Works great.

Scott

 

[Salty4Life]

I would like to mention. I have a shovel, bottle jacks witch mud plates and a tow strap currently. Since to winch is going to need a bumper, it’s going to be quite expensive. So I’ll probably get one eventually, but for the sake of getting out there quicker, I was thinking about just getting a hi lift, traction boards and A snatch strap first. What are some good mounting options for hi lifts and maxtrax with my decked system. I’m trying to avoid a bed topper or rack.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Minimum of a 12k winch and all straps/ropes/soft shackles should be a minimum of 21K.

 

[Desert Runner]

Minimum of a 12k winch and all straps/ropes/soft shackles should be a minimum of 21K.

All my straps are rated at 30,000 to 36,000 lbs. My winch is 17,500. Truck is at least 7500 lbs. Now. I like a 3 to 1 safety factor if possible. 2.5 minimum should be a goal, as mud will present the most challenge to extraction woes. The ARB Bull bumper is designed for a 16,000 lb. warn, so it is well designed for those stress levels

 

[Salty4Life]

What winch are you running?

 

[Desert Runner]

What winch are you running?

A Smittybilt X-20, 17,500 K in a ARB Bull-bar bumper. This bumper is designed to fit a WARN 16,000 K bumper. The Smittybilt has a 1 inch difference in 1 dimension (W. xD.xH). It fits, but it is tight. The winch pocket is a captive design, which makes it basically theft proof. The whole bumper assembly has to be removed. One thing I did was put a isolation switch into the right bumper wing as a safety switch in case of a contactor malfunction and battery anti-drain.
Not all bull bars are created equal. Mounting points, air flow, air bag comparability, etc should be considered.
The X-20 has a IC RATING of 48 vs 47. The difference is waterproof vs water resistant. But as others will tell you........TAKE THAT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. Living in the desert SW, water immersion is not a concern as those who regularly deal with mud. This winch also has a wireless/wired controller. It also gets fairly good reviews vs other winches. QC of Chinese manufactured winches sare much better than past years. And yes....WARN has certain models now made there also. I mention that because there are those out there who follow the WARN or none crowd. In the end it is a buyers choice derision. $$$, should be only one factor.
Buy supporting gear to compliment the winch you purchase. Straps, S chackles, snatch blocks, etc!

 

[Salty4Life]

What are some good brands of winch bumpers. I would like a full guard and lots of front tire clearance. My top choices have been addictive desert designs and road armor, but I’m also looking at fab fours and a few others. Are there any that should brands that should flat out be avoided? They all seem to be around the same price, $2600-2800.

 

[Salty4Life]

Factory steel bumpers are not going to cut it either. They are just too thin a gauge of metal. Look into the wheel lift attachment question. You need to get a 4 or 6 ton bottle Jack with some solid wood base pieces. Won't work in all cases, but will in most. If you have the room, a single vehicle stand will add some safety, if your working under or close to the truck.

I think there was a misunderstanding here. I’m asking if the factory tow hook that stick through the front bumper are strong enough to be a hi lift jacking point.

 

[Desert Runner]

What are some good brands of winch bumpers. I would like a full guard and lots of front tire clearance. My top choices have been addictive desert designs and road armor, but I’m also looking at fab fours and a few others. Are there any that should brands that should flat out be avoided? They all seem to be around the same price, $2600-2800.

I'm biased....for the ARB. they look good, have good QC, and most important....they are airbag compatible in a market that ignores the importance of such. My mileage actually went up...15.1 to 15.2 mpg. A important consideration was that I noticed NO operating temp increase. This means that airflow was not compromised in its design.
I have also heard that while a bumper can handle the stress inputs because of metal thickness, the bumper to frame attachment points are...way...way undersized and to weak for safe extraction. My bumper uses a minimum of 6 on each frame rail (12) total to 8 on each side. They also tie into the OEM recovery hooks underneath. These are 3 to a hook into the frame.
TJM...Australian has nice designs in steel and aluminum. But very limited in the North American market. There are oth er Australian companies out there with wide available. International vehicle models, but again...Ltd USA vehicle designs.
My bumper....2003 Silverado classic HD, weighs with winch about 350-400 pounds. Heavy.....YES, but no bad handling problems. My cost thru 4 wheel drive parts was just under $1500. Add mounting kit...another $100, so it was way under a road armour bumper or a comparable competitors of $2500 plus. I really like the OREGAN COMPANY, BUT THEY WENT FROM $1700 TO $2300. They are the BUCKSTOP, and offer options like color matched paint and different aux lighting buckets, for a price of course. Saw one on a FORD on the ferry in Alaska, and talked with the owner, he was very pleased with it.
If you do night driving or live in areas with high animal concentrations, consider this a recovery piece, where a animal strike will leave you dead in the water, probably way out in the middle of NOWHERE.
Amazon offers ARB, and there are 2 different review threads on my bumper for my truck. I did 1 for each review offering. Toyota's and Jeeps have lots of model designs there. All are cheaper than full size truck models. Where ARB is big bucks are their new bumper design for new trucks. Now we're in the $2500 range....modular design.

 

[Desert Runner]

I think there was a misunderstanding here. I’m asking if the factory tow hook that stick through the front bumper are strong enough to be a hi lift jacking point.

They should be, just not sure how stabile that would be. I know there are hi lift accessories that can be used. Just understand if it slips your bumper will be trashed

 

[Salty4Life]

Yep on my truck the arb bumper would run 2800-2900. I also need something that integrates the front parking sensors

 

[Desert Runner]

Yep on my truck the arb bumper would run 2800-2900. I also need something that integrates the front parking sensors

I think the BUCKSTOP, has that feature option.

It definitely is a complication for a bumper choice.

 

[smritte]

I’m asking if the factory tow hook that stick through the front bumper are strong enough to be a hi lift jacking point.

They should be. Take a tape measure, measure distance to ground, add 6 inches. That's about how high a high lift will be to remove a tire. I have notches in my bumpers for a high lift to fit into. No way to slip off. I used them in the driveway to see how well they worked. My high lift was almost at the top. If my vehicle was a bit higher, I would have to get a taller high lift.

I also need something that integrates the front parking sensors

This is a problem with modern trucks and will most likely raise the price of the bumper. From what Ive seen, on most trucks the sensors look like they should be easy to swap over provided the bumper accepts them.
I went to look at a dodge truck last year. A friend replaced the bed with a flat bed. The sensors on that truck were in the tail light housings. They wanted me to make them work in the aftermarket rear lights on the new bed. It wasn't possible and no one made a "universal" sensor I could use. As far as I could see, all it did was disable the vehicle lane change detection and turn on a light.

 

[Desert Runner]

They should be. Take a tape measure, measure distance to ground, add 6 inches. That's about how high a high lift will be to remove a tire. I have notches in my bumpers for a high lift to fit into. No way to slip off. I used them in the driveway to see how well they worked. My high lift was almost at the top. If my vehicle was a bit higher, I would have to get a taller high lift.



This is a problem with modern trucks and will most likely raise the price of the bumper. From what Ive seen, on most trucks the sensors look like they should be easy to swap over provided the bumper accepts them.
I went to look at a dodge truck last year. A friend replaced the bed with a flat bed. The sensors on that truck were in the tail light housings. They wanted me to make them work in the aftermarket rear lights on the new bed. It wasn't possible and no one made a "universal" sensor I could use. As far as I could see, all it did was disable the vehicle lane change detection and turn on a light.

I have 3. 2 Hi Lyfts, and a Chinese knockoff. All of them the 48" standard size. As stated above, the 60" is a better choice for lifted or full size trucks.

RONNIE DAHL in Austrailia has a video addressing this question. As also mentioned above, the ARB and 1 or 2 other bull bars have a HI LYFT Jack pocket integrated into their bumpers to minimize potential slippage.