Winch & battery question

Hi guys.

I'm thinking of instaling a winch to my Jim, but I hardly know anything about winches. What pulling strenght should i aim for? Was looking at some Warrior winches, would 6k be enough? I've also looked at 8k and got an offer for 9.5k short drum version for 400€.

Also, most reccomend 600-650A battery. Can I use Jim's original battery, is it enough to just put a larger battery or do I need to change alternator and anything else?

Is there a "best buy" winch for Jim?

It depends on what you are wanting to do with the winch. If you are wanting to recover a deer from a ditch on a hunting trip then a 1000lb winch for an atv will be fine, if however you are wanting to recover a discovery d4 from wet clay up to it's windows then you will want something a lot stronger and it will need some serious mounting brackets. If more sensibly you are wanting to self recover or help othe Jimny then 8000lb is way more than adequate. Bear in mind that you can also use snatch blocks to half the speed and double the force of the pull. Battery wise it is perfectly possible to use the standard battery occasionally and it will cope. If you are wanting to be more reliable and or use it more seriously then a bigger or twin battery system with a bigger alternator is unavoidable.

Well... I did try to pull a stuck Patrol up the snowy hill but that doesn't happen often

Usually I drive alone so I need a winch for self-recovery and peace of mind, nothine else. Would stock alternator and slightly bigger 65Ah battery work for occasional use?

There's plenty of people who do that and seem to suffer no ill effects from it. When I first started with Ermintrude I had considered a winch for farm work like tightening fencing and the like and I was looking at a bit stronger battery but nothing too serious not a optima or anything like that just a bit bigger normal one. But I only got as far as thinking about it, no further.

I'd get a decent quality 9500lbs. No bigger no smaller. I know some 13000lbs winches are very popular but they're stupidly slow. And depending what terrain you drive a 6500lbs may have it's limitations.

For battery, a good ATM battery is preferable. 7-800 CCA bit 650 should probably do

And don't forget the most important thing. Cables. 50mm2 is what I'd choose, but 35 mm2 could do if winch and battery is close to eachother.

I also drive alone a lot. I've found that most of my recoveries are out backwards (in the direction you were coming from), with the odd one being forwards. So I bought one of those winch-in-a-box type things (this one: Superwinch 'Winch To Go' ) so that I have the option of either direction.

Its single-line pull rating is pretty light, approx 2 tonnes (double that with a dual-line pull, but halves the length of rope). It is handy for when you're lightly to moderately stuck (i.e. the type of stuck you get while out greenlaning rather than doing events). I doubt it will get you out if you're buried up to the chassis in peat or clay, but it's a very handy option if you're not doing anything too hectic and need an insurance policy.