Always thought winches were overkill until I buried my Tacoma to the frame in Moab last spring

I spent $450 on a Smittybilt winch after that trip and honestly it's already paid for itself twice, anyone else talk themselves out of buying recovery gear until it's too late?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_oscar1mo agoMost Upvoted

Come on man, how many times have you actually needed to use that hi-lift on a Tacoma that's buried to the frame? I'm not trying to be difficult but in my experience a hi-lift is more for lifting a tire off the ground on a solid axle truck, not for unsticking a modern IFS rig that's sitting on its belly. That shovel and recovery boards combo works great until it doesn't, and when it doesn't you're either walking or paying somebody $200 to come yank you out. You say you've been wheeling for 8 years without one, but have you ever actually been stuck in deep sand or mud where there's no trees or other rigs around to winch off? Because that's where the winch really earns its keep, not just on the popular trails where everybody's running 37s and can pull you out.

joseph_ellis851mo ago

Moab is a different beast for sure, I've seen rigs buried up to their mirrors out there. But for most of us just doing weekend trails and forest roads, I really wonder if it's that serious. I've been wheeling for about 8 years now with nothing but a shovel and a cheap set of recovery boards and I've gotten out of every sticky spot so far. A Tacoma is a heavy truck but unless you're tackling the hard stuff alone, there's almost always another rig around to pull you out. I guess if you go solo a lot or hit black diamond trails every weekend, sure, a winch makes sense. But dropping $450 on something that sits in your bumper 362 days a year feels like overkill to me when a $40 hi-lift and some common sense can handle 90% of situations.

cameronn621mo ago

Haha, I bet I'm the guy you'd see on the side of the trail with a hi-lift and a confused look on my face! @joseph_ellis85, you make a great point though. I spent $500 on a winch a few years back, and I've only used it twice. Once was to pull my buddy's Jeep out of a ditch, and the other time was to drag a fallen tree off the road after a storm. But then again, both times I would have been totally stuck without it, so maybe it's worth the peace of mind for those rare, deep moments.