A Mile Marker 9000-12000 lb. hydraulic winch is what will be going on the front of my pickups...
There is plenty of argument over which is better, electric or hydraulic...proponents of electric winches argue that theirs will operate off the battery when the engine isn't running, while a hydraulic winch runs off the power steering pump, requiring the engine to be turning to operate.
Electric winches will not operate under water, they will drain the battery unless the engine is running, they overheat quickly...some have been known to fail permanently from overheating.
Hydraulic winches will work under water, they are usually more powerful, and the power steering pump is cooler when operating the winch than when steering. Mile Marker once winched a truck up and down a hill for hours to test their hydraulic winch...powering up and down the hill with the truck in neutral...all that resulted was a really frayed cable.
Hydraulic winches are more expensive though, so i'm going to get the Harbor Freight 9000 lb. electric winch, which closely resembles the electric winch Mile Marker also produces, for the front of my Toyota, then when i can afford the hydraulic winch the electric one will be put on the rear bumper.
There is also an argument for synthetic winch 'rope' as opposed to steel cable. While more expensive, the winch rope doesn't weigh much, so if it snaps it just falls to the ground. If a steel cable snaps the weight or 'mass' of the cable will keep it moving, and it can cut you in half. The rope requires an aluminum hawser fairhead as opposed to a steel roller fairhead. Another nice thing about rope is you can get more on the winch drum, it weighs less, and you'll never get a strand of cable stuck in the palm of your hand.
