What winch is on your 3010 Mule?

[nickel plate]

I want to add a winch to my 2008 Trans Mule diesel. There is not much information out there as to what will fit, brand or model. I'm thinking around 4000# and without a lot of surgical modifications. Please tell me what you have, how well it installed and if it works for you. Thanks.

 

[weldingisfun]

When we bought our 3010 Trans 4x4, in 02/2006, we also bought a WARN 2.5ci Winch with it. They wanted $50 an hour to install it, so I told them to put it in the bed and I would do it.
The winch has a 2,500 lb. capacity and dropped right in The Mule is set up for the installation of a winch. No drilling or modification necessary. It probably took 1.5 hours to install.
A 4,000 lb. winch would be overkill. The overall empty vehicle weight is 1,473 lb. with a max cargo capacity (passengers included) is 1,330 lb. for a total of 2,803 lb. If you were trying to winch the Mule out of a mire, it is safe to presume you would not have it full of people and the engine off. Rather, one person would be in the vehicle with the engine running and engaging all 4 wheels to help pull you out.
Besides the 4,000 lb. winch may be too large to fit.
Whatever you decide, have fun with your Mule. We love ours and use it daily on our goat farm.

 

[Ivan49]

I have a mule 3010 and have a 2500 lb winch on it. So far it works good. I installed it myself and it was a drop in bolt up fit.

 

[nickel plate]

I have a mule 3010 and have a 2500 lb winch on it. So far it works good. I installed it myself and it was a drop in bolt up fit.

Ivan, what brand and model?

 

[nickel plate]

Can you guys please post some photos?

 

[Ivan49]

I think my winch is a Super winch. I know that you have to remove the front bumper to get in but all the holes are there for it. I would like to post pictures but I don't how and in this case there is nothing that sticks out to be seen in a picture other that the hook on the cable.

 

[whistlepig]

When we bought our 3010 Trans 4x4, in 02/2006, we also bought a WARN 2.5ci Winch with it. They wanted $50 an hour to install it, so I told them to put it in the bed and I would do it.
The winch has a 2,500 lb. capacity and dropped right in The Mule is set up for the installation of a winch. No drilling or modification necessary. It probably took 1.5 hours to install.
A 4,000 lb. winch would be overkill. The overall empty vehicle weight is 1,473 lb. with a max cargo capacity (passengers included) is 1,330 lb. for a total of 2,803 lb. If you were trying to winch the Mule out of a mire, it is safe to presume you would not have it full of people and the engine off. Rather, one person would be in the vehicle with the engine running and engaging all 4 wheels to help pull you out.
Besides the 4,000 lb. winch may be too large to fit.
Whatever you decide, have fun with your Mule. We love ours and use it daily on our goat farm.

I can't comment about a Mule but I did buy a Warn 2,500 lb winch kitted for my Polaris Sportsman. It was plug and play. What took the most time was routing the wires so they wouldn't pinch or chafe. I also agree 4,000 lb would be overkill. The 2,500 lb Warn will drag my 770 lb Sportsman like a feather if the pull is too heavy. The alternative would be to hook the back of the ATV to a tree or another immovable object. I'm afraid to do this. I think if I did the 2,500 lb Warn would stretch the frame. These winch's are pretty powerful.

 

[two_bit_score]

I think my winch is a Super winch. I know that you have to remove the front bumper to get in but all the holes are there for it. I would like to post pictures but I don't how and in this case there is nothing that sticks out to be seen in a picture other that the hook on the cable.

This forum seems to me to be the hardest one to post photos on that I've ever seen.
......now, back to the subject.........

 

[2fast2]

I am certainly not an expert on winches but I learned something very important from my brother's experience with a winch on his sister-in-law's Gator that he was borrowing when it burned out the motor.
This was a Warn winch, new from the dealer with the HPX purchase. The first one was replaced under warranty and the second time it burned up they didn't get that deal again.
When looking at winches, understand duty cycle. A 2500 pound winch is only rated to pull that much for around 10 seconds with a ten minute recovery period. So if you bury your ATV in deep mud, it probably will exert much more that it's weight in drag for the winch. If you winch for 10 seconds and move five or ten feet and then you "rest" for ten minutes, you're probably not having much fun anymore.
At lower loads, the duty cycle increases, which is why you buy over-rated winches.
Read ALL the fine print, so you know what you're buying.

 

[robertwhite]

I am certainly not an expert on winches but...
A 2500 pound winch is only rated to pull that much for around 10 seconds with a ten minute recovery period. So if you bury your ATV in deep mud, it probably will exert much more that it's weight in drag for the winch. If you winch for 10 seconds and move five or ten feet and then you "rest" for ten minutes, you're probably not having much fun anymore.
At lower loads, the duty cycle increases, which is why you buy over-rated winches.
Read ALL the fine print, so you know what you're buying.

Ok, I guess I will try to put an end to all the confusion and misinformation in this thread.

The above statement is only partially correct and in reality, duty cycle has very little to do with an electric winch on a ATV/UTV. You can pull, stop, pull, stop until the cows come home. You may burn out the motor, but that is the least of your problems.

The main flaw (and it is a serious flaw) with what people are saying about their 2500lb winches is that they will be fine and a 4K is overload.

Absolutely incorrect, period.

A Mule Trans weighs right around 1500lbs.

A winch is rated at the particular capacity with ONE winding off the spool. That is about a foot of wire. For each further wrap off the spool, the load rating drops dramatically. If you have a 15 foot cable and it is fully wound out, your pulling capacity is NO WHERE NEAR 2500lbs. Please stop thinking it is because you are setting someone up to get seriously hurt.

If you are stuck or you are pulling something heavy and you have that little 2500lb winch spooled out all the way, when it snaps, it can easily cause death and certainly cause serious bodily injury. You are pulling against both the 1500lb Mule and whatever object you are trying to move (or get yourself unstuck). Think about it. Anyone that knows anything about logging will tell you just how much damage a steel cable traveling at 100mph can do.

The factory rating from Warn, Superwinch, Viper, etc for a Kawi Mule is 4000lbs, not 2500lbs.

Putting the correct rated winch on a Mule is an extremely tight fit. I am actually in the process of doing a test fit for Viper at this moment, as their winch is just a shade too big. I am trying to sort it out so it will work as intended.

You can poo-poo the above info, or you can take it to heart as you choose, but I have done lots of research on the various winches and the info comes directly from them, some of it right from their lips to my ears, some in writing.

I honestly would hate to see someone get hurt due to a poor decision. You can say "Well, I have used my 2500lb for years and nothing happened yet". The key word is "Yet".