Had my goodwinch 9.5 tds for over 5 years now, it's had a fairly hard life in that time. The paint finish was a bit poor so has been re painted and I've had to replace the motor before. Now runs a bow motor 2 and apart from the original motor failing it's never let me down. I use plasma as not a fan of steel. It gets a strip and service every so often. Using a quality solenoid is important, cheap ones fail when you need them most. I quite highly recommend these winches and would buy another (Emma bought mine as an engagement present) budget for a decent solenoid and if comes with a cheaper one it'll be a handy emergency spare.
I'm with Gary, I've had no mechanical issues with mine in 7 years, but the paint peeled off just the same and the most annoying thing was the chrome peeling off the tie dowels (the 2 bars that connect one side of the winch assy to the other). I had Stainless replacements made.
I don't go wading and only once have I stripped it down for greasing but it didn't really need it.
Plasma is the way to go too, wire rope is extra weight and an almost unmanageable PITA, IMHO.
They're all much the same size and fitting dimensions AFAIK, until you go for a big competition Warn or something more sophisticated.
You should carry some
minimum extras IMO:
A hook, of course;
A tree protection strap;
A snatch-block;
Some extra rope;
A bunch of proper shackles;
A pair of good leather work gloves;.
A shovel.
I have 4 shackles fixed, one at each corner of the truck (all the time), with another 4 in the box. A Snatch-block is great when you can't get a straight pull, almost nothing else can work in those situations. It's also fine for halving the loading on the winch and line, especially when you're really stuck. It's slow, but who's in a hurry? Be gentle on your kit, when you can be.
Normally, you winch 'cos you're stuck in mud (my experience) so after wading around in the mud and handling the gear in the mud, the gloves are useful because they keep you hands clean.
I'm no cleanliness freak, but there's nothing worse than trying to drive with your hands and wheel plastered in heavy clay mud. Enough gets into the truck anyway
Also, carry a water bottle, not just for drinking, but for washing off.
Other good kit to carry is more of the above (especially rope and straps), a chain, a ground anchor (that should be easy for you Shayne
) and so on, the list can get endless and less necessary stuff, but these are some ideas.