I like flexibility. If I knew what bad thing I was going to get into in advance, I could plan for it. But that wouldn't be 4 wheeling.

Following up on El Cid and Huey's posts, as you can see in my signature, I am using 4XGuard's front reciever hitch. In that I have mounted a Warn 9000I winch in the cradle that came as a package with the winch. I have the rear power cable, which is plenty long enough for me to just drape over the side when needed as opposed to permanently mounting under my rig. This cable now lives in the gear box in the jeep where I know it is safe from branches, mud, or anything else roadside that may choose to reach out and eat the plug or wires. This also gives me a spare cable to use in the front in case the one have mounted there goes bad.

Yeah, I know most of the time you only need to pull one way, but hey that one time you need to pull the other way, you probably reeeallly need to pull the other way.

I haven't had to use the winch as a rescue yet, but I have used it around the ranch. I also used it to "rescue" my Jeep from some mud at the house before going to Camp Commander to make sure it was functional and strong enough. I found the 9000lb winch to be more than strong enough to pull my XK uphill, through the mud, unassisted by the engine. This may be overkill a little, but again I believe in planning for the unexpected. Most of my 4 wheeling is done in a area that would require a specialized 4X4 tow - and an all day use of the tow rig to get me out, so a little extra money up front is a good investment.

Also along the lines of versatiliy, I like being able to take it off and store it in the garage when not in use to prevent weather damage. I plan for this winch to move to my next couple jeeps.

I bought some drilled out hitch pins on the net. They have a hole big enough for a padlock. I have had several padlocks made for use around the ranch, all set to a master key (that is also my house key). I also use these padlocks for the hitch mounts on the Jeep, and use those to keep my winch secure from thieves.

I do wish my winch had air. I borrowed some air from Knappster in Colorado, and that sure was nicer (read faster) than my $10 walmart compressor.