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Photo 16
The Winchready bumper won’t accept the rotated solenoid so the winch mounts just as it came out of the box. The pull and turn free-spooling clutch (silver handle on the right of the winch) is still easily accessible for fast rope payout.
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Photo 1
The Talon 12.5 and roller fairlead out of the box and ready for install.
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Photo 2
Accessory and mounting hardware. The remote stretches to 15’ and the controller is well designed and easy to use even with work gloves on.
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Photo 3
Motor cover off, don’t pull it out so far that the brushes come off or you’ll be in for another 10 minutes of fiddling.
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Photo 4
A tight fit for your hex key.
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Photo 5
Solenoid rotated if your foot forward mounting requires it.
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Photo 6
The Winchready bumper won’t accept the rotated solenoid so the winch mounts just as it came out of the box. The pull and turn free-spooling clutch (silver handle on the right of the winch) is still easily accessible for fast rope payout.
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Photo 7
Mount the roller fairlead and then connect your wires – you’re done.
Perry Mack
The Superwinch Talon 12.5 is the top winch in its class and it’s clear when you compare the construction, durability, specs and warranty. It’s designed for serious wheelers and smart buyers who need a reliable tool in tough situations. From the IP67 rated solenoid and remote (ensuring that water, snow, dust and dirt stay on the outside) to the 3.25 fpm line pull at 12,000 lbs to the automatic/100% load holding brake outside the drum (so you don’t get heat transfer to the optional synthetic rope). It’s a 2-stage planetary/2-stage spur-gear drive powered by a 6hp motor delivering 12,500 pounds of line pull.
Is this winch overkill on a ½ ton truck? No. Stated winch pull ratings are always on the first layer (essentially with all your line out). From the chart below you can see that by the 5th layer the pull capacity is down to 7,250 lbs. The gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the 2004 Dodge is 6,650 lbs. Add the added resistance of being stuck and it the math says to go this route for a safe pull in a worst case scenario - stuck with a full load, short line payout and unable to employ double-line pulling (which doubles your pulling power).
Sometimes I balk at doling out the extra Shekels for buying quality, but I’ve never regretted owning a quality product. Buying a cheap imitation typically leads to frustration and remorse, which is often painful and embarrassing. The limited lifetime warranty on mechanical components and ‘top of the industry’ 3-year warranty on electrical components from this 37-year old company demonstrates their faith in the design and construction – and inspires mine.
Some bumper mounts require that your winch be mounted foot forward. This essentially means that the mounting bolts are attached horizontally (not vertically), transferring the load to the bumper and away from the bolts.
The Superwinch Talon 12.5 can be mounted foot downward or foot forward. One advantage of this winch is that the solenoid can be rotated if necessary to fit more applications. There is also an optional wiring kit available so you can mount the solenoid remotely if there’s no room on your bumper.
Rotating the solenoid is a fairly simply procedure. Just remove the two motor screws and the solenoid bracket screws, rotate the solenoid and motor upwards and re-install the screws. There are two small hiccups; the first is the barely sufficient clearance to get your hex key out of the way once you loosen the bolt. The second is if you pull the motor out too far when you rotate it you’ll have to contend with pushing the spring-loaded brushes back in place over the commutator. Neither challenge is serious but it helps to be prepared.
Installation on my Winchready bumper didn’t require rotating the solenoid. I just couldn’t help myself when the opportunity arose to take it apart and have a look inside.