Understanding Difference Between Koenig Vs Ramsey Pto

I've been researching and have not really found out the differences between the Koenig and Ramsey PTO or the real difference between these two brands of winches. Is one better than the other or just different. The Ramsey PTO itself looks beefier but maybe it's not. Please give me your insights and perspectives as I get educated for making a decision.

 

If it 'breaks' off is it repairable? Is that just the handle or something else?

 

What typically happens is a noob will power out some cable without tension on it.
A loose loop snares the handle, then destroys it when the line is powered in again.
Often the mount A-frame is damaged too. Seen it many times.

Herm does have a lot of repro winch parts. Not cheap, but good quality and very useful.

 

I prefer the Koenig winch and pto units because they are more compact than the Ramsey, but that is just a personal preference. I also prefer the Koenig winch with the front and back mounts vs. the bottom mounts. I've been able to find all the soft parts like bearings and seals, drive chain, etc. at the local bearing supply house like Applied Industrial.
Both the Ramsey and Koenig units are good units so it really comes down to personal preference. I would say that 95% of the people who need a winch would be perfectly happy with a QUALITY electric winch. Less maintenance, easier to mount, easier to use, etc.
Years ago I was in Search and Rescue and an ORV Host at the Oregon Dunes. There were 3 of us with the Koenig PTO winches. We never ran into a winching situation we could not handle. We used to pull full size trucks on huge tires out of holes 40 feet deep that had rolled on occasion.

 

Ditto on that.

A PTO winch will move anything that is "loose at both ends." And do it all day.

 

Does the Koenig PTO come up into the factory opening for the PTO shifter? Someone told me that the Ramsey requires you to cut another hold in the floor. I'm wanting to keep this as simple as possible.

 

I believe it should oughta. Mine have.

But you need the one designed for a CJ, not a truck, probably a #51. They are clocked differently.

 

Lots of small differences in the various PTO winches.
The main difference I see is the Koenig is much preferable for sidling pulls because of its narrowed drum and fairlead.
You might wanna go to the 3B Bulletin Board and look up the article titled Winch Wars.

Ramsey, Koenig and virtually all other PTO shifters come up through the factory floor pan hole unless you have an overdrive unit.

 

That was a lot of help seeing his mock ups. I'm really kind of leaning towards the Koenig PTO but depends on what I can find.

 

So can you mix and match? For example a Koenig PTO but with a Ramsey winch? Also all the pics I seem to see, show the Koenig winch having the fairlead going thru parts of the bumper. Can it be mounted such that the fairlead can be mounted on the top edge of the bumper and avoid cutting up the factory bumper?

 

Actually the ratio's can vary from one winch make to another.
Some Ramsey models use a different ratio than other nearly identical Ramsey models.
Also some Koenigs spool on top while other Koenigs spool on the bottom.
The difference being either RH or LH bronze gear and worm.
Transmission PTO's generally provide a single output gear ratio while transfer case PTO's are different.
Assuming you have transfer case PTO the cable spooling direction and gearing can be changed..

The main problem with Mix and Match is the PTO shaft.
Various different shaft diameter that depends on your PTO output shaft and also the winch input shaft.
Both 3/4" and 7/8" shafts are common.

With Koenig 100 winches the fairlead frequently runs through the bumper itself.
A hole frequently is cut through the bumper.
So the Koenig roller fairlead was normally welded directly onto the front bumper itself.
But it can be modified and then bolted into a position.
The fairlead is moveable BUT... the proper fairlead position really depends on winch location.

The optimum winch location is dependent upon several factors.
Winch location may be effected by these concerns and more ...
- engine and its position away from frame CL
- by any of the various steering components and especially the bellcrank
- specific PTO being used (they have different clockings and offsets)
- the winch input shaft location (most winch inputs are reversible from left to right)
- exhaust system ( but normally the exhaust is modified to go around as required)