What size winch

At least 1.5x the weight of the vehicle being pulled.

AcesandEights

At least 1.5x the weight of the vehicle being pulled.

So my Wildtrack is roughly 5000 lbs so about 7500 /8000

jimlmackjr

So my Wildtrack is roughly 5000 lbs so about 7500 /8000

4dr WT is over 6000# as it fits into the Gov't tax breaks for write offs LOL

I would get at least 50% more than max gross vehicle weight loaded.
There is “pulling effort” and there is also “break free” effort. With a 50% spread you should easily be able to do what you need.
Generally torque on an electric motor (winch) is not a lot more expensive to add. So more pull shouldn’t be a huge price jump.

Also remember when you have to Winch the cable full extended (zero wraps on the spool left) gives you max pull strength. Ie. A spool with many wraps on it (not fully extended) May cause a loss of as much as 30% of pull ability. Morale of the story - pull the cable all the way out for max pull.

The Ford Warn winch kit, rip-off pricing of $3500 plus install, is 10K line pull.

Well just a 12,000lb Rough Country with remote and 85 feet is about $500.
Granted you have to mount it etc... work out the bumper integration.
Warn gets all the press and they are a great winch but Rough Country, Bad Lands, Smitty Built, etc.. all make great winches.

Mikey Smith

The Ford Warn winch kit, rip-off pricing of $3500 plus install, is 10K line pull.

Yeah, I'd probably go 10k.

I agree with @Torque and @AcesandEights ... although I usually go 50% above GVWR rather than curb weight to account for load. If you are off-roading with a trailer... 50% above GCWR.

Which lands you right around a 10,000 lbs winch for GVWR or a 14,000 lbs winch for GCWR.

(If I'm being honest, if I was towing I'd probably fudge my rule a bit and get a 12,000 lbs winch. Once you get above 12,000 lbs things get expensive in a hurry).

We opted for a 12k because the difference from the 10 to 12 wasn’t far off. So we got the 12.

1Five1 Garage

We opted for a 12k because the difference from the 10 to 12 wasn’t far off. So we got the 12.

A winch's pull rating is based on when the cable itself is unwound down to the first layer on the drum. Example, a 12K winch on layer five, would actually pull about 2/3 of the rating before stall. A 12K winch could draw around 575 amps, whereas a 10K winch would draw around 500. ( The amp draw depends on the efficiency of the winch, and Warn is known to be an efficient brand. It should also be noted that as any winch heats up, resistance grows, thus amp draw increases.) But now to my point...you should have an alternator/battery sized to compliment the winch. A 12K winch may draw too much amp for the Bronco system.

10k should be plenty. If you need more, one pulley can double your pulling force. Two pulleys will increase it by an additional 50%.