Jason,  you are probably carrying A LOT more then #300 additional. 
But I'm not one to advocate saving weight with these great beasts of
burden.  

Though I also don't carry spare Alts. May as well have a starter, AFM,
ECU and anything else that's impt to staying running..  Then again I'm
not doing any boonies camping  so theres certainly reason to your
packness. 

Though for me I have a 'german' winch  it's a manual unit that is rated
for verticle/horizontal pull/lift and will run as long as you can pull
on the handle. 
They run about the same price as the quality 12vt winches.  Work on
either end, and weigh considerably less. 

Dan in NY

----------------------------------------------------------
From:    Jason Willenbrock <>
Subject: Re: Weight is not great..

i prolly tote atleast 300 extra pounds when I travel.  Not only do i
have a
second batt, full water tank, full fridge(beer).  But I always travel
with
my two big dogs,their food, cooking equip, camping gear, spare tools,
spare
parts, two spare tires (its a syncro and i do some deep back country),
jerry
can full of gas,and a winch.  I hear what you are saying, it adds up
quick.
Not sure what I would shave off, all my spare parts, tools, ect... have
certainly came in handy in the past and I would hate to fry an altenator
100
miles from no where with out a spare.  But thats just me.  I guess I
could
be smarter on not so deep trips and shave some gear here and there.
losing
an extra hundred pounds would be sweet
thanks for bringing this up as we typically don't think about the weight
factor (except when backpacking and your back becomes the van...)
jason
87 syncro westy
so many roads to ease my soul...