Winch recommendation

[Oletimer]

My road to work this morning , Im thinking maybe its time for a winch. Ive never owned one, any recommendations ?

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[AstroDave]

My road to work this morning , Im thinking maybe its time for a winch. Ive never owned one, any recommendations ?

With that Rubicon that mud puddle shouldn't be an issue

I just recently went through this process myself. I ended up with a SmittyBilt Gen3 9.5 winch. Many will refer to these as "ShittyBilt" and many abhor buying Chinese. Time will tell when I have my first opportunity to use it if that's the case. Even the most expensive Warn winches, made in the USA, have negative reviews so you take your chances I suppose. I wasn't ready to spend over $1500 for a winch at this point. Perhaps I will change my mind if, when I need my winch, it fails. As many here will echo, when you need your winch it can't fail.

 

[Thinman]

I got this. Spending too much money and justifying it to myself is a specialty of mine.

First thing you need to do is convince yourself that your need a Warn Platinum for two reasons, it is Made in the USA and the electric clutch prevents people from screwing with your line. (they wont)

Next up, after you have justified that cost, rationalize with yourself that nobody is going to screw with your line and that an electric clutch is a bit risky (it's not).

Now...you have $2k to play with.

A Warn EVO 10s, pair of Maxtrax & an ARB Twin Compressor later and you are sitting there in the garage patting yourself on the back for what a great deal maker you are.

/beer:30

 

[ChimpanZed]

I have exactly zero experience with winches, but I bought one that is awaiting my installation.

It is important to me to buy what I practically can from companies that manufacture products in North America or other Western liberal democracies. The more I travel abroad (40 countries and counting), the more important this is to me.

I bought a WARN ZEON 10-S. I spent 3x-4x what a Smittybilt, Quadratec, or similar would cost. But is was built in Oregon, USA. If that matters to you, I believe that the WARN ZEON series is the only USA-manufactured option. I think RED winches are built in the UK, but haven’t seen any installed on Jeeps (they seem popular among the Defender crowd).

 

[Oletimer]

With that Rubicon that mud puddle shouldn't be an issue

I just recently went through this process myself. I ended up with a SmittyBilt Gen3 9.5 winch. Many will refer to these as "ShittyBilt" and many abhor buying Chinese. Time will tell when I have my first opportunity to use it if that's the case. Even the most expensive Warn winches, made in the USA, have negative reviews so you take your chances I suppose. I wasn't ready to spend over $1500 for a winch at this point. Perhaps I will change my mind if, when I need my winch, it fails. As many here will echo, when you need your winch it can't fail.

Yeah, it wasn't worse hole ever but worse than it looks.
Basically thats my question. Is warn worth it ?

 

[Oletimer]

I got this. Spending too much money and justifying it to myself is a specialty of mine.

First thing you need to do is convince yourself that your need a Warn Platinum for two reasons, it is Made in the USA and the electric clutch prevents people from screwing with your line. (they wont)

Next up, after you have justified that cost, rationalize with yourself that nobody is going to screw with your line and that an electric clutch is a bit risky (it's not).

Now...you have $2k to play with.

A Warn EVO 10s, pair of Maxtrax & an ARB Twin Compressor later and you are sitting there in the garage patting yourself on the back for what a great deal maker you are.

/beer:30

Explain, screwing with my line.

 

[4xFUN]

Yeah, it wasn't worse hole ever but worse than it looks.
Basically thats my question. Is warn worth it ?

Yes, Warn (American made versions) are worth it...

 

[jabtyler]

if you are going to use it every day get a warn, if you are going to use it once a month save the money and get a smittybilt.

I have synthetic line on my smittybilt and people like to poke it as they are walking by, thats about all I have had as far as people messing with it. It does lead to conversations about synthetic vs steel.

 

[GtX]

Explain, screwing with my line.

There seems to be some folklore of pulling the line, connecting it to the rear bumper by going over the roof, then shorting the leads to crush the roof.

 

[Oletimer]

if you are going to use it every day get a warn, if you are going to use it once a month save the money and get a smittybilt.

I have synthetic line on my smittybilt and people like to poke it as they are walking by, thats about all I have had as far as people messing with it. It does lead to conversations about synthetic vs steel.

Im stuck maybe twice a year, but i do get in bad situations while alone frequently. So it wont see a pile of use. Just needs to work when needed. I always try to buy us made products.

 

[Oletimer]

There seems to be some folklore of pulling the line, connecting it to the rear bumper by going over the roof, then shorting the leads to crush the roof.

That would cause a melt down on my part. So some winches prevent this ?

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

That would cause a melt down on my part. So some winches prevent this ?

Most winches have a physical handle on the outside (the clutch) which when disengaged (Jeep doesn't have to be turned on) allow's you to spool out the line freely. So some jokester is walking by, with adequate knowledge of winches, and a raging hatred of Jeeps. Thinking quickly he attempts the ol' winch line over the roof gag. But alas, you have an electronic clutch, and it the line can only be spooled out with the aid of the remote control which is locked safely in the jeep. Foiled again.

 

[Miloe]

I wonder how often, if ever, this happens.
I'd bet it's more likely that the jokers in your local Jeep club do it to each other at meetups.

 

[Miloe]

Another random question popped into my head, happens a lot.

Is the tail end of the winch line connected to the drum? I know jack about winches also.

I guess the electric clutch could keep someone from unspooling all of your fancy synthetic line and stealing it.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

Another random question popped into my head, happens a lot.

Is the tail end of the winch line connected to the drum? I know jack about winches also.

I guess the electric clutch could keep someone from unspooling all of your fancy synthetic line and stealing it.

On my warn VR it's just hooked around a loop on the drum. I suppose it could be stolen pretty easily.

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