Let's talk winches folks

[MrKnowitall]

I do see you can pick up a Zeon 10S for $1500 on amazon. Still a lot of dough though.

OP is asking about one for a $60k Jeep. It's all relative.

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[Zandcwhite]

OP is asking about one for a $60k Jeep. It's all relative.

I don't see the relationship, a tool that does the job is a tool that does the job whether on a $1k beater or an $80k 392. I have no problem spending money where needed, but for a tool that ultimately I want to avoid using I'll pass.

 

[Sean L]

I don't see the relationship, a tool that does the job is a tool that does the job whether on a $1k beater or an $80k 392. I have no problem spending money where needed, but for a tool that ultimately I want to avoid using I'll pass.

I paid 50 bucks for mine. If only the winch plate was that cheap...

 

[1BadDad]

The badland 12,000lb synthetic rope winch at harbor freight is only $519.99 if you have their $29 membership. picking mine up today.

 

[OSCAR II]

Not wanting to stray to far from the original post but, has anyone tried fitting a front receiver along with a winch in a stock bumper? Not wanting to use the receiver for winching but will they fit together? I've been looking at 2 on the market and the framework on the Curt looks to sit a little lower leaving more room for the winch ... maybe?

 

[Jeep’n Jay]

If I had not found a used Warn XD9000i for $250, I would have gone with the Apex 12k from HF. Have seen several in use and would put them up against a warn any day of the week. I like them so much I am considering selling my Warn to get one, just to have something a bit more modern.

 

[Bullwinkle]

@Bullwinkle

There are knock off Mopar Steel bumpers on Ebay and Amazon. While the quality isn't perfect, those who have picked them up seem to be happy.

One example:
https://www.amazon.com/ECOTRIC-Off-Road-Housing-Wrangler-Rubicon/dp/B08B635TJ9/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=jl+steel+bumper&qid=1634301520&sr=8-4&th=1

ty

 

[Donkey Fluffer]

Mounted my 2rd Apex 12k today.

 

[1BadDad]

Mounted my 2rd Apex 12k today.

Looks good!! I heard some people were having to put the power cables off to the passenger side of the upper housing to get it to work. I’m glad to see that is not the case with your install. Any secret tips to get this installed perfectly?

 

[99ls1tj]

RockHard4x4 has a winch plate for the factory bumpers. It tilts the winch forward a few degrees. A lot of JL owners complain about winches being too close to the grill. The RockHard4x4 plate seems to address that issue

leaning in that direction to mount my apex 12k winch. I wish I could find a few reviews on that plate.

 

[Headbarcode]

What ever you get, make sure you put some kind of kill switch or relay on the main power cables. Warn makes a good switch so does stinger. You don't want to get into a small accident or have something rubbing over time that causes the power cable going to the winch short. You could burn your jeep down. Only have that main cable energized when you need it, not all the time.

This is great advise, and for the small cost and minimal added complexity, it's really all pluses and zero negatives I can think of to do it.

I recently installed the Warn solenoid kit along with their winchband mounting plate. The solenoid they provide has plastic insulator pads around the mounting ears that act as an added safety. If the internal coil was ever to fail and short against the housing, it wouldn't energize the inner fender that they typically get mounted to. I never see that on other brands, so thought it was worth mentioning.

 

[Dyolfknip74]

What I have not read once in 4 pages of comments is where a cheaper brand has actually failed somebody. The assumption seems to be that by spending more on say a Warn, you are buying an extra layer of reliability. Sadly there doesn't seem to be ANY evidence to support the notion that spending more, double or triple even buys you any more than a name plate. That said, the only winches I have ever owned were a couple of Warn's.

I had a Superwinch fail on my JK. Well it was the solenoid pack after some sketchy water I was in. Lol. Got new solenoids and relocated them to under hood. Never had an issue again until I sold it.

 

[Headbarcode]

Not wanting to stray to far from the original post but, has anyone tried fitting a front receiver along with a winch in a stock bumper? Not wanting to use the receiver for winching but will they fit together? I've been looking at 2 on the market and the framework on the Curt looks to sit a little lower leaving more room for the winch ... maybe?

I just recently installed a winch and mounting plate in my mopar steel bumper. In my opinion, the 2 will not work well together because the factory bumper lands the winch right between the frame rails in the same spot a hitch receiver would want to be. The receiver would have to be mounted so low that it would be impractical to use and would act as a leverage arm that would also be trying to bend the ends of the rails upward.

An aftermarket bumper that sat the winch higher would possibly work, with the goal of getting both pull points as close to the center of the frame rails as possible.

 

[Donkey Fluffer]

Looks good!! I heard some people were having to put the power cables off to the passenger side of the upper housing to get it to work. I’m glad to see that is not the case with your install. Any secret tips to get this installed perfectly?

I don't have any secrets, per se.. I've installed 3 of these Apex Winches, one on my JT, and my two on my JL's. The power cable does touch the bottom of the grille, but it isn't smashed against it. My JT has the Mopar steel bumper, my 2 door Willys has the MP Concepts aluminum version of the same, and my 4 door Sahara has a Rampage bumper, which was the easiest install of all since it mounts on top.

 

[OSCAR II]

I just recently installed a winch and mounting plate in my mopar steel bumper. In my opinion, the 2 will not work well together because the factory bumper lands the winch right between the frame rails in the same spot a hitch receiver would want to be. The receiver would have to be mounted so low that it would be impractical to use and would act as a leverage arm that would also be trying to bend the ends of the rails upward.

An aftermarket bumper that sat the winch higher would possibly work, with the goal of getting both pull points as close to the center of the frame rails as possible.

How much lower is the mounting plate then the bumper? Both of the receivers I'm looking at come out about the same elevation below the bumper but one looks to mount lower.

Winching is not what I'm looking at for this receiver (both list them for 9000# straight line winching use), but for a bike rack and a ladder rack. ... but you never know. An aftermarket bumper is not going to happen.

Looking at install pictures of everything the Curt might fit.

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