Warn Zeon 8S Rubicon Winch....Enough?

[McGyver]

My friend is selling a five year old Warn Zeon 8S Rubicon Winch....he is selling his rig and selling the after market build parts. Its $600......

My rig is a 4200lb 2019 Wrangler Sahara 4dr......I offroad only 1-2 times a month....not a lot.

I have read on here that 4drs should have the 10s or 12s......thoughts?

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[Rubi6mt]

That should be more then enough. Get a good recovery kit that has a snatch block or retention pulley in case you need to double up on a line pull.

I ordered my 392 with the factory 8k warn winch and more then comfortable to wheel with this rating even it weighs 5400lbs over at AOAA, Rausch Creek etc.

Granted I'm happy to recover myself with this rating and not really looking to pull out a full size bro dozer.

Hope this helps

 

[Philly_]

Completely agree with @Rubi6mt.

When I was winch shopping, I spoke to a Warn rep at a show and he was adamant that any Jeep would be fine with the Zeon 8S. He said, “if you need more pulling capacity, use a snatch block.” I still went with the 10S, knowing it’s overkill because the electrical components are actually different between the two and supposedly designed for the heavier loads. After that, the only difference between the 10S and 12S are the gears.

Also, they had a sale going on at the time and the winch in stock (which was backordered basically everywhere), so it came out even to if there were no sale.

For $600, it’s a steal.

 

[Reinen]

Look into winch use videos, snatch block use and rigging techniques. An 8K winch with snatch blocks and proper rigging will get you much farther than a straight pull from 10 or 12k winch.

 

[Sparty]

My general rule of thumb is 2.5x -ish the weight of the vehicle. I have a 2dr (both my old TJ and my JL) and I've always been comfortable and problem free with a 10K winch

 

[zouch]

when i talked to the people at Warn before buying mine, they said the only difference between the 8 and the 10 was the gearing. if you need more "pulling power", use of snatch blocks and pulleys should cover you (assuming you have the necessary line length or extensions).

in practical usage the only difference you'd probably ever notice is that the line speed of the 8 is going to be a little bit faster.

 

[grimmjeeper]

If you are into winch measuring at the mall, you need more compensation.

If you want a solid recovery tool and you can learn how to use a snatch block, that winch is a good deal.

 

[Tread4Lo]

I went with an Warn M8000 on my diesel Rubicon. I know this is one of the heaviest Jeeps off the assembly line. Use a snatch block will be more than capable. I like the 8k's as they are usually a smaller footprint (not some gawdly transformer looking thing).

I built my M8000 too. When I bought it it was just the drums/gear/motor. Bought a new control box from Warn (matches right up) and a synthetic line. Took it apart and regreased the inside. All-in-all around $600. The older M8000's are USA made as well.

If the one you are getting is a Zeon for $600, that's a helluva deal and I would jump on it.

 

[AcesandEights]

8k lbs is perfect. Learn how to use a winch if you don't already know and you've got the perfect set up.

 

[McGyver]

Guys....I cannot believe it.....I got that winch for $250. It was not the winch my friend had on his rig....it was one he bought a few years ago to replace it but he never did. I could not believe it....he said "the wife says to get it out of our garage!"........so I did...! I hooked it up to some batts, pulled the line out and back in.....ran perfect. Now its time to find the right bumper.

Thanks for all your input....! I cannot wait for this next step in my build!

 

[THAW]

 

[AcesandEights]

For those of us without Internet, what's the video say?

 

[C.Sco]

For those of us without Internet, what's the video say?

No internet, eh?

I skipped to the last minute or so and appears to be summarized as:

Recovery loads are usually 30-80% of vehicle weight in the vast majority of cases. Sometimes up to 120%. In very rare occasions, maybe up to 200%. If the load is any higher than 200% then, regardless of how powerful your winch system is, you should probably stop and reevaluate your recovery plan before you break something or kill someone. Also get a snatch block.

An 8k winch on a Jeep with a snatch block will easily achieve 200% recovery load. So a bigger winch isn't particular useful, other than it might allow you to run the winch without a snatch block in more scenarios.

For what it's worth, I run a 12k winch on mine because... *Tim Allen voice* MORE POWER!!! I don't think I needed one that big but, YOLO.

 

[McGyver]

I appreciate all of the input.....its good to hear this unit will work out. I hear a lot of snatch block discussion, but little about soft shackles and recovery rings.....any reason for that?

 

[THAW]

For those of us without Internet, what's the video say?

A bit of a time commitment at 17 minutes, but it has good info about how to think about gradient, terrain, and mire.

Conclusions:

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