Winch buying advice needed

[KleetusVanDamme]

My apologies if I posted in the wrong section.

Wifey wants a stubby bumper and winch for her 2023 JLU.

I have poured over lots of vendors and YouTube trying to get the best bang for my $$$, but am not making any headway.

My questions are:
1. Best bang for the buck winch for a novice Jeeper / what to stay away from
2. Should I kill 2 birds with one stone tone and buy a bumper/winch combos?

Thanks, Kleetus

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[Ratbert]

Is your current bumper steel? If it is then you can simply remove the end caps.

@Northridge4x4 had been running a sale on Warn (highly recommended) winches. No clue if that's still going on or not.

 

[AcesandEights]

Harbor Freight Badlands, join the member club or whatever and get it for $529 or $549. Use a mount that will attach it to the stock bumper.

 

[yokramer]

Just a caveat on those Warn EVO winches, they are China made with Warn specs. They do carry the usual Warn warranty which is nice, but is it $200-500 nice compared to the Badlands that at this point has a very good reputation, comes with the synthetic rope, as well as wired and wireless controls and if its good out of the box will historically be just as reliable as the Warn.

Biggest downside to the Badlands is while the bolt holes are the same as any winch, the footprint is slightly larger and can cause issues mounting to some winch plates, but nothing a grinder and paint cant fix.

As for bumper, buy the one you like the best that fits in your budget. I REALLY like my Next Venture bumper and spent about $200 more than I really wanted to because its the only stubby I liked that kept the stock fog lights.

 

[rcadden]

I've had the Harbor Freight winch for about a year now, used it a couple of times, no complaints. You will most likely need to move the power cables coming out of it, but it's an easy mod.

I put mine on the Grimm Offroad winch place on an OEM steel bumper. It's snug, but I didn't have to grind anything.

IF you're going to do the Harbor Freight one, do the Member's Club or whatever it's called, and then WAIT. They're due for a "25% off any one item" coupon at any point between now and New Year's - you can get the winch for around $400 if you do the coupon. Make sure you sign up for their email newsletter. They'll spam you daily, but it's worth it.

 

[flanders]

If you have the steel bumper, save the money and get warn over badlands. Badlands has built a name for itself, just watch Matt's Off-road Recovery where he has 6 or 7 of them on his wrecker. But I went with the EVO 10 and I love it. Used it a bunch and it's always done it's job. Lifetime buy.

 

[Ratbert]

Another thing: get synthetic rope and NOT steel cable.

 

[Philly_]

My opinion is that if you're going to go Chinese, get the one that's the best deal. They all seem to be fairly reliable, and I absolutely abused a Quadratec china winch for the better half of a decade before it seized up on me... had I done even the bare minimum of maitenance (washing salt off in Michigan winter), it might still be kicking.

Harbor Freight Badlands or Smittybilt seem to be the go-to Chinese winches and very reliable for the price point. If you want "top of the line," Warn ZEON series is generally accepted as the way to go.

I also recommend synthetic line. It's a lot easier to work with and much lighter on the front end of your Jeep. No matter what winch you add, you're going to know that it's there. I think the Warn ZEON 10-S I have is something like 60-70lbs and that's with a synthetic line.

 

[flanders]

I've always been confused by the hate for steel cable. You don't have to wash the sand out of it, don't have to worry about the sun killing it, it's stronger, can drag it over the rocks at Moab, and a lot of times it's cheaper... Especially because you replace it less...

 

[AcesandEights]

Yep, steel is the real deal.

 

[Philly_]

I've always been confused by the hate for steel cable. You don't have to wash the sand out of it, don't have to worry about the sun killing it, it's stronger, can drag it over the rocks at Moab, and a lot of times it's cheaper... Especially because you replace it less...

There's pros/cons for both. It's argued synthetic is safer, but if either cable snaps it can still be deadly.

I had steel cable on my first winch, it was great, but rusted, was difficult to manage, and heavy. My JL I keep as light as possible, so synthetic line was a part of that equation. Plus, these lines were designed for marine use initially, so they aren't as prone to UV damage as some believe, but definitely more prone to UV than steel would ever be.

Another pro for synthetic is ease of repair, but it could be argued it doesn't matter with steel as it's less likely to break.

I think there are valid use cases for either, but it's important to understand what's best for you and your Jeep.

 

[AcesandEights]

...

I think there are valid use cases for either...

What's a use case?

 

[Zandcwhite]

I've always been confused by the hate for steel cable. You don't have to wash the sand out of it, don't have to worry about the sun killing it, it's stronger, can drag it over the rocks at Moab, and a lot of times it's cheaper... Especially because you replace it less...

Heavy is the number 1 complaint I have with steel. It actually is not stronger, it is far more abrasion or cut resistant though. Add in the heavy as hell snatch blocks you need with steel cable vs the aluminum ring I can run with synthetic and you're probably talking 50-100lbs of extra weight. Then there's the loose stands that even with leather gloves on I've had stab clean through my finger. Hard pass. I can use the abrasion sleeve or even a jacket if I need to pull at an angle that the line rubs on a rock. I can carry a 100' synthetic extension that weighs maybe a pound or 2. I know a lot of guys want to argue safety between the 2, but nobody should ever be in harms way of a potential line failure regardless.

 

[yokramer]

Heavy is the number 1 complaint I have with steel. It actually is not stronger, it is far more abrasion or cut resistant though. Add in the heavy as hell snatch blocks you need with steel cable vs the aluminum ring I can run with synthetic and you're probably talking 50-100lbs of extra weight. Then there's the loose stands that even with leather gloves on I've had stab clean through my finger. Hard pass. I can use the abrasion sleeve or even a jacket if I need to pull at an angle that the line rubs on a rock. I can carry a 100' synthetic extension that weighs maybe a pound or 2. I know a lot of guys want to argue safety between the 2, but nobody should ever be in harms way of a potential line failure regardless.

If a steel cable has pokey bits it needs to be repaired or chucked.

 

[missionale]

Jeep Steel Bumper off of Craigslist etc - I'd go with Warn - that's my set-up and no issues.

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