Winch buying advice needed

[Zandcwhite]

Sorry man but you are nuts. Zeon's have proven themselves over and over and over. You keep picking out short-lived or single example issues and trying to disprove the entire lot. You have a place to stand when discussing the Evo line, without a doubt. But you are flat wrong on the Zeon.

FYI - only the Zeon Platinum uses the wireless-only remote. The regular Zeon comes standard corded, and it's cheaper.

But their flagship premium winch has a known fail point and therefore isn't reliable? That's my point. If you want to pay a premium price and pretend that mashes it reliable ignoring the facts, more power to you.

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[TheRaven]

But their flagship premium winch has a known fail point and therefore isn't reliable? That's my point. If you want to pay a premium price and pretend that mashes it reliable ignoring the facts, more power to you.

Everything has a fail point. The Zeon is not magical, it's not perfect, it's just the best winch on earth. That's why they are, and have always been, so expensive. Zeons are where Warn makes its money...which means that despite the price, they sell. That fact is primarily because guys who depend on winches know they can depend on a Zeon.

Stick to discussing the budget winches, because there you have a few valid points.

 

[Zandcwhite]

Everything has a fail point. The Zeon is not magical, it's not perfect, it's just the best winch on earth. That's why they are, and have always been, so expensive. Zeons are where Warn makes its money...which means that despite the price, they sell. That fact is primarily because guys who depend on winches know they can depend on a Zeon.

Stick to discussing the budget winches, because there you have a few valid points.

So they get a pass on their wireless only winch controller discharging itself, which renders the winch useless? Because that's where they make their money? It's a known issue. Warn literally tells people they know it's a problem but too bad. If the budget winch either Evo or my xbull or most others did that, you could just plug in the wire. The warn doesn't allow that. My xbull cintroller has had the same batteries for 3 years and dozens of use. It shouldn't be an issue, and since it is they should address it. Add a manual off switch to the existing controller for Christ sake.

 

[Wkaz]

I don't know good from bad when it comes to winches, but I do know I might just research up on the Tractor supply brand. I also know for fact that Ironman 4x4 raid series bumpers are well worth the money, front one will be installed as soon as I get the lighting sorted out. and they have bumper/winch kits.

 

[wheelsfeels]

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

For a solid budget-friendly winch look into brands like Smittybilt or Warn's entry-level models. They're reliable without breaking the bank. Combo deals can save some cash and ensure compatibility so definitely worth considering

 

[Whaler27]

Late to this dramatic thread on winches... But I'll throw in some of my thoughts and experience. I've got about 12 different winches, #3 on my Wrangler even. From Ramsey, Mile-Marker, H.F. (pre Badlands) Q-tec, Badlands and others. If the winch isn't going to be used much and weight is not a problem cable if you got to be a kool guy buy that Warn. As noted on cable, it is not stronger, will develop some burs if used and more capable of killing you. Of the top Name Brands in my experience only the Ramsey and Warn 8274 haven't failed on me in past or seen. I converted over to synthetic lines in 90s first on Ramsey 8k winch everyone was sure that plastic rope wouldn't work or last I used the line for about 20 years and replaced it due to the line being stretched out to close to half diameter permanently, I've ran it out almost full length hooked to a old CJ 7 on 38 stuck to fenders in mud dragging my Jeep and the two others that I was using to anchor me. A cable definitely wouldn't have made the pull safely, that was it's initial real use. The Mile-Marker "failed" when letting off load helping cleanup after streak of tornadoes in AL. Replacement Q-tec 9k then it just stopped working brushes failed, no parts available but whole motor assembly. For a $35 part, it definitely got a heck of a long workout before it did. Recovering many 1/2-1 ton trucks, and cars
The winch on my JT is a Amazon special 12k it's been used more often than I thought it would be in almost 3 years still holding up..... reason for it I liked the color of the winch line.. I was just going to get another Badlands. The numbers of Warn winches I've seen failed is very high, that is a hard thing for me to get past especially since I always held Warn in very high regards AKA 8274 but not the rest.
BTW: In many cases you can get a brand new winch with cable cheap and just replace it with synthetic line, I've done that a few times. On "smaller winches" 4wheelers now there I've definitely flogged and killed them. Dragging logs across rocks ect. So for that type of use a chocker chain and or section of cable is good.

At the end of this.... It's your business / choice and money, whatever makes you warm, fuzzy and happy.

Sears Craftsman tools were great from the beginning of time through the 1980s. At some point some bonehead executive at Sears decided to start selling “Sears” branded tools. They were cheap, crappy, disposable, Taiwanese tools that didn’t carry the Craftsman warranty, but they were often less than half the cost. The result? Sears made a boatload of money as millions of people bought the cheap tools while thinking they were still getting the legendary Sears Craftsman quality. I was one of the idiots who fell for that. I bought a box wrench that broke the first time I used it… The crappy tools broke at an amazing rate, were not covered by warranty, and went to the dumpster along with Sears’ reputation for quality and amazing warranty support. By the end of the Sears dynasty not even Craftsman tools were covered by the great money-back warranty that made Sears the largest retailer in world. (In 1980 a professional mechanic could walk into a Sears store, drop a failed ratchet on the counter, and go grab a new one off the shelf. No paperwork, no hassle. Just a smile and a new tool.)

It’s been a similar story with Danner boots and Warn winches. A few years back I bought a new pair of super comfortable Danner boots for less than $100. They delaminated and separated the first year, after very little use. My old Danner hunting boots, now well over thirty years old, have been repaired once, after I slipped and bit one with the chainsaw, and resoled twice. Still comfy and water resistant. (They were hike-through-stream waterproof through ten years and the first resoling. ) My current Danner work boots, which my employer buys in lots of several hundred pairs at a time for close to $400 per pair, are like my old hunting boots: six years old and in need of new soles, but otherwise perfectly fine.

Like every product known to man, even the best Warn winches will fail, either through abuse or manufacturing defect, but in all the reading I have done on the internet over the last 10+ years I can only recall two examples of a quality Warn winch failing. The remaining 99.5% of the failure stories trashing the Warn reputation have been the low-end, made-in-China, “price-point” winches. These winches are the equivalent of “Sears” tools, and the Chinese Danners, but they’re dragging the rest of the hard-earned Warn reputation to the dumpster, because most people don’t know the difference.

Maybe Warn’s leadership concluded that most people don’t actually use their winches, so they can make hundreds of millions of dollars selling crap with limited damage to the corporate reputation. If so, they were as wrong as Sears and Danner. The damage is accumulating…

 

[rock-rod]

This is a 30yr old XD9000 that has been on 3 rigs. Never no oil or grease ever added to the line and no rust. And yes, that is the original steel cable. It's been used in the rocks, sand, mud, snow, dirt, etc. Pulled ford, Chevy, Dodge, Nissan, Jeep, even VW, logs, rocks, bushes, trees and I dont remember what else. Including a 1 ton pickup with big Ole camper on back that was way off the road.
Every part of it is still original, pretty much always outside and never covered. Probably used more than most winches. Probably even more than the new Warn Evo 10k I put on my Gladiator ever will.

Steel vs synthetic, both have their plusses and minuses, spend some time reading up on each, then decide on your own.
I know what my personal choice is. It comes down to the fact, I'll drag it through the rocks, dirt and sand, what I feel is too often for synthetic to last more than a few years.

I have several synthetic extension, so I know how to use and care for it. But I also have several quality chains for when I need those.

Love this! My 30+ year old XD9000i with it's original steel cable was installed on my recently purchased 2022 JLUR and I can vouch for 9000i series durability, pulling power and unloaded line speed. Yes it draws a ton of amps under load, but the 125ft of cable is gold when that extra length is needed. This old winch used to live on my white '85 CJ-7 rock crawler and can be seen on the front of the Rick Russell Colorado Trails Volume II video box. That winch was used in all sorts of different manners and it's always worked and pulled strong. Also, the integrated electronics box leaves a lot of room for the cable in those situations where the cable might get bunch up on one side of the spool. In my mind, the 8274 is the gold standard but there aren't many options to install one on a JL, so the old XD9000i lives on.

 

[Blade1668]

Sears Craftsman tools were great from the beginning of time through the 1980s. At some point some bonehead executive at Sears decided to start selling “Sears” branded tools. They were cheap, crappy, disposable, Taiwanese tools that didn’t carry the Craftsman warranty, but they were often less than half the cost. The result? Sears made a boatload of money as millions of people bought the cheap tools while thinking they were still getting the legendary Sears Craftsman quality. I was one of the idiots who fell for that. I bought a box wrench that broke the first time I used it… The crappy tools broke at an amazing rate, were not covered by warranty, and went to the dumpster along with Sears’ reputation for quality and amazing warranty support. By the end of the Sears dynasty not even Craftsman tools were covered by the great money-back warranty that made Sears the largest retailer in world. (In 1980 a professional mechanic could walk into a Sears store, drop a failed ratchet on the counter, and go grab a new one off the shelf. No paperwork, no hassle. Just a smile and a new tool.)

It’s been a similar story with Danner boots and Warn winches. A few years back I bought a new pair of super comfortable Danner boots for less than $100. They delaminated and separated the first year, after very little use. My old Danner hunting boots, now well over thirty years old, have been repaired once, after I slipped and bit one with the chainsaw, and resoled twice. Still comfy and water resistant. (They were hike-through-stream waterproof through ten years and the first resoling. ) My current Danner work boots, which my employer buys in lots of several hundred pairs at a time for close to $400 per pair, are like my old hunting boots: six years old and in need of new soles, but otherwise perfectly fine.

Like every product known to man, even the best Warn winches will fail, either through abuse or manufacturing defect, but in all the reading I have done on the internet over the last 10+ years I can only recall two examples of a quality Warn winch failing. The remaining 99.5% of the failure stories trashing the Warn reputation have been the low-end, made-in-China, “price-point” winches. These winches are the equivalent of “Sears” tools, and the Chinese Danners, but they’re dragging the rest of the hard-earned Warn reputation to the dumpster, because most people don’t know the difference.

Maybe Warn’s leadership concluded that most people don’t actually use their winches, so they can make hundreds of millions of dollars selling crap with limited damage to the corporate reputation. If so, they were as wrong as Sears and Danner. The damage is accumulating…

Funny you mentioned Danner boots I've had 3 different pair, the first pair I bought for $110.°° as a PVT at Ft. Lewis around Feb 88 sometime around 92/93 I had them resoled, that pair was the lighter insulation and I bought a second pair of thicker insulation I still have them. A lot of hard use I was a 11B light infant for good part of them years and mech inf. with M113's. The third set I bought in 08 over priced garbage, the soles started delaminating in less than 6 months while I was in Iraq. I used "Shoe Goo" to keep them together, then the intermediate layer disintegrated as I was wearing them. I've bought better $35.°° boots from a box store.
On the Warn winches the classic 8274, Oh I do like and want one of those, it would be on my TJ Unlimited. BTW: My Ramsey was made in USA, the Mile-Marker probably not, the others aren't but I get up to 10 years or more out of them that's less than $50.°° a year. I've got a old H.F 8k winch that just refuses to quit. Dis-use and lack of maintenance kills most. If you have a winch it should be disassembled, cleaned, lubricated, reassembled, and tested at least once a year.
Sears, Definitely not the same as it was, I've got quite some $$$ in Craftsman hand tools. It's crazy to think about the companies who move production to China and give them their specs. then comes identical tool(s) made to same quality for less in some cases.

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