Winch Winch Winch

[mgroeger]

Yea, until the thing smacks you in the jaw and you end up with a $10,000 medical bill for reconstructive surgery. ;-)

I love how the video shows a hill that wouldn't even need to be winched up or in the case of a broken Jeep, it's a hill that is stupid easy. All the winching we have done would have been futile at best dangerous at worst with a Hi Lift.

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[cosmokenney]

So, snarky remarks about a hi lift aside, if you don't wheel much, buy a cheaper Winch especially if you already have a factory steel bumper. A 10k lbs SmittyBilt, or even the Harbor Freight badlands will get the occasional user out of most anything. I have a 10k smittybilt that I paid about $320 for. I've only used it to pull a few big trucks and JLUs out of the snow.

 

[Sean L]

So, snarky remarks about a hi lift aside, if you don't wheel much, buy a cheaper Winch especially if you already have a factory steel bumper. A 10k lbs SmittyBilt, or even the Harbor Freight badlands will get the occasional user out of most anything. I have a 10k smittybilt that I paid about $320 for. I've only used it to pull a few big trucks and JLUs out of the snow.

50 bucks got me a 12,000 lb Badlands winch from a Jeep Buddy. I paid more for the new cable than the winch itself, lol.

 

[Backdraft91]

We run a smittybilt winch on our JL. Used it to get off a log and on a second occasion to pull a truck out of the mud. After recently moving to the city for work we still wheel on the weekends and it’s worth the 500$ if you don’t want to spend hours digging. When we go out alone we only drive over big obstacles if there are winch anchors around like trees. Obviously this is personal preference, but getting stuck does happen and it’s nice to have that extra tool to help yourself or someone that’s having a bad day. We live in BC Canada and the terrain varies, 2 days ago I encountered mud (used the winch) snow, ice and water, all in one day. I’d consider what terrain you’re driving on and like others have mentioned you should consider the frequency of use. Ours winch is for emergencies and a 500$ winch with a cover does the trick. If you’re planning on doing more then maybe a better quality Warn winch with synthetic rope and all the fancy stuff is better. We are pretty new to the Jeep world so this is all beginner info I’ve acquired over the past 2 years. Hope it helps.

 

[LawrenceR]

I don't plan to run the Rubicon or do any hardcore off roading, I do plan to use my Jeep for working on my property - falling trees, etc. I plan to mostly use the winch for pulling the downed tree to an area which I cut the tree into rounds and then do the splitting and haul away - I only heat my house via fireplace.

See the attached photo. While it's hard to see, I stripped off all of the plastic "fluff" down to the frame. Then I welded in 3/16" steel angle iron to the frame to mount the winch to. After this was done, I trimmed the "fluff" to fit around the winch. I think it came out pretty good.

The winch I have is a Smitty Built, 9500 lbs. - Smitty manufactures winches designed just for Jeep's. The wiring is straight forward and easy to install - while one might think the winch should ground right to the frame, use the supplied extra ground cable they supply. I really like the control they supply, plenty of cord length. If you plan to off road by yourself, one can winch while sitting behind the wheel.

I also wanted to take an extra few gallons of fuel with me, but didn't want to mount the can(s) on the spare tire. I couldn't find anyone who sold the type of fuel carrier I wanted - so I made my own. The tail gate fully opens without hitting the tail light.

I also wanted to ensure that no one could syphon from my can, so I built the securing member to angle around the fill cap and it's lockable.

The extra fuel carrier mounts to the same mounting space as the original hinges - I did need to replace the factory bolts with longer ones due to the extra length of the carrier bracket. I found the harden steel bolts at Home Depot - the head of the bolt takes the same bit as supplied by Jeep, no extra tool or bit heads needed.

 

[JaxPilot]

Question for y 'all. If the Quadratec Q-Performance Stealth Winch 10,000 lbs with Synthetic Rope is selling for $600, and you can pick up the WARN 103253 VR EVO Series Winch 10,000lb with Synthetic Rope for $670, would conventional wisdom say that the $70 extra for the Warn is worth it, especially given the wired/wireless remote, IP68 rating (vs. the IP67) and the Warn reputation?

 

[ChromeToaster]

Question for y 'all. If the Quadratec Q-Performance Stealth Winch 10,000 lbs with Synthetic Rope is selling for $600, and you can pick up the WARN 103253 VR EVO Series Winch 10,000lb with Synthetic Rope for $670, would conventional wisdom say that the $70 extra for the Warn is worth it, especially given the wired/wireless remote, IP68 rating (vs. the IP67) and the Warn reputation?

what site are you seeing the warn at that price?

 

[21RubiconZ]

what site are you seeing the warn at that price?

You can find them all day for $745, but I think I've seen them in the $670 range and was wondering the same thing. Seems like a decent price for a good brand???

 

[JaxPilot]

what site are you seeing the warn at that price?

Morris 4x4 with a discount (10%) received from the Green Jeep Only Facebook group. The same 10% off they were running a few days ago. Ryan Card is the sales rep to contact.

EDIT:
Actually, this code - 10MORRIS - is working right now.

 

[Rlhdude]

I don't plan to run the Rubicon or do any hardcore off roading, I do plan to use my Jeep for working on my property - falling trees, etc. I plan to mostly use the winch for pulling the downed tree to an area which I cut the tree into rounds and then do the splitting and haul away - I only heat my house via fireplace.

See the attached photo. While it's hard to see, I stripped off all of the plastic "fluff" down to the frame. Then I welded in 3/16" steel angle iron to the frame to mount the winch to. After this was done, I trimmed the "fluff" to fit around the winch. I think it came out pretty good.

The winch I have is a Smitty Built, 9500 lbs. - Smitty manufactures winches designed just for Jeep's. The wiring is straight forward and easy to install - while one might think the winch should ground right to the frame, use the supplied extra ground cable they supply. I really like the control they supply, plenty of cord length. If you plan to off road by yourself, one can winch while sitting behind the wheel.

I also wanted to take an extra few gallons of fuel with me, but didn't want to mount the can(s) on the spare tire. I couldn't find anyone who sold the type of fuel carrier I wanted - so I made my own. The tail gate fully opens without hitting the tail light.

I also wanted to ensure that no one could syphon from my can, so I built the securing member to angle around the fill cap and it's lockable.

The extra fuel carrier mounts to the same mounting space as the original hinges - I did need to replace the factory bolts with longer ones due to the extra length of the carrier bracket. I found the harden steel bolts at Home Depot - the head of the bolt takes the same bit as supplied by Jeep, no extra tool or bit heads needed.

is that a stock Willys bumper! How did you mount a winch in there?

 

[cosmokenney]

Question for y 'all. If the Quadratec Q-Performance Stealth Winch 10,000 lbs with Synthetic Rope is selling for $600, and you can pick up the WARN 103253 VR EVO Series Winch 10,000lb with Synthetic Rope for $670, would conventional wisdom say that the $70 extra for the Warn is worth it, especially given the wired/wireless remote, IP68 rating (vs. the IP67) and the Warn reputation?

The stealth is a pretty nice winch. Compact and (IIRC) It has an led light over the drum so you can see the cable/line at night. Both are made in China so it's six of these half dozen of those. The Quadratec used to be half that price, though. You can't go wrong with SmittyBilt, Quadratec, Warn or Badlands.

 

[scuba264]

The stealth is a pretty nice winch. Compact and (IIRC) It has an led light over the drum so you can see the cable/line at night. Both are made in China so it's six of these half dozen of those. The Quadratec used to be half that price, though. You can't go wrong with SmittyBilt, Quadratec, Warn or Badlands.

Pretty bummed, I have the Stealth 10k synthetic on order and it was on the page for Dec 1 shipping. I just randomly checked the status and now it says APRIL! Emailed and they said thats all of the pending ones. I'd like to get something before then, I'd been kinda between the Stealth and the Smitty X20, I still prefer the look of that Quadratec but not sure I want to wait. Who even knows if they're for sure in stock then...

 

[Blade1668]

I think the question is how many winches do I have. My XJ ran duel winches 8k Ramsey front and 8k H.F. rear. My LJ has had 2 different ones started with a 6k Mile Marker short drum I was saving weight and space, then it failed dropping the load replacement with Q-Tec 9.5k winch. JT currently has a 12k Havoc winch otherwise it was getting a Q-Tec 9-10k winch or H.F. my 4wheeler is on it's second winch. I'd love to run Warn 8274 winch but it's not my budget.
I'm running a mix between cable and rope on different ones. Both have there place, cable last when exposed to weather, mud, sand ect.
My reason for getting the 12k winch was due to cost if they had a 9k or 10k for the price I got it for or less I would have. Now I doubt I need 12k of pulling much less, I have snatch blocks for double line pulls. FYI you only get max capacity on first layer on winch line.
Now the question to ask is how many have their winch isolated from power until needed? A very good safety thing to have if in wreck or something wears / cuts power cable.

 

[cosmokenney]

I think the question is how many winches do I have. My XJ ran duel winches 8k Ramsey front and 8k H.F. rear. My LJ has had 2 different ones started with a 6k Mile Marker short drum I was saving weight and space, then it failed dropping the load replacement with Q-Tec 9.5k winch. JT currently has a 12k Havoc winch otherwise it was getting a Q-Tec 9-10k winch or H.F. my 4wheeler is on it's second winch. I'd love to run Warn 8274 winch but it's not my budget.
I'm running a mix between cable and rope on different ones. Both have there place, cable last when exposed to weather, mud, sand ect.
My reason for getting the 12k winch was due to cost if they had a 9k or 10k for the price I got it for or less I would have. Now I doubt I need 12k of pulling much less, I have snatch blocks for double line pulls. FYI you only get max capacity on first layer on winch line.
Now the question to ask is how many have their winch isolated from power until needed? A very good safety thing to have if in wreck or something wears / cuts power cable.

The warn solenoid kit its really easy to install. I just made a bracket to hang it on out of aluminum angle. The electrical hookup is a no brainier.

 

[Blade1668]

The warn solenoid kit its really easy to install. I just made a bracket to hang it on out of aluminum angle. The electrical hookup is a no brainier.

I used the same kit on my XJ, on JT I did the same thing but bought parts for less. I did a write up on the JT forum of it.