One winch or two?

[K2ZJ]

I am about to start building custom bumpers front and rear for my 95 Jeep ZJ. I do some rock crawling as well as camping and am planning on some more expo type camping with it.

I have a Warn 9.5ti that I bought from a friend, it is in great shape. I planned on putting it up front and having a rear swing out tire carrier on the back. I got to thinking about what i paid for the Warn and thought I could sell it for the cost of two new Smittybuilt XRC8s. Then I could put one up front and one in back. I have only needed a winch twice (someone else had one) so I ask, is two overkill? Or is the Warn overkill? Is one out back more weight than I necessary? Looking for opinions, thanks.

edit: More info, I am setup more for rock crawling and plan to do more of that. I have 33s locked 8.8 rear with long arms, and am planning to add long arms up front this winter as well as the bumpers. My wife and I are expecting a son in the spring and the ZJ will be taken off of dd duty (ddd?) before then. So it will be a rockcrawlin/campin/huntin rig in that order.

I usually carry two come-a-longs.

I like the idea of the carrier, but then I have to store it inside or have it sticking out killing approach/departure angles.

When I build the bumper I plan to cut the front cross member to get the winch in as close as possible.

Funds are a concern otherwise I would just buy the xrc8 and add it in back and call it good. But I do have enough in the budget for the above items that I will fab myself.

 

[109 Pretender]

We need more Beta on how you intend to use your rig. You know most of us here are gear junkies and many of us adhere to the government policy of 'why buy one when you can have two for twice the price'? (sorry Jodie!) Sounds reasonable to me...

IF you plan on going out alone (no backup vehicle to pull you out) and/or you do some tough trails - then yes, 2 winches might come in handy. As you said though, you've only needed a winch a couple times so far.

The Warn is a good winch. I don't know about the Smittybilt you mentioned. Is it made overseas by folks who don't own cars and trucks? I'd probably keep the Warn and skip the rear winch. Or you could carry a comealong and extra cable if you thought you might need a rear extraction. Sounds dirty doesn't it?:sombrero:

 

[4WD School]

My opinion is to keep the Warn and carry a come-a-long for that rare instance when you need one.

Check out these: http://www.wyeth-scott.com/models.asp


I highly recommend the come-a-long with the Amsteel Blue rope. :smiley_drive:

 

[Lichen]

Or, just mount the Warn in a carrier that fits into both front and rear class III hitches.

 

[K2ZJ]

Info added.

 

[Antichrist]

Carry some extra snatch blocks and rigging and learn to winch yourself backwards by anchoring to something in front and behind you.

 

[jh504]

Virtually every trip we take to the mountains is a solo vehicle trip. I am planning having two winches for my setup. I already have both of them though. One is a brand new CE 8000 and the other is a Warn MX6085 I just finished rebuilding. The 8000 will be mounted in the front on a trail gear winch mount and the 6000 will be on a receiver that I will only hook on if necessary. May be overkill, but as much as we are by ourselves I like to think I can get out of most situations.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Adaptable winch.

Warn 16.5.
Hitch fit front or rear or attach to anywhere and pull in any direction.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[jh504]

Warn 16.5.
Hitch fit front or rear or attach to anywhere and pull in any direction.

Cheers,
Peter

Nice

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: If you're going to build the bumpers ANYWAY, buildem with hitchs, why not just carry one mobile winch that'll fit in either hitch--

I use a small 2500 lb mobile, but you can get the carriers for 12,000 lb winchs

Front or rear and you can decide how big you want--don't have to leavem outside

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[K2ZJ]

I like the idea of the carrier, but then I have to store it inside or have it sticking out killing approach/departure angles.

When I build the bumper I plan to cut the front cross member to get the winch in as close as possible.

This

:sombrero: If you're going to build the bumpers ANYWAY, buildem with hitchs, why not just carry one mobile winch that'll fit in either hitch--

Front or rear and you can decide how big you want--don't have to leavem outside

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[jh504]

I like to have one solid mounted winch due to high side to side stresses in certain situations.

 

[4hilux]

Hi - I started off having no electric winch on my vehicles, just used a Tirfor, which is good, as ya can hook up either end, or pull vehicle back onto its wheels or whatever. Then, over time, my vehicles got heavier, I ate less breakfast (or got older!!), electric winches suddenly started getting fitted!! Always on the front, but have also had 3 4WD utes where I've also chucked a XD9000 on the rear too. Permanently mounted electric rear winches just rock!! Often ya want to beat a retreat from the situation you are in, rather than drag yourself further into a bigger mess, & also real handy for dragging stuff onto trailers etc behind you, while still connected up. Other advantage on rear mount, is in any hard recoveries on other vehicles, you're not putting mental amounts of stress into the front suspension & steering, which is very relevant on IFS vehicles. Cheers.

 

[K2ZJ]

...Often ya want to beat a retreat from the situation you are in, rather than drag yourself further into a bigger mess,... Other advantage on rear mount, is in any hard recoveries on other vehicles, you're not putting mental amounts of stress into the front suspension & steering, which is very relevant on IFS vehicles. Cheers.

The first is a great reason, but a close second which I did think of but never mentioned was helping someone else. You have to turn around to help pull someone else out of a situation. Not always easy. I always have a strap on board (I said strap on) so a tug from in front is usually all you need.

 

[4hilux]

Relating to recovering others, heres another reason - cables usually break at the hook end - if your winch is mounted in the rear, all the shapnel etc does'nt come through the windscreen & take ya out. For much the same reason, plus the fact it blows front diffs & reverse gear on some vehicles, don't be doing snatch strap recoveries with the towing vehicle going travelling backwards to do it.
We are all having a goooooooood time, untill something goes majorly wrong......