Winches for dummies

[LIVEanimals]

I was looking at summit today and they carry all the popular brands from Warn, Ramsey, Mile Marker even their own house brand. I noticed that summit has a 12000 lb for what seems like a great deal $399. I also took interest in the Warn VR10000. My question: Is there one better brand then the other, try to not be biased? Has anyone used the summit brand or known anyone to use one? Whats the best bang for the the Buck?

 

[ColoradoBill]

I think the old saying "you get what you pay for" applies to winches more then anything else in the overlanding world. A winch is one of those things when you need it, YOU NEED IT. I run a Warn 12k and it has worked well for about 15 yrs now. I did replace the solenoid pack and added Viking Synthetic rope but that is all it has ever needed.
It is hard not to be biased but I am.

Get the best you can afford. You could get a smaller winch and a snatch block to save a few bucks.

Good luck on your search.

 

[shortbus4x4]

The nice thing about a Warn is it will last a lifetime because you can rebuild it, even an old used one. Not sure you can do that with some of the cheaper ones. Milemarker and Ramsey make some nice winches too, not sure about getting parts for their older winches though.

 

[mrchips]

Buy Warn and you buy American made. I have a Warn 9.5XP I bought used and it has a 6HP series wound motor and it is a beast. True you get what you pay for.

 

[john101477]

I can rebuild my smittybuilt and it has been a good winch. As was stated above, when you need it, you need it. luckily every time I have needed mine it has come through. I also swapt out the wire cable for a amsteel blue and love it.

 

[1911]

Buy Warn and you buy American made.

Unless you buy their new "VR" line; American-assembled from Chinese parts. Most all the major winch manufacturers now have a budget line of Chinese winches, to compete with the flood of cheaper Chinese winches in the market now.

Still, I agree that you get what you pay for.

 

[drbandkgb]

Remember you want 1.5 times the total weight of your car or truck too..

 

[Jimmeh]

Good info! A winch is on my list of things to purchase, and I was going to start looking soon.

 

[Bigjerm]

I have used my Smittybuilt XRC8 numerous times without issue with some big pulls. Once was a night ride at Harlan where I had to pull cable several times and then once complete I had to use it and a snatch block to pull a 4 door Rubicon on 37's up the steep hill after his winch line snapped. Another was at Choccolocco when a TJ on 40's broke his steering ram and then his engine died. Had to pull him up, over all the rocks, to the top and then onto the trailer.

 

[BurbanAZ]

I have an Engo 12k on my suburban, i went back and fourth on which winch to get for a while they 4wheeler magazine did their winch shootout story and that finally sold me on the Engo. Its been awesome used it a ton of times over the last year and its done great every time even with my 3/4 ton suburban completely loaded. After my experience with them id highly recommend them to someone else.

 

[1stDeuce]

I have a warn XD9000i that's at least 12 years old and an 8274 that is about 15. I've done NOTHING to either of them but use them (often!) and they both still work great. IMO, the red "W" is for Winch. If there isn't a red W on the front, it's not a winch, it's decoration. Or it will be at some point.
How's that for biased? (I've had Ramsey winches, a Harbor Freight winch, an older Mile Marker... My Warns are still going. The rest are gone.

Ramsey makes OK winches, but they freespool by spinning the planetary end of the winch, and it gets gunked up, and then you'll bust a nut trying to get cable off the thing, which sucks. The MM winches are I think related to the Smittybilt winches, and I know two people with those winches that jump out of gear when you put a load on them. (Which makes them kinda useless...) And the Harbor Freight winches work, but the one I gave to my dad gets REALLY hot really fast when you use it. Something is wrong with it but I couldn't figure out what, so he just uses it for short pulls to unstick himself when plowing.

I'll second the notion that you buy the best winch you can afford, or pick up a used Warn and do a good once over. And you budget for a snatch block, tree saver, 6' piece of 5/16" chain minimum, some shackles, and gloves because having a winch without all that is like having an engine with no car.
Chris

 

[LIVEanimals]

Thanks for all the replies, time to start saving

 

[redthies]

This is great info. I just got an 8274 for free last week, and wondered about putting time and money into it, or just buying a new Smittybuilt or Engo. It needs a solenoid cover and a new cable as well as a general clean up. I will probably be close in $$$ in the end, but it sounds like it is worth fixing the Warn.

 

[1911]

This is great info. I just got an 8274 for free last week, and wondered about putting time and money into it, or just buying a new Smittybuilt or Engo. It needs a solenoid cover and a new cable as well as a general clean up. I will probably be close in $$$ in the end, but it sounds like it is worth fixing the Warn.

An 8274 is way worth fixing/rebuilding. They are easy to work on, and parts are still readily available from Warn. Here is a thread on ih8mud that will tell you pretty much everything you need to know to rebuild one: http://forum.ih8mud.com/winching-recovery/197470-my-warn-8274-rebuild-part-1-a.html

IMO they are far superior to any modern planetary winch. The only real downside is the size; they won't fit in a lot of modern truck bumpers. Mine is my favorite winch by far.

 

[redthies]

Thanks for the link... Saved it!