Heavy Duty Winch Recommendations - Please!

[Vance Vanz]

For anyone coming across this post in the future, here’s some helpful advice on selecting a winch comparable to the Warn 16.5TI-S for heavy-duty recovery.

If you're working with a vehicle in the 15,000-17,000 lb range when fully loaded, you'll want a winch with similar pulling capacity and durability. Since the Warn 16.5TI-S has been hard to come by, here are some reliable alternatives that are known for their performance in this weight class:

1. Superwinch Talon 18.0 SR The Superwinch Talon 18.0 SR is a robust alternative to the Warn 16.5TI-S, with an 18,000 lb pulling capacity. It’s designed for serious off-road recovery and comes with a synthetic rope. Superwinch is known for building reliable, tough winches, and this model should meet your needs for heavy-duty recovery.
2. Smittybilt XRC Gen3 17.5K Smittybilt’s XRC Gen3 17.5K is another great option with a 17,500 lb pulling capacity. It’s a more budget-friendly choice but still offers solid performance. It comes with a wireless remote and synthetic rope, making it a competitive alternative for heavy recovery work.
3. Warn Zeon 12-S Platinum with Snatch Block If you can’t find the 16.5TI-S, another option is to go slightly lower in capacity with a Warn Zeon 12-S Platinum and pair it with a snatch block to effectively double your winch’s pulling power. The Zeon 12-S is known for its durability and premium build, so using a snatch block will help you manage those higher weight recoveries.

Things to Consider:​

• Pulling Capacity: Make sure your winch has at least a 1.5x safety factor above your vehicle’s weight, especially if you're consistently operating in heavy off-road conditions.
• Synthetic Rope vs. Steel Cable: For heavy rigs, synthetic ropes offer weight savings and safety advantages, though steel cables are more durable in abrasive environments.

Hopefully, this helps anyone looking for a comparable alternative to the Warn 16.5TI-S!

Thanks for adding some info/alternative options to the thread Aaron.

I finally found two Warn 16.5TI-S winches available on Amazon of all places 😄.

Yah, they seem to be tougher and tougher to find these days, but I haven't been tracking that since mine have been sitting in my shop for over a year now.

 

[Vance Vanz]

Our rigs are similar in weight and size Vance, i spent a lot of time looking for a winch that would have the capacity to pull 7-8 tons out of a spot and quickly realized that there where few options in the DC powered platform. Then, while jeeping with some friends it dawned on me that my second, or maybe first, problem was not the winch but the anchor point. Even if i had a 10 ton winch in front or back, what would i hook it to? our rigs don't warrant much exploration in heavily wooded areas and the flats and desert don't have many large trees. Am i carrying a land anchor as well, no. In summary i have found that the primary use for my winch on both my jeep and 3/4 ton truck is to help others. so the big rig has no winch and i just drive knowing this and being smart. that's my $.02

Thanks for the comments 180out !

I would agree with everything you are saying. The plan is to avoid those areas and roads I'm just asking for trouble being on. I'm also not looking to beat the hell out of my rig; there is a very expensive tiny home on the back of it after all 😆!

The reality is, I will most likely need the winches more for desert and sand travel, in particular the beach. I will be packing a land anchor and will always be sniffing around for large rocks/boulders to sling and/or hopefully somebody else's large enough rig. The winches are more of an additional layer of worst-case-scenario-insurance, as opposed to something I plan on actively depending on.

Traction boards, a land anchor (multiple if needed: buried trees/limbs, boulders, etc.) and my good old rock climbing/mountaineering brain should get me out of most squirrely situations.

If I could only finish the build and get on the road!