The Warn VR is a Chinese made lower cost product. I am not saying it is a top performer but it comes in on the price point side of thing with the Warn warrantee. Form what I can read Comeup is form Taiwan for a reputable winch manufacture that has been around for 37 years and has repair facilities in the US. I can't get their web page to work so I can't find out what their warranty is.
Hopefully they are a great winch and give Warn a run for the money. Competition is good. I am just a cautious person when it comes to this sort of thing. Years back I had an issue with Warn, sent them the bad part they sent me back a new one within a couple days, no charge and no questions asked. I like that. Things go down, to include Warn winches. Warn seems quick to fix problems.
If Warn keeps that up with their lower end series that will be good for somebody looking for a lower end winch. If Comeup winches are better than Warn that will only push Warn to make a better one and vice versa, either way the consumer wins.
I got the tundra weight info from Weikapedia.
Yes the VR series are low cost entry level winches which is why I personal believe them to be on a lower tier in terms of quality. There are definitely people who rarely need to use a winch or just have a winch to look the part at Overland Expo (ooops did I say that outloud
) where a VR would be sufficient. The same goes for some of the other brands. Not everyone *needs* a high end winch, but for those that do, then it makes sense to spend the money on a quality item.
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I had the 8274-50 on my old Land Cruiser. It was a fantastic winch and it got used heavily. There were a few trips where my winch was used to winch every vehicle in the group (sometimes up to 10 trucks) through particularly difficult sections. I was impressed that the winch never skipped a beat in that process. That's the kind of performance I personally look for. I'm not sure I'd have that level of confidence in a VR series or some of the other less expensive brands. I knew I could do it with a higher end Warn, and I believe I'll be able to do it with the COMEUP. Time will tell for sure.
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I agree with you that competition in good. A rising tide floats all ships. You're also correct that COMEUP was started in Taiwan and the production is handled there. But their headquarters is in Oregon.
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lastly.....the Wikipedia is wrong.
The 1st Gen Tacoma is 4200lbs and I'm pretty sure the Tundra isn't lighter.