Warn 9.0Rc

[Brian894x4]

I was thumbing through the Warn site and saw the Warn 9.0Rc for the first time. I know this has been out for a while, but it's first time I've seen it and I was just thinking what a great portable winch this could be. It's a spendy little sucker, but for folks who don't want a heavy winch up front or want a single winch with a hitch mount front and rear, this thing could solve all kinds of space and weight problems.

The other option is a Warn SDP 6000. But there's not much pulling power there for most rigs. The 9000lbs of the 9Rc should work for just about anyone.

It peaked my interest, because I used to have an old Warn 5000M on a custom portable hitch reciever and used it as a rear winch. It saved my bacon a few times when I needed to pull backwards out of a snowy trail, but it was too heavy, weak and slow. I rarely carried it, so I ended up selling it a while back.

I rarely winch these days (have a Warn X8000i up front) except for occasionally in mud and snow, but I've often thought it would be nice to have another portable winch for the rear. Was sort of looking at the SDP6000, but the 9.0Rc is much more powerful and even lighter.

The one thing I don't understand is why Warn doesn't built the 9.0Rc as a portable winch like it does the SDP6000 and market at least a version of the 9.0Rc to the portable market instead of exclusively towards the extremely limited and narrow rock crawling buggy market. Making a cradle wouldn't be too hard, but it would be nice if you could buy it set up like the SDP6000.

I probably won't end up getting a rear winch, but I thought I'd throw the idea out there for anyone looking for a simple winching set up. If I were setting up a new rig, I'd definately consider the 9.0Rc, build a portable cradle for it, then hitch mounts front and rear and carry it in the back. 50 feet of rope is not much, but synthetic rope extensions could take care of that problem.

Any thoughts?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Well, the obvious drawback is the fact it only carries 50 ft of recovery line, after leaving several wraps on the drum for safety and allowing for a bit on the other end for rigging, you've got a very short recovery span. Sure you can lengthen it up a bit with winch extension straps, but thats just more stuff to carry, and more weight to negate the savings. When using it in conjunction with a snatchblock, good luck, you've got 20ft of usable line, and then you have to re-rig.

The Warn XD9000 is only 24 lbs heavier, and most of that weight is in the cable, so if weight is so crucial, ditch the wire rope and go synthetic.

I guess I don't see the apeal for using it as a multi-mount winch, but then again I don't see the appeal of a multi-mount either. :smiley_drive:

 

[Brian894x4]

Well, that's 50 feet of 3/8th snythetic line, which is overkill for most rigs. If 50 feet of 3/8 comes stock, you should be able to fit at least 80-100 feet of 5/16th snythetic line, which is as much as twice the strength of equivilent 5/16 steel cable that normally comes on most 9000lbs winches. That's about the same length as found on most winches too. An extra 50 foot section of snythetic rope is only a few pounds.

For a multi-mount, the weight difference between a full size 9000lb winch and the 9.0Rc is significant, if you have to wrestle it around. Warn makes two multi-mount 9K winches and they weigh between 104-112lbs. By the time you got done building a mount for the 9.0Rc, you'd probably be up around 70-75lbs, but that's still a lot less than 110lbs.

The main thing is space savings too. Winches are large and oddly shaped, so they aren't very effecient to store away. The smaller one is, the better. In fact, the size saving is probably more significant than weight, unless you just can't lift 100lbs for some reason, then the weight really does make a difference.

I like having a winch permanantly mounted up front too, but I've experienced the need for a rear winch in the past. After all, there are many times when we get stuck, that we want to pull ourselves out of the mess, not further into it. A multi-mount solves this issue without the need for carrying two winches. Most of us carry far too much weight and gear as it is, since we want everything for our travels and any contingency, including the kitchen sink.

The other advantage of a multi-mount is keeping the winch in good shape inside the rig, making it less likely to be stolen. The lack of a winch outside the rig draws less attention to it from bandits and all that weight can be left home for outings where a winch isn't going to be needed.

Good points, though, I see what you're saying. That's why I threw the idea out there.

 

[crawler#976]

IMO only having 50' of line is no big deal. An additional 50 or 75' synthetic extension line is light and easy to store, and when combined with a 20 or 30' strap/tree saver should provide enough length for most situations.

If the R series weren't so expensive I'd certainly consider one. The line speeds sure are impressive!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I guess I still don't see the incentive unless the extra couple of inches of storage space really out ranks the ability to winch long pulls without re-rigging... all while saving just a few pounds. By the time you equip a full drum winch with syntehitc rope (which holds twice as much as the RC), your only ~10lbs heavier than the RC.

There is a reason the RC hold such little rope... we never winched in competition And if we did it was 10 feet to a course recovery vehicle

I'd have to say 90% of the winching I do/did outside of competition is at lengths much greater than the ~ 40 usable feet on the RC. My experience... others will obviously vary.

All this and you can build a great Warn 8k weighing in @ 43lbs, for ALOT less $$$ than the RC
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21

 

[Scott Brady]

Go with the M8000 and 80' of 5/16" synthetic