I've never owned a winch, but I do recognize how invaluable they can be when you really need them. I'm planning to purchase one for my FJ Cruiser. I don't offroad every weekend nor do I currently get very far away from civilization. My future plans do include more expedition type things when I can get more gear to be properly outfitted for such. I'm leaning toward a Warn Zeon 10s. Reasons I picked it in order of importance:
1. Warn Reputation - I want my winch to work when I need it.
2. The new sealing that is industry rated (forget the rating) - The winch will sit in a tray at the bottom of my stock bumper so it will get whatever my truck goes through thrown at it
2a. I can buy a winch drum cover to keep the elements away from the synthetic line - not really sure how much of a benefit this is over a standard cover, but it'll probably be easier to put on based on the winch's location.
3. Amperage Pull - lower than the 9.5xp/cti winches. My truck has OEM Alternator and OEM Battery. I'm thinking this will help in the event I have to winch a long distance or without the engine running. This is at the cost of speed/line pull per layer.
4. I like how it looks - Not a huge factor at all, but full disclosure right?
Does this seem like a reasonable decision for this winch? Is there another winch that I should be considering? Am I way off base on the amperage/line speed/pull per layer thought? Just looking for an opinion because this is a fairly large purchase for my checkbook.
Additionally, what I'm wondering is how do you know when the duty cycle is "up". It says intermittent in the owners manual. I understand this would be dependent on how much of a load you are pulling (closer to max, the faster it will get hot). I looked in the owners manual and it simply says "intermittent duty cycle." So my question to all of you with experience is this: How do you know when to stop and give your winch a break?
I apologize for the beginner questions, but I've been researching for the past 2 months and have read a lot; maybe to the point it's getting a bit foggy. I just want a sanity check at this point before I pull the trigger in the next month.
1. Warn Reputation - I want my winch to work when I need it.
2. The new sealing that is industry rated (forget the rating) - The winch will sit in a tray at the bottom of my stock bumper so it will get whatever my truck goes through thrown at it
2a. I can buy a winch drum cover to keep the elements away from the synthetic line - not really sure how much of a benefit this is over a standard cover, but it'll probably be easier to put on based on the winch's location.
3. Amperage Pull - lower than the 9.5xp/cti winches. My truck has OEM Alternator and OEM Battery. I'm thinking this will help in the event I have to winch a long distance or without the engine running. This is at the cost of speed/line pull per layer.
4. I like how it looks - Not a huge factor at all, but full disclosure right?
Does this seem like a reasonable decision for this winch? Is there another winch that I should be considering? Am I way off base on the amperage/line speed/pull per layer thought? Just looking for an opinion because this is a fairly large purchase for my checkbook.
Additionally, what I'm wondering is how do you know when the duty cycle is "up". It says intermittent in the owners manual. I understand this would be dependent on how much of a load you are pulling (closer to max, the faster it will get hot). I looked in the owners manual and it simply says "intermittent duty cycle." So my question to all of you with experience is this: How do you know when to stop and give your winch a break?
I apologize for the beginner questions, but I've been researching for the past 2 months and have read a lot; maybe to the point it's getting a bit foggy. I just want a sanity check at this point before I pull the trigger in the next month.