winch opinions ...

[jeffryscott]

Thinking of a winch for my vehicle, it is only about 4,000 pounds so I'm looking at a 5-6K winch (mostly for self-recovery and peace of mind).

Warn's are Scott's favorite (M8000), but what about Ramsey, Superwinch, Tmax and then off brands like Duke (winchking.com) or the venerable Mile Marker? Any experiences, good or bad or what you have heard from a friend of a friend with any of these other brands?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[flyingwil]

Jeff-

Chris is using the Ramsey Triple-X 6,000 on his Taco. I have heard as much good things about them as I have about Warn. Since I do not own a winch, don't count what I have to say too much, but so far this is close to my list with the exception of the winch...

Depending on your allotted budget, weight, and size, I would go with a Warn M6000 and a Viking Offroad roller fair-lead (having seen Scott's he had to sleep with one eye open at camp), with Viking Trail Line with Winch Safety Thimble.

 

[goodtimes]

Warn has the best reputation, but I hear very little negative about Ramsey. Mile Marker does not have such a great reputation. I would avoid the off brand winches, I hear too many people having problems with them. I realize that yours will not be used very often, but when you need it, you need it!

BTW, since the PM's are not working....your parts are still back ordered. They should be here Monday afternoon.

 

[cshontz]

I strongly favor Warn for performance, reliability, and ease of use.

Several years ago, I've witness numerous problems with Ramsey winches on multiple vehicles. Those winches were usually poorly taken care of by their owners, which is certainly a contributing factor. I've also seen brand new Ramsey winches self-destruct (wind-in uncontrollably) because of problems with the solenoid assembly. These new winches were all from the same lot. I also think they can be difficult to engage or disengage in harsh or corrosive conditions.

That's not to say you will have a negative experience with a Ramsey - its a popular winch brand that many people use with much success. However, I think I will always avoid Ramsey based on my experiences.

 

[gjackson]

I've had very good reliability and performance out of my superwinch. Never used a warn. Camel Trophy used superwinch, so I gotta think they can take some abuse.

cheers

 

[robert]

I've always run Warns too. Warn is making a lower end winch badged as Tabors but I don't know anything about them.

If I were you I would up your capacity to 8000#s though (9000 or 9500 is better still- I bogged the HS9500 on my old Tacoma pulling a Discovery out of the snow; double lined it and he came right out). Ideally you want to have at least 1.5 times your vehicle weight. Remember that that rating is only for the first wrap on the drum (which you can't use anyways since you need to keep it on there for safety) and that any angle or contact that the winch cable has will create drag which further reduces your pulling capacity. Some of the smaller winches have limited drum capacity too which limits your ability to double line the cable. On the other hand they are more money and more weight.

 

[ShearPin]

Warn

I've had good luck with Warn as well. I got a hold of a used M8000 over 8 years ago. It was free and sounded good so I bolted it on figuring if I got a year or two out of it it didn't owe me anything. It's still on my Rover today. I replaced the cable with a synthetic line thee or four years ago and was able to get an additional 25feet on the drum. The synthetic is safer, lighter - it even floats. The winch is a passenger a lot of the time so I make a habit of pulling out the line and running it in every once in awhile.

I'll second the recommendation for a little more capacity. I've heard the 1.5 times loaded vehicle weight suggested as a minimum as well.

Henry

 

[Willman]

I have a Warn XD9000i portable winch!!! I love having the option of winching from the rear!!!! Having a Portable winch keeps the winch out of the weather!! This will keep the winch looking good while keeping the wear-and -tear down!!!

You can't beat a Warn!!! If you have the $$$$ go for the Warn...It will pays for its self!!!

As you can see...it has saved my bacon and many others!!!!

 

[jeffryscott]

winch ramblings

Warn has the best reputation, but I hear very little negative about Ramsey. Mile Marker does not have such a great reputation. I would avoid the off brand winches, I hear too many people having problems with them. I realize that yours will not be used very often, but when you need it, you need it!

BTW, since the PM's are not working....your parts are still back ordered. They should be here Monday afternoon.

Thanks Brian, email me the info at jeffry scott @ gmail dot com if you get a chance. Your help is much appreciated. I haven't had a chance to think bumpers - too much work preparing for Chloe's 4th birthday tomorrow.

Back to winches: When you need it, you need it - exactly. I want to make sure that if I have one, it will work when I need it to.

Have you generally been happy with your Tmax? I've seen the 6,500 for about $450 on ebay. And I've seen a Ramsey 8,000 pound for 399 all over.

I had a Warn on the Rover and it was great the few times I used it.

For the Zuki, I've been very interested in the Superwinch S5000 - it is small. light and would tuck in under the front of my vehicle nicely. Since my truck has a GVRW or whatever or 3,900 it would be at the low end of capacity, but realistically, I'm looking at self-recovery more than anything. The Zuki probably wouldn't do too much tugging of bigger things without pulling itself in first. I don't know if it is made to be in the elements though since it is more of a trailer winch for ATVs and such.

I like Baja Taco's solution a lot, but would rather stick to about
$500.

Warn makes the Tabor brand, which I suspect is an off-shore produced version of one of its models. With Warn backing it though, I would think it is good.

The used ones I've seen on ebay or the Warns look pretty trashed. For a few hundred more, I'd rather go new and get the warranty.

 

[goodtimes]

I have had a few problems with my Tmax. The company has opened a new production facility since the time my winch was produced. New factory usually means new quality control systems. Hopefully they have overcome some of the problems they have had in the past.

No matter what winch you buy, there is always the possibility of it not working. The first time I met Scott (we ran the Martinez loop) his Warn failed on his jeep. It happens....no company is exempt from it.

Consider this. How many times in the past year have you "needed" a winch? Do you plan on changing the types of trails you run? Is there something else that is driving the purchase (trying to get the wife to go on more remote solo runs with you, the winch being a "security blanket" so to speak, etc?). In reality, most winches out there probably don't get used more than once or twice per year (exception being people that are into the extreme rock crawling trails, and the guys playing in lots of mud). Does it make sense to spend close to a thousand dollars (winch, mounting plate, wiring, etc) for something that you wont' use often?

I like your idea of staying small for your application. It will be easier to physically fit, won't require as solid of a mount (provided you don't run the winch cable through a snatch block and back to your winch mounting plate....you want to attach it to a different part of the vehicle), and in all reality, will provide you with just as much functionality as a larger winch....your line speed will just be slower because you will be using a snatch block most of the time when you use it. But again, if you are only using it once or twice per year, this isnt much of an issue.

I'll give you a call when I get your parts. You might want to change how your e-mail address appears in your post. The format it is in is easy for the spiders to pick up, and the next thing you know, you are getting spam from someone who wants to sell you a pill to make willie hang closer to your knees....generally the format <jeffryscott at gmail dot com> is "safer"....

 

[Willman]

I have had a few problems with my Tmax. The company has opened a new production facility since the time my winch was produced. New factory usually means new quality control systems. Hopefully they have overcome some of the problems they have had in the past.

No matter what winch you buy, there is always the possibility of it not working. The first time I met Scott (we ran the Martinez loop) his Warn failed on his jeep. It happens....no company is exempt from it.

Consider this. How many times in the past year have you "needed" a winch? Do you plan on changing the types of trails you run? Is there something else that is driving the purchase (trying to get the wife to go on more remote solo runs with you, the winch being a "security blanket" so to speak, etc?). In reality, most winches out there probably don't get used more than once or twice per year (exception being people that are into the extreme rock crawling trails, and the guys playing in lots of mud). Does it make sense to spend close to a thousand dollars (winch, mounting plate, wiring, etc) for something that you wont' use often?

I like your idea of staying small for your application. It will be easier to physically fit, won't require as solid of a mount (provided you don't run the winch cable through a snatch block and back to your winch mounting plate....you want to attach it to a different part of the vehicle), and in all reality, will provide you with just as much functionality as a larger winch....your line speed will just be slower because you will be using a snatch block most of the time when you use it. But again, if you are only using it once or twice per year, this isnt much of an issue.

I'll give you a call when I get your parts. You might want to change how your e-mail address appears in your post. The format it is in is easy for the spiders to pick up, and the next thing you know, you are getting spam from someone who wants to sell you a pill to make willie hang closer to your knees....generally the format <jeffryscott at gmail dot com> is "safer"....

The spam has been sent!!!!!.....lol Get out your :ar15:

 

[jeffryscott]

I like your idea of staying small for your application. It will be easier to physically fit, won't require as solid of a mount (provided you don't run the winch cable through a snatch block and back to your winch mounting plate....you want to attach it to a different part of the vehicle), and in all reality, will provide you with just as much functionality as a larger winch....your line speed will just be slower because you will be using a snatch block most of the time when you use it. But again, if you are only using it once or twice per year, this isnt much of an issue.

I'll give you a call when I get your parts. You might want to change how your e-mail address appears in your post. The format it is in is easy for the spiders to pick up, and the next thing you know, you are getting spam from someone who wants to sell you a pill to make willie hang closer to your knees....generally the format <jeffryscott at gmail dot com> is "safer"....

Brian, How goes it? I've never gotten to think about bumpers, but one of these days ... famous last words.

Hey, just wanted to get your advice/opinion on these winches:

I'm really kind of looking at the Superwinch s5000 out of this group - light weight, approximately 1.5x my vehicle weight (a little less) and I've seen it at $409 on the web. Right now my first choice.

The $399 Ramsey would be the best buy of the bunch, but so big and heavy and probably overkill for my vehicle.

The Warn is only 300 pounds less capacity than the Superwinch, and don't know if that is enough of a difference to discount it. Warn's reputation makes me interested in this.

I'm thinking if Baja Taco can get away with a 6K winch, then a 5K is probably safe for me for my needs.

Below are various links to the above mentioned winches.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...&storeId=6970&productId=200183124&R=200183124

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200197874_200197874

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200319553_200319553

http://www.superwinch.com/pages/s2/s5000.html

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=4635504707&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

(This Gorilla is the wacko idea of winchdom .... but it is CHEAP ... I know, I know, you get what you pay for, but it is tempting)

Hope school will give you a break soon, in the meantime, take care and we'll talk/see you soon,

Jeff

 

[calamaridog]

I've got a brand new Milemarker electric sitting in the garage waiting for a new bumper. It's an E9000 and I only paid $370 shipped.

I figure I'll use it infrequently. I expect it will do the job just fine.

If I planned on using my winch frequently, I would have saved up for a higher end product. I say figure out a budget and go from there. Any winch is better than none if you need it

Now as far as the Warn vs. others arguement goes, Ramsey winches are the most popular winch for INDUSTRIAL applications. You can read whatever you want to into that, but my buddy ONLY uses Ramsey winches on his fleet of tow trucks.

 

[goodtimes]

Jeff, if I were in your shoes, I would be seriously looking at either the 4700 pound Warn, and the s5000. Considering your vehicle weight, and the fact that you don't bounce it off of rocks like I do my jeep, I see little need for a 8000 pound winch, particularly when you consider that they weight upwards of 72 pounds.....30 pounds heavier than the smaller winches. They also have a much lower amp draw than the bigger winches (my Tmax pulls 580 amps at full load--enough to literally melt top post battery terminals---ask me how I know).

One downside is that the smaller winches only carry 60' of 1/4" wire rope, so you may consider adding an extension into your box-o-stuff you take with you on trips.

Definately stick with the major brands here. It is hard to tell what you are going to get with the off brand winches.

 

[robert]

Hmm, didn't realize you were running a Zuki- yeah I'd look at the smaller winches too, 8000 is overkill for you.