I want to buy a winch, but dont know exactly what I need. Basically, I dont care about name brands. Warn's are nice, but Im not convinced that they are worth the price.

School me on winches! Electric, hydraulic, commercial....??? Suggestions, Pros, cons of different models, brands, whatever.

 

you want something at least double your truck weight.

at least 8k

 

For a hydraulic to work you would have to tap into your power steering. Easy on the old trucks but not really on the new trucks. If I were to buy one I would get the Warn Powerplant because of the compressor. Just remember, you get what you pay for.

 

i had a 9k, the 8k i have seems to work but i haven't put a huge load on it yet.

you dont have any way of running a hydraulic winch, so don't worry about it.

Warns are nice, but the amount you'll use it, not worth it, I cant justify $1,500+ for a winch and air compressor, plus the fawker is HUGE!! where are you gonna mount it?? Mile Markers are the same as Harbor Freight, those work pretty good (my 9k is HF)

My current smitty bilt seems like a well constructed winch, and its got long enough wires so you dont HAVE to mount the solenoid to the winch, just close.

Costco or Sams has a 10k Champion winch, receiver plug in carrier, quick connects on 2 sets of heavy gauge cable (like welding cable), one long enough to get to a front receiver, one set long enough to get to the rear receiver. and it comes with a ****** block and something else.. $400 even i'm considering it haha

 

headed to Costco right now to see if they have it!

What do you guys think about this one:
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

 

is this the same winch as above?

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...=1&topnav=&s=1

 

Thats what I have mounted on the front of my 02 ranger went on fairly easy if u have a few fabing skills

 

I personally not mount it permanently. I would just run a front and rear hitch and use it where I need it. That way you can put it away when you are not using it to avoid theft and vandalism. Also only have to buy one winch and you can use it at either end.

 

and.. how do you engage and disengage it?

 

I have the SmittyBilt XRC 8 on my jeep cherokee and it works great and has a reasonable price.

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Winches-W..._pn=S%2fB97281

 

The XRC series of winches are good, I have a 10,000lb. 4wheelparts was having a sale, the 8k lb was 250 and the 10k lb was 350...I couldnt pass it up.

4wheelparts has the XRC-8 with synthetic rope(100ft) and Aluminum fairlead for 499.00 right now.

 

I just got the Smittybilt 8k also. I wheel with a guy who has one on his heep and it has pulled him out of some serious muck. I'll use mine 4-6 times a year. If I was using it every weekend then I'd have gotten a Warn for sure.

 

Me too. Hasn't failed me yet!!

 

i got my XRC8 for $1... raffle baby. it works fine, i just wish it was faster

 

You got that right!

 

Aren't the newer 5.5hp Smittybilts 8k, faster than the older ones? My friend's is just as quick as our other buddies MileMarker.

 

I have a mile marker 8k and it works flawlessly. not the fastest winch, but it gets the job done and for $300 i think it was a good buy. oh, and their warranty is top notch. i smashed my solenoid on a tree branch a while ago. when i got home i called them up and they sent me a new solenoid and controller no questions asked and even paid shipping. the winch was just over a year old too. i was pretty pleased with that.

 

Thanks! Thats a great deal! I absolutely hate 4WP, but I cant pass this one up...

after further research and "almost" buying a Superwinch EPi 9000 lbs (had in the shopping cart ready to go), I went the cheap route and got the Smittybuilt with the synthetic line.

I figured for my uses, might as well save a few hundred bucks and get a lighter weight unit. The Superwinch EPi had nothing but great reviews on the other 4x4 forums, but it weighs over 100 lbs. My new bumper weighs a TON already, so getting a deal on a lighter winch with synthetic line included was a tough one to beat.

There has only been 3 times that I wished I had a winch when wheeling, and both times I seemed to make it out OK. Its more of a convenience thing with me, not a necessity, so why go top of the line? It will definitely make me feel better while out on the trails though... and in the snow.

 

next winch issue: The battery.

Does a regular battery and stock alternator supply enough amperage to run a winch pulling about 3/4 of its load limit? (I dont want to buy a new battery, just wondering)

 

I have read a lot of people say that the reg. battery and alternator is fine to run the winch. I ran into a problem where I needed an extra +/- pole because I have a system, running lights and a winch. Also only 2 things really kill a battery, again from what I read and have heard, heat and vibration. Where I wheel there is about 15 miles of bone jarring washboards so I went with an Optima.

 

easy as installing a voltimeter gauge... to keep u safe from getting a dead battery in the middle of nothing..... ive heard the newer warn inches comes with a device to make it have a rest after X amount of work done so u dont kill it. on cheaper winches like the smittybuilt u just gotta know when to give the winch a breake so it doesent fal apart. also it helps ur battery regenerate aliitle before continuing.

also comes in handy to turn EVERYTHING else off when u using ur winch for something big. if u have u light on ull see how they feel the loss in energy when u run it.

 

with my HF winch, stock alternator, fo mo co battery.. the idiot gauge on the dash would get pulled down to where it sits when the truck is off..

i haven't had a real hard on my smittybilt+optima yet.