I'm going to purchase a winch and I decided that it will be a Warn and w/synthetic rope. What does everyone think about the VR8-S? @Jerry Bransford ?
Time to add a winch — which one?
- Thread starter CodaMan
- Start date
X2
Personally I would go with the Warn M8000. It's been tried and tested more than any winch in the world when it comes to our Jeeps. Made in the USA, and absolutely bulletproof.
But does it have Warn quality? There are quality items that come from China. It all depends on the quality controls set by the manufacturer, in this case Warn.
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The price point being where it is, they are using lower quality parts Somewhere. No other way around it. I won't pretend to know the details but knowing that was enough to steer me away from it when I was looking. They are a rather new line of winches and no one knows how long they will last and what they will endure.
On the other hand, if you are set on a cheaper Chinese made winch, warn would be my choice purely because of the availability of parts and customer service, but that won't help you if you're stuck and your winch doesn't work.
You could go the route I did, and keep an eye on Craigslist for a used warn, there are deals out there. I got my xd9000 for 140 bucks in working order with no cable.
Pulled it apart, cleaned, greased, replaced everything that showed wear for about $40 bucks, synthetic line for $280 something. Fresh coat of paint and she's good as new
Being the devil's advocate, couldn't the lower price just be due to lower production costs in China? E.g. lower wages, lower cost facilities and so on.
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Very well could be. But I doubt it's all of it. And that still wouldn't change my mind. To me it's just untested, I would much rather have one of their other models which have proved themselves to be damn near bulletproof
How much do you realistically plan to use your winch? While the M series is the gold standard, the VR might suit your needs. If I were wheeling my jeep hard and I believed I would need my winch often then I would want the best warn I could buy. On the contrary if this is a once in awhile use then the vr would work just fine.
Michael Roberson
TJ Enthusiast
Someone gave me some great advice once. "If you don't plan on using it, then it buy whatever you want". Think about that.
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I have a VR10,000 and this pretty much sums up what I found out while researching it. The VR's are not the best but certainly good enough for occasional use. They're a bit slower ... but so am I.
Neal
TJ Enthusiast
Here's my take on any product or winch made in China. Even if it had the very same quality, I'd still buy the American made version. I'd rather have my $$$ going to support an American worker and his family than someone in China.
Not to mention the economics of buying products from China. Take a macro economics course some time and find out what it means to have a "leak in the economy". That's when $$$ is flowing out of the American economy faster than it is flowing in. No economic system can survive for long like that. We can't stop buying everything that is imported of course but at least for me, I will always buy American when I have a choice.
I fully understand what a "leak in the economy" is from MY macro economics courses. I could also explain how U.S. products sub-contracted to, let's say China, create the same amount of American jobs, just in different segments. But I don't want to get into a political discussion, I just wanted to know if the VR series of winches are up to Warn's quality standards.
I agree and will probably purchase the M8000-S, but I am still curious as to why Warn would put their reputation on the line for an inferior product?
Which would add more jobs for American employees... Warn adding a new manufacturing line in Oregon and continuing to use their existing distribution and sales network, or Warn buying that new line winches from China and using that same distribution and sales network?I fully understand what a "leak in the economy" is from MY macro economics courses. I could also explain how U.S. products sub-contracted to, let's say China, create the same amount of American jobs, just in different segments. But I don't want to get into a political discussion, I just wanted to know if the VR series of winches are up to Warn's quality standards.
Do you really think that Warn adds more jobs in their Oregon HQ when they have part of their line of winches manufactured in China? Of course not, they don't add a manufacturing line for them so the net effect for WARN WINCHES is a net loss in jobs. The jobs not added in Oregon since those winches wouldn't be manufactured in Oregon. They already have their US sales & distribution network so they wouldn't be adding any jobs for their new Chinese built winches. I'm limiting my discussion to the subject at hand, Warn winches.
I won't be dragged down a rathole talking about some instances where importing something might potentially add US jobs, this is a discussion on WARN and what happens to American jobs when they sell a winch that was manufactured in China instead of Oregon.
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The obvious answer would be money. But more than that is adding a "budget friendly" line of winches to consumers that do not have the money or feel they need a $900 Warn. Now they have something to compete against Smitty, Superwinch, Engo, etc.
No you are wrong, this WAS not a discussion about American jobs, you made it that. This was simply a series of questions on whether the VR8 series of winches meet Warn's high quality and reliability standards.
This is the problem with forums these days, people what to preach, some even about Chinese products while standing at the pulpit using their iPhone. So next time I'll be sure to ask a specific question so someone can't drag it down a "rathole" .... oh wait, I did.
derekmac
TJ Addict
Personally, if I were looking for a winch, I'd try and find a good working Warn M8274. Hell, I even take a beat one and rebuild it. I know too many people that had a VR series fail on them, so it's one I wouldn't really consider, unless I found a smoking deal on one. Like others have said, the M8000 is a fantastic winch!
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