Most of those higher end Warn models are meant for different applications, different weights, line speed, etc. The M8000 just happens to be a great configuration for our TJs.
Time to add a winch — which one?
- Thread starter CodaMan
- Start date
I'm not looking to buy "cheap", I'm looking for a good quality product, hence the question in post #1. If I wanted "cheap" I would go to Harbor Freight.
I know that @Chris, I was just making a point. This thread has gone from me asking if the VR8-S lived up to Warn's quality standards to me be call un-American for asking the question. It's just crazy
I know that @Chris, I was just making a point. This thread has gone from me asking if the VR8-S lived up to Warn's quality standards to me be call un-American for asking the question. It's just crazy
Haha, threads seem to derail pretty quickly from time-to-time...
But yes, I agree. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Warn VR8-S, not at all. A company like Warn is a company that stands behind their products.
It's got good reviews on Amazon too!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M3XLUN3/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Though there are only a few.
and some take things so personal that they have to "ignore" people. But there are people that "know" everything, just ask them.
PStov98TJ
TJ Enthusiast
This is a bad argument... With this logic, Jeep should only sell maxed out Rubicons. No other package should be available for the wrangler.
A company can have a quality product, while also catering to different applications and budgets. Not everyone can afford a $1,200 winch, but they still want reliability. So they get the one that doesn't look as pretty and has less bells and whistles, but still gets the job done every time.
But I was told that the VR series was inferior and that the quality was Chinese. Which is it?
Rob80x
TJ Enthusiast
PStov98TJ
TJ Enthusiast
Well I'll answer your question, with a few questions. Why the VR-8? Is it because of the integrated solenoid? Why not wait and see if you can find a lightly used one, maybe a model with a longer track record, for the same price as a new VR-8?
My objective view on the situation is this - If you're dead set on having a new winch, at a certain price point, then just buy the one you want. As far as quality goes, no one in this thread can factually say that the VR's are lower quality. No one here builds winches for a living and no one has said they've broken one yet. Thus far all I have seen is speculation. As for the debate of where they are made, well you have to decide what's important to you. I can only take what others have told me about the VR's being made in China, as I don't keep up with Warn's business practices.
My objective view on the situation is this - If you're dead set on having a new winch, at a certain price point, then just buy the one you want. As far as quality goes, no one in this thread can factually say that the VR's are lower quality. No one here builds winches for a living and no one has said they've broken one yet. Thus far all I have seen is speculation. As for the debate of where they are made, well you have to decide what's important to you. I can only take what others have told me about the VR's being made in China, as I don't keep up with Warn's business practices.
My M8000 was delivered today, hopefully installing it in a day or two. My electrical background tells me I should protect it with a fuse or a circuit breaker. Is that a good idea? I know it's going to pull high amperage for short times so I would hate to get nuisance trips or blow a fuse right when I needed the winch most. If I were to protect it what amperage should I use? Specs say 285 amps when pulling 8000 lbs.
No, your winch does not need a fuse. Your engine's starter motor (which functions in a similar manner to the winches motor) does not use (or need) a fuse or circuit breaker.
Believe me when I say that if your winch required a fuse, Warn would have included an inline fuse.
Since the title is "Time to add a winch — which one?", I will throw this out there for your consideration.
Engo SR9S winch for $389.95 shipped. Drew and Joel have a great reputation and they have taken great care of any of my customers that might have had a warranty issue.
Have a great day!
Allen
Engo SR9S winch for $389.95 shipped. Drew and Joel have a great reputation and they have taken great care of any of my customers that might have had a warranty issue.
Have a great day!
Allen
Hey Allen, (@AOR) do you know if the solenoids on that thing can be relocated? You could on the previous version of the Engo e9000s, but this new version has that whole integrated swoopy thing going on...
It would be interesting to hear from you, as a vendor of engo winches, how much negative feedback you get from folks who go with an engo winch. Drew and Joel may be great guys with exemplary customer service, but if they have to service every winch you sell vs. one in ten or one in a hundred, that would be interesting and informative.
Thanks a bunch!
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OK, I usually don't get involved with the whole balance of trade / made in China quality issue thing but here goes. (wait, I do!)
First off, our American made Jeeps come from the factory with a ton of foreign components. They may be final assembled here, but they are not 100% made in America. Just sayin'.
I work for a manufacturer that has a manufacturing and assembly plant in China. My personal balance of trade with China is massively positive. Dental equipment ain't cheap! The dental operatory made in China is indistinguishable from the one made in the good ol' US of A. (Oregon, the "Home of Warn" and very close to the "Home of Engo") We took great pains and spent a lot of time and money to make it so. It can be done. It's the only way we can provide high quality, sophisticated dental equipment to most of the second and third world. Those folks flat can't afford our first and second tier dental equipment, but they need good quality stuff to fix teeth. The amount of bells and whistles is what makes the high end stuff expensive, not the quality of the basic equipment. The basics are exactly the same or just a simplified version of the high end stuff. Same steel, same plastic (engineered composites), same aluminum. Just a less complex design. Same computer controls. When the Dentist stuffs his hairy hands into your mouth, I'll bet dollars to donuts that the shiny bit of stainless steel he's holding is made in Austria. Super quality stuff that we warranty the heck out of. But not made in America.
Just an observation from my small corner of the world.
First off, our American made Jeeps come from the factory with a ton of foreign components. They may be final assembled here, but they are not 100% made in America. Just sayin'.
I work for a manufacturer that has a manufacturing and assembly plant in China. My personal balance of trade with China is massively positive. Dental equipment ain't cheap! The dental operatory made in China is indistinguishable from the one made in the good ol' US of A. (Oregon, the "Home of Warn" and very close to the "Home of Engo") We took great pains and spent a lot of time and money to make it so. It can be done. It's the only way we can provide high quality, sophisticated dental equipment to most of the second and third world. Those folks flat can't afford our first and second tier dental equipment, but they need good quality stuff to fix teeth. The amount of bells and whistles is what makes the high end stuff expensive, not the quality of the basic equipment. The basics are exactly the same or just a simplified version of the high end stuff. Same steel, same plastic (engineered composites), same aluminum. Just a less complex design. Same computer controls. When the Dentist stuffs his hairy hands into your mouth, I'll bet dollars to donuts that the shiny bit of stainless steel he's holding is made in Austria. Super quality stuff that we warranty the heck out of. But not made in America.
Just an observation from my small corner of the world.
Sorry man, I'm a snob. I'm as dead set on Warn as I am on Duratracs. I'm like that old guy who has been using the same product for so long, that even if you told me something was better, I wouldn't switch.
And you can say whatever the heck you want about the politics of it, but when I have the ability to support "Made in the USA", you can damn well bet I do.
That's my take on it, so take it for what it's worth.
And you can say whatever the heck you want about the politics of it, but when I have the ability to support "Made in the USA", you can damn well bet I do.
That's my take on it, so take it for what it's worth.
I get it @Chris, I really do. But where do you set your limits, and why? Made in the USA? Made in Oregon? Made in Salem? Made in North America? I understand that it's a matter of scale and support for local employees. But what is local and is that arbitrary? How strict are you on the Made in America motivation and why not be that strict on Made in Oregon? The Oregon economy sucks, and always has because we flat don't have the manufacturing base of, say, California. Shouldn't we be going out of our way to support the few Oregon manufacturers that there are? Even though they aren't necessarily competitive on price or quality or features? It's not just manufactured goods either. Look at the sources for your food, your gasoline and oil, building products, entertainment, even the stores you shop at or buy from. Are they "Made in the USA or Made in Oregon"?
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I have spoken to Joel about this before. Maybe 1 in 100. Sometimes 1 in 200. It all depends on what goes wrong with it. They are covered be a lifetime mechanical warranty for the original purchaser and 1 yr electrical. I have not heard any negative feedback in a few years. The new solenoid is very easily relocatable. It will bolt on to any flat surface with three bolt from the bottom. That is all you need to remove to get it off the winch when it is delivered. They come preassmbled and all you need to do is connect +/- cables.
If you want to relocate it, you will need longer cables of course. Engo is developing a relocation kit that will be out this Summer supposedly.
Allen
Thanks a bunch, Allen, for the feedback! That's what I suspected from what I have read online at other sites. They did have an assembly issue a few years ago that they corrected immediately. But other than that, I haven't heard of anything going bad on them on a regular basis for awhile. Pretty impressed for the Engo's being a $400 winch! They are in Vancouver too. Just across the river from me. If I get an Engo, and it blows up, I'll just drive over and throw it through the front window of the main office.
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Just going to leave this here; if the U.S. Army picks Warn - why pick anything else?
I learned that winch is actually there to pull open the doors of another MRAP in the case that it flips over on it's side, or something similar. And, this thing weighs 26 tons. WTF.
I learned that winch is actually there to pull open the doors of another MRAP in the case that it flips over on it's side, or something similar. And, this thing weighs 26 tons. WTF.
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