Warn M8000 vs. VR8000

StG58

StG58

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Orygun, the wet side...
Starting to shop winches, and have a few questions about the two Warns I'm looking at.

What is the difference between the VR8000 and the M8000? Besides the price difference, of course.

On a related note, there are a lot of comments out there about water intrusion causing the motors to fail. I'm not going to run this thing under water on purpose, but stuff does happen here on the rainy side of Orygun. I don't remember it being a problem with the Warn on the CJ5, but that's been awhile ago. (Two Cherokees, a K20 Chevy and a Suburban)

Are there other winches to look at that hold up to reasonable pulls and very wet conditions? Milemarker? Engo?
 
As far as I understand the VR8000 is the cheaper winch that is manufactured in China. The M8000 still has some Chinese parts (i.e. the motor, which is unavoidable that it would be Chinese), but the majority of it is manufactured in the US, and the entire thing is assembled in the US. That's what I understand, but I may be wrong.

  • The M8000 uses a contactor instead of a solenoid.
    • Solenoids are prone to corrosion and failure, and can in fact fail in the closed position, which means your winch runs-on and can't be stopped without disconnecting the battery (not fun if you are winching "in"). Mostly though, they just quit working at the most inopportune time, right when you really need your winch.
    • Contactors are much better sealed to corrosion, take up less space, and most importantly are designed to fail in the open position so your winch can't run-on.
  • M8000 has a faster line pull.
  • M8000 is built for longer sustained pulls, while the VR is designed for short pulls (less frequent).
  • Obviously, the m has a proven history that the VR hasn't achieved yet.
  • The M costs more than the VR.

I run the M8000 and love it. Amazing, amazing winch!

I've never had an issue with mine in this PNW rain. However, I use one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JMOSAA/?tag=wranglerorg-20

I have that cover on at ALL times, unless the winch is in use. It's 100% waterproof (as tested by me, in the PNW), and for the price, it's a real no brainer.
 
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Thanks, @Chris , The only things I really remember about the Warn on the CJ5 was that it was butt-ugly from use and abuse, I kept telling myself that the cable needed to be replaced, and it always worked. The cover lasted about six months and disappeared in the woods one day, never to be seen again or replaced.

So it's really boiling down to the M8000 and the Mile Marker SEC8 Scout ES winch. The cost is about the same, the weight is about the same. I'll take a look at what the control pack looks like for contactors vs. solenoids on the two.

The Engos are cheap, but not that much cheaper than these two. Really looking for simple, reliable, "lighter" weight and availability of replacement parts.
 
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StG58 said:
Thanks, @Chris , The only things I really remember about the Warn on the CJ5 was that it was butt-ugly from use and abuse, I kept telling myself that the cable needed to be replaced, and it always worked. The cover lasted about six months and disappeared in the woods one day, never to be seen again or replaced.

So it's really boiling down to the M8000 and the Mile Marker SEC8 Scout ES winch. The cost is about the same, the weight is about the same. I'll take a look at what the control pack looks like for contactors vs. solenoids on the two.

The Engos are cheap, but not that much cheaper than these two. Really looking for simple, reliable, "lighter" weight and availability of replacement parts.
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I run the Engo 9000 with synthetic and for my purposes it does the job and so far after 2 plus years it has continued to perform well. If I had access to serious offroading I would definately be running a WARN winch but here in NJ the most I have asked of it is to drag me out of the mud, move a few trees off the trail and pulled large shrubs on my property.
 
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Serbonze said:
I have the VR8000, if it makes any difference. Luckily my need to winch has been few and far between, but it's worked every time.
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Thanks for the input! I haven't needed a winch on this Jeep yet, but it's only a matter of time. As the rig gets more capable, I get further back into the thule-berries and the opportunities for getting my ass in a crack increase proportionately. I'm trying to head that off at the pass as much as possible. When the time comes, it'll be winch or walk. It would be really nice if the winch didn't cack a hair ball and make me walk anyway.

TJ4Jim said:
I run the Engo 9000 with synthetic and for my purposes it does the job and so far after 2 plus years it has continued to perform well. If I had access to serious offroading I would definately be running a WARN winch but here in NJ the most I have asked of it is to drag me out of the mud, move a few trees off the trail and pulled large shrubs on my property.
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That's one of the winches that I was looking at. I have seen a lot of good reviews for it, and the price is right. Or at least right-er. (Is that a word?) The Engo headquarters is right across the river from me, but they aren't going to motor out to bail me out if I get stuck. (Warn's on this side of the river.)

The thing that's getting me right now is that Warn is getting lots of reports of motors failing at the wrong time. Warn's good about taking care of the issue, but you have to get back to civilization for them to take care of it.
 
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StG58 said:
Thanks for the input! I haven't needed a winch on this Jeep yet, but it's only a matter of time. As the rig gets more capable, I get further back into the thule-berries and the opportunities for getting my ass in a crack increase proportionately. I'm trying to head that off at the pass as much as possible. When the time comes, it'll be winch or walk. It would be really nice if the winch didn't cack a hair ball and make me walk anyway.
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I hope to be getting into the thule-berries out there soon. By the way, what the hell are thule-berries ....
 
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You're welcome. Living in Florida, I don't do a lot of heavy off-roading either. However, I did want something that would work every time.
I ended up swapping to synthetic line, I should have just bought with the winch with it.

A lot of people around here buy the Badlands winch from Harbor Freight and they seem to work okay. Personally, I wouldn't trust it.
 
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I would NOT trust a Harbor Freight winch. I own a lot of Harbor Freight stuff, but I'm simply not going to trust those guys for something as critical as a winch.
 
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TJ4Jim said:
I hope to be getting into the thule-berries out there soon. By the way, what the hell are thule-berries ....
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Oh, sorry, that's a family expression. It all starts out at the source of all light and wisdom, the Jeep Dealership. Next you have the Mall. Then there are the soccer fields of the suburbs. Progressing outwards, you come to the rural areas with two lane blacktop and maintained gravel roads. Then come the BLM and FS roads that may or may not be maitained. After that are the logging mainline and spur roads. Most of them have seen at least 3" minus gravel in the last 20 years. This is where life gets interesting. After those you come to the dirt logging roads and skid trails. Then comes the puckerbrush. You start to loose the big 4x4 trucks in the puckerbrush. Finally you come to "out in the Thule berries". These are the old, overgrown skid trails that go to interesting places like Idiotville, Oregon. (Real place, by the way) it's the wild, inaccessible country where you don't see law enforcement, and may go for two or three days without seeing or hearing another soul.
 
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TJ4Jim said:
Idiotville, Oregon is that anywhere near Drain, Oregon, I love these names...
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Drain, Oregon... Haha. Always laugh when I drive by there and see that sign.

As for Idiotville, I've been planning on stealing that sign for a long time. Just need to make it happen!
 
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I've been accused of being a founding father and current mayor of Idiotville before. It's north of Hwy 6 after you go over the summit and down the Wilson River canyon. At the bottom, there's a a road that drops off and crosses the river. Once you're on the other side of the river, Idiotville was about a half mile up the other side. Old logging camp. It was so far back in the puckerbrush and on the wrong side of the river from the old stage road, that you had to be an idiot to work there. Really cool place though. A pretty big creek drops off the side of the mountain into a hanging valley. Good place for Elk and Bear. Bad place to get stuck. It's a LONG walk out, unless you like to swim.
 
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Chris said:
Mile Marker? Never even heard of it.
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At one point they were supposed to make a really good winch. Apparently not any longer. Lots of bad reviews on the motor brushes, solenoid packs and build quality. Not good reviews on customer service, either.

Well, it's looking like the M8000 or the e9000s are the top dogs. Warn is rumored to be having motor issues, and the Engos either work forever or die a horrible death in short order. Wish I could afford to get one of each. The first one to expire goes back in a box with a nasty note and photographs.
 
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Oh, I managed to snag a complete GNIS data set from USGS before they scrubbed it. Lots of really cool stuff in there like locals, old town sights, mines, wells, cemeteries etc. LAT, LON and elevation. They removed a lot of that because some people where using it to hunt artifacts and rob pioneer grave sites. It's pretty cool to browse through when you head out into the back country. Sometimes you just scratch your head and say "people used to LIVE here?!".
 
StG58 said:
Ok, did some more digging around online. The Mile Marker is off the list.
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My first winch was a milemarker electric winch. This was 12 or so years ago when my buddy and I would go out in the woods and find ways to get stuck or go places the jeep couldn't. We used the winch far more than we should've and really put it to the test. It got us out each time and never failed, however, I did go through two motors under warranty. It was funny how the motor would die when I'm home spooling the cable back in and not on the trails. It failed due to the motor being packed with mud. :angel2:

DSCF0273.jpg

It was reliable (on the trails) but I dunno about them nowadays.

My lady bought me my 2nd winch which was a cheap Smittybilt XRC. It just celebrated it's 6th birthday. Still works but doesn't spool out with the remote. I wouldn't buy it again though. The pins on the handle break and the handle becomes stuck rendering the winch useless. You have to pop the side cover to get the pin out and replace it with another. It happened two or three times over the years.

I'm aiming for a M8000 for my TJ this time.
 
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