So what winches do you guys use? I am currently looking to get a winch soon and am looking for some suggestions as well as general curiosity of what you use.
Starrs
TJ Guru
Warn any model. Can’t go wrong. I honestly have no experience with any other winches personally but my peers and I have only used those. They work well
Warn 9.5xp. I personally would avoid cheap Chinese winches like from Smittybilt or Harbor Freight. A winch is a tool you may someday need to rely on to get out of a bad situation. I won't go cheap on anything critical or potentially key to getting out of that bad situation.
I know I'll get shit for it, but I put a Smittybilt X20 Comp on my new TJ Rubicon. I'm usually Warn all the way (my last TJ had a Warn M8000), however, I know a handful of people who run that Smittbilt winch and absolutely put it through the ringer, beat on it, and abuse the hell out of it. It's never failed any of them after years of use, and near as I can tell it's a really, really nice winch for the price.
Time will tell, but I can say for certain I won't abuse it nearly as much as these hardcore guys do, so I think it should last me for a long, long time to come.
Part of what made it so attractive was the price, I have to admit.
Time will tell, but I can say for certain I won't abuse it nearly as much as these hardcore guys do, so I think it should last me for a long, long time to come.
Part of what made it so attractive was the price, I have to admit.
An old Jeeper that I have gone wheeling with a few times bought the same X20 that @Chris and I have for his XJ. It was a huge upgrade to him from some other Chinese winch that he bought from Quadratec, where he had told me numerous things that were wrong with its design (wouldn't freespool out until he changed the hard grease, brake inside the drum burned it several times, etc).
The only complaint he has had with his is identical to my issue, where the wireless button crapped out - he's a retired electrical engineer, so he fixed it on his own, and led me to investigate my identical problem with precision. Root cause is likely from being exposed to the elements. The button isn't waterproof, but it is an easy swap with a cheap waterproof switch on Amazon (I'm wiring mine to a switch in my cab tomorrow, there are two female ~16-18 guage electrical connectors inside the winch's electrical box that are easy to access).
Any hoot, the few times that I have been out with him (mainly in 1-2' of snow and ice), he has gotten himself stuck. He has 31" KO2's and not a lot of clearance with his diffs. I have seen him beat the living shit out of both the winch and his Dyneema line. He is usually out there by himself, and he trusts the winch to get him out of the situations that he gets himself into (he emails me the next day with his stories lol).
When mine breaks, I'm going Warn for sure (I will need something industrial though for other reasons). Hopefully it doesn't break too soon though, on a budget for the moment and I am not planning to upgrade until at least mid-Spring.
derekmac
TJ Addict
jeepXcore
TJ Enthusiast
I've been using my Rough Country RS9500 Winch for the past year and a half and it's never done me dirty. Always reliable, pulled myself and my friends rigs out of countless sticky situations.
A used Warn 9.5 CTI I got from a guy at Florida Power for $400 
.
Hasn’t let me down in a recovery yet, although I’m typically the one pulling others out...
When you do get a winch, get in the habit of winching with the hood up.
.Hasn’t let me down in a recovery yet, although I’m typically the one pulling others out...
When you do get a winch, get in the habit of winching with the hood up.
How many of you believe a winch speed is important, or do you believe the winch speed is unimportant? When you say it is or is not important, feel free to include why you feel that way if you like.
Warn M8000. Bought it with steel line when Warn offers there yearly deal. Then a year or so later upgraded it to synthetic line. Great winch, hope its the last I ever have to buy.
In the event of a failure in cable or rope, it helps at shielding the passenger compartment a little bit more than glass would. This goes hand in hand with keeping all people out of the winching zone and safely in passenger vehicles.
Sunder
TJ Enthusiast
I have a Smittybilt X20 Comp. I've also never used it, other than testing/tightening the spool.
I bought it because it was waterproof and on sale. Budget, unfortunately, was by far the largest limiter for me. It was a great sale, and I'd have to run without a winch for an additional year or 2 if I went Warn at that time.
Considering I've now owned it for over a year and haven't had to use it yet shows the level of off-roading I do. (it's also my only vehicle/daily driver). I bought it more for peace of mind when alone around the cabin and exploring. I'm always in a group when 4x4'ing otherwise.
Winch speed - the least important factor for me. Reliability, price and strength (pull strength) would be my biggest concerns. I'll take a slower winch speed if it means better torque. I'm not in any race, and will take safe and slow over speed when recovering anyday.
I also have a synthetic line, synthetic shackles, and a winch blanket because I'm paranoid of flying projectiles...although I have metal d-rings on my bumper to connect to, and would likely do the same to others if their bumper edges are sharper like mine.
Note - this is coming from an admitted winch noobie. So don't take what I said as "advice", but rather just an honest contribution to this thread in order to learn.
I bought it because it was waterproof and on sale. Budget, unfortunately, was by far the largest limiter for me. It was a great sale, and I'd have to run without a winch for an additional year or 2 if I went Warn at that time.
Considering I've now owned it for over a year and haven't had to use it yet shows the level of off-roading I do. (it's also my only vehicle/daily driver). I bought it more for peace of mind when alone around the cabin and exploring. I'm always in a group when 4x4'ing otherwise.
Winch speed - the least important factor for me. Reliability, price and strength (pull strength) would be my biggest concerns. I'll take a slower winch speed if it means better torque. I'm not in any race, and will take safe and slow over speed when recovering anyday.
I also have a synthetic line, synthetic shackles, and a winch blanket because I'm paranoid of flying projectiles...although I have metal d-rings on my bumper to connect to, and would likely do the same to others if their bumper edges are sharper like mine.
Note - this is coming from an admitted winch noobie. So don't take what I said as "advice", but rather just an honest contribution to this thread in order to learn.
Similar threads
