Why did you choose the winch you have?

Thatguy

Thatguy

TJ Enthusiast
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Westernslope of CO
Not sure if this has been done to death, my mild search did not reveal much of anything

Im a dirt bike guy, so this off road Jeep thing is kinda new to me, kinda. Im learning and asking a crap ton of questions as I go.

Knowing that I would be needing a winch at some point, I picked a few friends brains as to what I should consider. Their formula was to buy one that could pull 2x the approx weight of the vehicle. So I went with an 8000lb. Both also said Warn would most likely be my best choice, so I bought a VR8s. No turning back now, it installed and away I go, fairly confident that it will handle what I ask of it, as I probably wont get myself in too deep.

Looking at the tons of Jeeps out there, I see a plethora of different winches of all sizes. Its not confusing me, or making me regret my purchase, but Id like to know any reasoning behind your choices. Hopefully some valued info for future winch buyers
 
You are reading my mind. I am in the identical situation except for the dirt bikes... I wheeled off road for the government on wheels and tracks. Other than that I too bought the VR8S. From what I researched we are in good shape but the less stylistic Warn 8000 seems to be the go to for a TJ.
 
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For me mainly it was price and reviews. Would I want a synthetic line Warn winch? Hell yea! Did I want to spend $1k? Not really. I know smittybilt gets shit on a lot but the reviews on the x2o were majority good. Picked up one up on sale for $400 with the synthetic rope. I don’t wheel as often as I like and I’m never alone when I do go, so that were big factors. If I wheeled much more often and solo, I’d spend the coin for a warn.
 
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I got my Ramsey at a good price. It has never failed me. I see Warn as a status thing a lot of the time. (Like Patagonia jackets, Teslas, and Mammoth stickers in the town I live in) More unused than used Warn winches. You can get a never used 20 year old discontinued model. That isn't to say Warn is a bad winch. Against the grain I go.....
 
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I picked up a warn m8000 because of its reputation and knew warn would take care of me if anything ever went wrong. (which they did when a solenoid went out.)

Over the summer I replaced the steel cable with a tre synthetic line.
 
Warn Zeon 8-S, paid $450, or $425, from random internet user in my area who was trading in his JK. Got the owners manual too.
 
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My Warn 8274 served me well for many years. I had occasion to obtain technical assistance from Warn during those years and was impressed by the customer service I received and the corporate policy to maintain an inventory of spare parts for every domestic Warn winch ever sold.

When it came time to purchase a new winch for my current Jeep there was no question it would be a Warn - not because of any perceived status or because Warn is popular on Internet jeep forums, but because Warn winches are reliable workhorses and my life/the life of my jeep may someday depend upon that reliability.

I compared the VR8, VR10, Zeon 8, Zeon 10, and the M8000 and determined that the U.S.A. assembled M8000-S would on balance be the best choice for me because it is a tried and true design constructed from higher quality materials than the imported VR series, with likely long term availability of parts and service.

I got a good price on a new M8000-S by setting up a price alert on camelcamelcamel.com and striking quickly when the price hit an all time Amazon Prime low.
 
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(At this point, I think this sub-forum should be renamed from "Gear" to "Winches", lol)

But on topic: I went with the Superwinch Tiger Shark 9500
Reasons are that I couldn't find a good Warn winch in my price range and didn't want to settle for their newer zeon ones. Superwinch Tiger Sharks seem to have a good enough reputation and it was in my budget, even with a synth line, so I went with it.
 
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There are no wrong answers here, just intel for others.

Its good to see what works and does not for everyone.

Id rather learn it here than find out I made a halfassed choice out in the woods
 
I went with the Warn Zeon 10S Platinum
IP68 rated
Synthetic rope
Fast line speed
Powerful
wireless remote w/motor temp monitoring, vehicle battery monitoring, and can operate two 12v accessories
Convertible control pack (relocatable to under hood)
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After having a Warn M8000 since the 1980's it was time for an upgrade and put it back on the YJ I gave my son. I went with the Warn Zeon 8S also with the Convertible control pack (relocatable to under hood). I did this to allow me more access to the rope if it were to get tangled. The standard setup does not allow much room to gety your hands on the rope. I also relocated the plug for easy access. The one on the right is for the winch control the other is for my OBA

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My previous winch, Warn XD-9000 with Master-Pull Superline XD synthetic line, was an awesome winch. Like a dummy, I let it go when I sold the XJ it was on. Fast forward a few years and I was in the market for a new winch. Instead of getting another Warn, I went against the grain and picked a Superwinch EPi9.0. At the time it had some advanced features that made it attractive. A sealed solenoid; outside-the-drum-brake; lower current draw; a lower profile; and more. It's now on its second synthetic line, but has served me faithfully for10 years. I don't regret making the decision!

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Irun said:
My previous winch, Warn XD-9000 with Master-Pull Superline XD synthetic line, was an awesome winch. Like a dummy, I let it go when I sold the XJ it was on. Fast forward a few years and I was in the market for a new winch. Instead of getting another Warn, I went against the grain and picked a Superwinch EPi9.0. At the time it had some advanced features that made it attractive. A sealed solenoid; outside-the-drum-brake; lower current draw; a lower profile; and more. It's now on its second synthetic line, but has served me faithfully for10 years. I don't regret making the decision!

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I thought you went with this winch because it was blue :)
 
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For me back in the Late 80's I used to build tall K-5 blazers. I had a stand up Warn 8K winch for a while, and it never failed me but when with a sale. Then I purchased a warn M8000 winch brand new from 4wheel parts at the Puyallup Fair Swap meet for a good price and it sat on my 74 blazer with 6 inch lift and 36 inch Swamper Boggers. I never got that thing stuck enough where the which couldn't get me out. I did have to roll it out to the last roll a couple times, but still got me out of every jamb I was in.

Then I got in to racing streebikes Yada yada yada, Now I have a TJ with a new warn M8000, because I don't think I can get my TJ in any worse of a jamb than I did my old blazers. I am still running the steal line though. I have used them forever and don't know the benefits of a synthetic line yet. Might look into trying a synthetic line if I ever have to replace my cable, but I have never had an issue with my cable and they seem to last a long time.

Anyways I purchased my m8000 because it is really all I know. I have never had one fail or break.

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