Winch suggestions

Ian

Ian

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2017
Messages
49
Location
North Dakota, United States
First off I'd like to thank everyone on this forum that has helped me out since i joined. This forum and it's members have helped me out very much and I'm extremely grateful.

Anyways, I've had my jeep a little over 3 years now and haven't exactly needed a winch being in North Dakota. I'll be leaving for good in early April and I will be living in Pennsylvania and visiting Michigan often. That being said I will be wheeling my jeep alone for the most part unless I meet some people in Pennsylvania. I'm asking advice on what a reliable winch is thats not too outragous in price. Probably wanting to spend less than 600 on it. I used to wheel my dad's jeep that had a smittybilt winch that actually broke when he was pulling himself out of a snowbank. I'm definitely leaning towards a Warn but I know very little about winch capacities and what I would need. Main things are reliability and not an outrageous price. Thanks in advance.

Edit: As far as reliability goes I need something that won't break even if I'm framed out in muk. I am also debating putting a second battery in for this exact reason. I did read the thread on the dual batteries so that may be a future project.
 
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Ian said:
First off I'd like to thank everyone on this forum that has helped me out since i joined. This forum and it's members have helped me out very much and I'm extremely grateful.

Anyways, I've had my jeep a little over 3 years now and haven't exactly needed a winch being in North Dakota. I'll be leaving for good in early April and I will be living in Pennsylvania and visiting Michigan often. That being said I will be wheeling my jeep alone for the most part unless I meet some people in Pennsylvania. I'm asking advice on what a reliable winch is thats not too outragous in price. Probably wanting to spend less than 600 on it. I used to wheel my dad's jeep that had a smittybilt winch that actually broke when he was pulling himself out of a snowbank. I'm definitely leaning towards a Warn but I know very little about winch capacities and what I would need. Main things are reliability and not an outrageous price. Thanks in advance.

Edit: As far as reliability goes I need something that won't break even if I'm framed out in muk. I am also debating putting a second battery in for this exact reason. I did read the thread on the dual batteries so that may be a future project.
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You will find many people on the forum runs the Warn m8000. M8000 has a proven track record. That was my top choice before I lucked out and found a deal on a used warn. Using a discount code on NorthRidge4x4 should bring the m8000 down to about $500.00. Sadly the Warn rebate program just ended so $500.00 is the lowest you could get one.
 
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I just purchased the Warn M8000. As stated above, you can get it for just over $500 at NorthRidge 4X4 using discount codes. Another great option would be the Engo 9000 w/synthetic line which can be had at Allen Offroad for under $400.

The Warn would be my first choice with the Engo second.
 
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I'll stay out of the which winch debate since I went with an 8000 # Traveler (Tractor Supply) model that has synthetic cable. I only paid $136 as it was a floor display sale that I just could not resist for that number.

What I would comment on is watch your wire sizing. The stock wire on most winches does not have the ampacity ratings for the load and yet they work- for a while. When the wire is too small voltage to the motor drops and amps rise causing heat in the windings. For example- mine only came with #4 wire (about 8') and the motor is only 2.7HP. At 12v the running load on this motor would be 230-240 amps and the wire size to meet this ampacity requirement is 0000 ! The provided #4 wire is giving me a theoretical voltage drop of 0.9v or nearly 8%. This will definitely limit pull time due to heat build up. Realistically there is no way I will run 0000 size wire due to available terminals. I will be running size 00 wire (cost of $3.70/ft) which is heavy welding cable I can get thru my work (or just cut some off of my excessively long portable Miller welder leads- it will cut my voltage drop to 0.3v or 2.5%. Before I do this I will test my theory by application of load on the winch and test voltage at the battery, then at the winch terminal. I will only run new primary positive lead since the ground is supplemented by the normal vehicle grounding lead.

Don't take my word for this guys but test your own rig and remember I have a small winch motor- your amps will be higher. There can of course be differences in motor winding insulation quality and service factor but the latter is often just used to claim a larger hp. If you can get actual full load amp rating on the motor great- that is most useful. When guys say in reviews there winch worked a few times and quit---well maybe there was more to the story-—-
 
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I had a super winch 8500. I was able to get the winch, the low pro mount plate and the fairlead for 500 or using the web. Highly recommend the low pro mount, gave the front end a nice look.
 
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Yes amps will be higher to pull the same load in a lower capacity winch than it will be in a higher capacity winch. BUT amps through the motor will NOT be higher if the winch power cables too small which adds resistance in series with the the winch motor. That's simply not how circuits, electricity, or Ohm's Law works. The winch motor can't/won't draw more current because its power leads have more resistance. More resistance in a series circuit (cable to motor to cable) reduces the current through that circuit when the supply voltage (12 volts) is kept the same. The winch motor won't be able to pull as big of a load when its power cables are undersized since the resistance in the undersized cables is reducing the voltage seen by the motor.

Back on topic... any winch from 8,000 to 9,500 to maybe 10,000 lbs. of capacity is ideal for a winch. And a 9,000 or 9,500 lb. capacity winch will, generally speaking, require fewer amperes from the Jeep's electrical system than an 8,000 lb. winch will when pulling the same load. One of Warn's US made winches would be a good choice. Only their VR series are imported, the rest are all made in the US. :)
 
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Warn
SuperWinch Synthetic
Engo Synthetic

All these you could get for under $600 and all are good IMHO.
 
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Definitely going to go with some sort of Warn. I also try to support USA made products. Thanks to everyone for their input. And Jerry do you know why it would take less amperes to power a bigger winch with the same load? That almost makes me want to get a 9000 or a 10000 lb winch. Might be overkill but it'd be less I'd have to worry about.
 
jeep_boss said:
Looking at something like a Warn 71853 when the 10K SB X20 that came with my Jeep goes out to lunch.
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You can't be serious about that $3400 winch which is meant for huge rigs like fire trucks, not Jeeps. If you're looking at very high-end winches with more than enough capacity for a Jeep, look instead at something like the Warn 9.5xp which still isn't an inexpensive winch.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
You can't be serious about that $3400 winch which is meant for huge rigs like fire trucks, not Jeeps. If you're looking at very high-end winches with more than enough capacity for a Jeep, look instead at something like the Warn 9.5xp which still isn't an inexpensive winch.
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It was designed for mil Humvees. It's heavy, but I have use cases for it later this year (think Alaska and trees).
 
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