If my life depended on in screw the winch I'd buy a crane.
CK5
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Winch choices?
- Thread starter nsxxtreme
- Start date
If my life depended on in screw the winch I'd buy a crane.
I had to go back and double check my research.
I edited my last post....
The Smitty XRC12 is $500 which is not a bad deal at all.
The XRC10 is $400, still not a bad deal if you don't need a 12k winch.
Which leads to what size will a K5 need? I think a 10k winch will suffice in most situations.
I edited my last post....
The Smitty XRC12 is $500 which is not a bad deal at all.
The XRC10 is $400, still not a bad deal if you don't need a 12k winch.
Which leads to what size will a K5 need? I think a 10k winch will suffice in most situations.
From my earlier research I think it's a discontinued model most likely on clearance.
I had a Superwinch 4500 on my old car trailer, used it to pull dead cars/trucks up onto the trailer. Never had a problem with it. And I never kept it covered, never maintained it except to spray the cable with WD40 once or 3 times the whole time I owned it.
I had a Superwinch 4500 on my old car trailer, used it to pull dead cars/trucks up onto the trailer. Never had a problem with it. And I never kept it covered, never maintained it except to spray the cable with WD40 once or 3 times the whole time I owned it.
So you didn't take proper care of it and you blame them for that?
Even Warn sells winch covers to keep them out of the weather.
now i never blamed them.. i know it was me.. i would have thought that it was a lil bit water sealed..
i would say it is not snow proof...
big pappa b
3/4 ton status
Here's the link to the 4wheel mag where they did the comparisons...Oh yeah THE WARN BROKE!!
http://www.fourwheeler.com/techarticles/129_1107_massive_multi_winch_shootout/viewall.html
http://www.fourwheeler.com/techarticles/129_1107_massive_multi_winch_shootout/viewall.html
I refuse to contribute anything useful to this thread until the title is changed to "which winch". 
I dont think a crane would make a very good expedition type vehicle.
Just buy an 8274 and be done with it.
I read that shoot out
, the final ratings were a joke, the ones that were actually still working didn't score the highest 
I kinda knew this would occur. I know these are popular winches although I have no intention of buying a used one for some rediculous price on craigslist then spending a fortune to rebuild it. I did look at these and people are smoking dope and think they are made of gold. I wouldn't use the thing anywhere near enough times to justify one.
So with that said let's please reframe from these types of post. They don't ad any value to the conversation.
I disagree. I got one used for $600 that did not require a rebuild. I just opened it up, changed the oil, and began using it.
I looked at your price range ($500) and there is a Warn M8000 on Amazon for $539 shipped...
Is Tmaxx out of the question?
mmmm.....where I come from $539 is > $500
For $600 you have a used winch that your at the mercy of the company to provide warranty work. Most warranties dont transfer between owners. I'd rather skip the unknown on how someone used it and just buy a new one.
Seems like a good test to me. You dunk the warn and it changes the water colors obviously something isn't sealed up right. I think that was the intent of the test.
A broken Warn is a broken Warn no way to sugar coat that one. If it's dead its dead. Not something I would expect a $1500 Winch to do. How they still gave it 1st place is beyond me. You can't always control your winching situation out on the trail. If they are as good as everyone claims it should have passed all of those tests with flying colors.
I'll admit the packaging and instructions are pretty dumb test criteria. But the rest are fairly valid tests IMO.
Warn must have some big nuts cause its seems a lot of people swing from them.
Joking aside The coments and suggestions have been good. I'm leaning toward the smittybuilt x20 10k
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Jester1
1/2 ton status
I've heard decent things about the super winch and the ramseys, but any info on the mile markers, or are they not in contention?
Pretty much anything but a harbor freight I would consider using.
Jester1
1/2 ton status
Its kinda funny up here. Diffrent trades use diffrent winches. Loggers like this, four byers like that, ranchers like something diffrent. Then you get into price and warrenty.
I have had no experiance with the mile markers but they seem to be popular around here with the ranchers. Even the smaller ones for atv's.
I have had no experiance with the mile markers but they seem to be popular around here with the ranchers. Even the smaller ones for atv's.
Save your money, claiming to not using it very often dont buy one. Instead buy a High lift jack (if you dont have one) a good shovel and a good assortment of chains/cables and D rings etc. Probably spend alot less than your $500 limit, you can easily store it all inside to keep it out of the weather and away from prying eyes. All of it can serve multiple purposes also not just for pulling yourself out.
The only thing I am gonna say about a winch is bigger has always seemed to be better, in my opinion a k5 needs at least a 12k pound one. Seen jeeps and yotas struggle with 8K pound ones of alot of brands not just warn or ramsey.
The only thing I am gonna say about a winch is bigger has always seemed to be better, in my opinion a k5 needs at least a 12k pound one. Seen jeeps and yotas struggle with 8K pound ones of alot of brands not just warn or ramsey.
big pappa b
3/4 ton status
The thing I didn't like about the test and what won it for Warn was the fact that they gave 60 points for useability of the remote..WTF?? who cares if the remote works or is user friendly if the winch is a POS?
The VR series is only a year or two old and they've both been referred to as the "value" line, make sure you're comparing the right winch. I found plenty to complain about with the Tabor winches (and only a 1 year warranty, made/assembled overseas) but couldn't really find anything bad about the VR winches (lifetime warranty, made in the US of US and overseas parts).
Made in China does not mean made in China, there are such vast differences in quality of parts from overseas that you absolutely cannot make a generalization like that. Choosing to avoid overseas parts in principle is one thing, assuming that they're all the same is a terrible assumption.
For example, check out Superior's Discovery series axle shafts (made in India) vs Durasolid axle shafts (also made in India). Both the same country, same dimensions, maybe even the same material from the same supplier. But Durasolid doesn't know how to heat treat the shafts (they got booted as a supplier for Yukon a few years ago and now try to sell their own crap
) and Superior has a great heat treat process that their engineers spent lots of time in India teaching people the heat treating process.Same country, maybe same material even, but a MUCH better end product because of quality control. That's what I feel you get in a US assembled Warn compared to a Smittybilt etc.
I have no affiliation to any brand (we don't sell winches) other than my Warn 8274 has worked flawlessly for the last ~30 years and kicked more ass than pretty much anything. Super fast and strong even compared to new stuff, but the OP said the 8274 was out of consideration (and new ones are $$$!)
One other thing I've seen people discuss is rated pull vs. price and people always seem to tend towards the heavier winch. That seems all well and good but it may be the same motor etc. just geared down lower which in many times sucks bad. Making the winch slower (with more torque) means more pulling power but a slower winch, just about every time we winch we need to drive the vehicle in addition to winching and driving faster than the winch can drive leads to bad things (the truck sliding off line, shock loads, etc).
I've been checking into winches for my tow rig as it sees camping duty and I got it stuck pretty good last fall, at first I was thinking of the super cheap Summit Racing winches because I don't anticipate using it much (like most of the people in this discussion). After the research I did, I think I'm sold on the VR8000 Warn. I've been keeping my eye out for a used 8274 though!
Forget the magazine BS, I'm sure they honestly tested everything and they even reported failures despite their apparent biased judging. I've been around a lot of winches in my ~12 years of wheeling and Warn is by far the most reliable in my experience. I've seen a bunch of import winches that were bad out of the box or within the first couple pulls.
My .02
You know, if someone had told me back in the late 70's that I would be reading about people bragging on Warn 8274s, I would have thought they were nuts.
That winch was a joke among the crowd I ran with. I personally watched two of them explode.
That aluminum gearbox would just grenade when you put a serious load on it. Or else it would fail to pull you out.
I pulled the father of my Cardiologist out of a bog with my Jeep one time. He had a big full size Blazer, green with the white fiberglass top and a brand new Warn winch.
He drove off into a bog he had no business going in with those tires, and bogged it to the doors.
Crawled out while I was taking my winch out of gear to pull the cable over and started hooking his up.
I stood there and watched while that little anti-reverse clicker got slower and slower. Finally it stopped clicking and the motor started smoking.
I hooked up my Konig PTO and pulled him out. Later it got him out of some mild bogs.
Much later, I helped my friend who built winches modify a Warn so as to mount a Ford 6V starter motor on it.
He had gotten it in trade for one of his winches, and liked the looks of it. If it would only pull as well as one of his.
That was the first explosion. Chunks of that gearbox went everywhere.
Nowadays, everybody loves them and buys them used. It has puzzled me for a while.
I suspect that it was a combination of factors.
First, I was expecting 12K+ PTO like performance out of them. Everybody I ran with had either the custom built ones from my friend, or PTOs.
And secondly I suspect that there may have been a casting problem with some of the early ones, and the ones you find today were the good ones that survived.
Also, the motor is sized to the gearbox. Most of the ones that exploded, had either double current put to them or the motor changed out for more pull.
Of course, none of this helps you with your choice, so lets see if I can contribute something useful.
First, take it from someone who has done very serious winching for decades. Winches are like toolboxes on trucks.
They create their own need.
You buy a nice big empty toolbox, figuring you will just put in a few things, and within 6 months its full and you wish you had a bigger one.
There are people who buy winches and almost never use them. They are either wheeling in dry country with lots of help, or just never see the uses.
Most people who have them keep finding uses for them.
So, do not assume that the seldom use idea will stand up.
And secondly, the number of times you use it do not relate to how critical it is that it works.
I'm sure that there are winches out there that are so cheaply made that they actually wear out.
Buts its really rare. Its like the life of a rifle barrel. Its lifespan is measured in minutes if not seconds.
Its just that those seconds are spread out over hundreds of thousands of tiny increments.
I once helped use a PTO winch continuously for over 3 hours. But, the one on my present truck, has pulled me out hundreds of times, probably everybody I know who has driven off pavement, pulled over trees as they were cut, worn out two cables, and I doubt it has 100 hours of actual use.
So, buying a cheap one and worrying about it wearing out, is foolish. It might rust out from water in the motor, or break, but its not likely to wear out.
So the number of times you use it is not relevant.
What is important, it that it works. EVERY-SINGLE-TIME. Its like the anchor on a boat. Its not a mooring device, its a safety device.
A winch will let you go places you would not otherwise go. Because, if you are careful to always look for pull points before you try a bog, then you can get there and back.
But, a winch that lets you drive off into something and then fails, is dangerous.
Now, what to buy?
Go with a brand name. If they have been around long enough to get a good rep, they are doing something right.
Warn, Ramsey, Pierce, Smittybuilt, MileMarker in hydraulic, Superwinch.
Don't be too afraid of buying used and fixing it if its a "name", since parts are readily available, and you can sometimes get freebies if you write to the company.
If you are determined to go cheaper, then there is another option. You can buy a smaller winch new.
Then, carry extra cable or chain and a snatch block or two.
I DO NOT recommend this but it will work.
With enough cable, battery power and snatch blocks, you could pull a semi out with a 2500lb ATV winch.
DON'T consider one of those ATV winches, unless you are driving a small Toy, or some other small truck that never goes in bad places.
But, whereas I would go with a 12k winch, you can get by with an 8 and a snatch block to increase your pull to about 15K.
You lose some in friction.
But, to do that, you will need big battery, a high power alt., and time. Since your pulling power is doubled, but so is the pulling time.
And you will probably have to wait and let the winch motor cool off on a long pull.
But, it can be done, because I have done it. But I never rode with that guy in bad places again.
We took my truck after that.
That winch was a joke among the crowd I ran with. I personally watched two of them explode.
That aluminum gearbox would just grenade when you put a serious load on it. Or else it would fail to pull you out.
I pulled the father of my Cardiologist out of a bog with my Jeep one time. He had a big full size Blazer, green with the white fiberglass top and a brand new Warn winch.
He drove off into a bog he had no business going in with those tires, and bogged it to the doors.
Crawled out while I was taking my winch out of gear to pull the cable over and started hooking his up.
I stood there and watched while that little anti-reverse clicker got slower and slower. Finally it stopped clicking and the motor started smoking.
I hooked up my Konig PTO and pulled him out. Later it got him out of some mild bogs.
Much later, I helped my friend who built winches modify a Warn so as to mount a Ford 6V starter motor on it.
He had gotten it in trade for one of his winches, and liked the looks of it. If it would only pull as well as one of his.
That was the first explosion. Chunks of that gearbox went everywhere.
Nowadays, everybody loves them and buys them used. It has puzzled me for a while.
I suspect that it was a combination of factors.
First, I was expecting 12K+ PTO like performance out of them. Everybody I ran with had either the custom built ones from my friend, or PTOs.
And secondly I suspect that there may have been a casting problem with some of the early ones, and the ones you find today were the good ones that survived.
Also, the motor is sized to the gearbox. Most of the ones that exploded, had either double current put to them or the motor changed out for more pull.
Of course, none of this helps you with your choice, so lets see if I can contribute something useful.
First, take it from someone who has done very serious winching for decades. Winches are like toolboxes on trucks.
They create their own need.
You buy a nice big empty toolbox, figuring you will just put in a few things, and within 6 months its full and you wish you had a bigger one.
There are people who buy winches and almost never use them. They are either wheeling in dry country with lots of help, or just never see the uses.
Most people who have them keep finding uses for them.
So, do not assume that the seldom use idea will stand up.
And secondly, the number of times you use it do not relate to how critical it is that it works.
I'm sure that there are winches out there that are so cheaply made that they actually wear out.
Buts its really rare. Its like the life of a rifle barrel. Its lifespan is measured in minutes if not seconds.
Its just that those seconds are spread out over hundreds of thousands of tiny increments.
I once helped use a PTO winch continuously for over 3 hours. But, the one on my present truck, has pulled me out hundreds of times, probably everybody I know who has driven off pavement, pulled over trees as they were cut, worn out two cables, and I doubt it has 100 hours of actual use.
So, buying a cheap one and worrying about it wearing out, is foolish. It might rust out from water in the motor, or break, but its not likely to wear out.
So the number of times you use it is not relevant.
What is important, it that it works. EVERY-SINGLE-TIME. Its like the anchor on a boat. Its not a mooring device, its a safety device.
A winch will let you go places you would not otherwise go. Because, if you are careful to always look for pull points before you try a bog, then you can get there and back.
But, a winch that lets you drive off into something and then fails, is dangerous.
Now, what to buy?
Go with a brand name. If they have been around long enough to get a good rep, they are doing something right.
Warn, Ramsey, Pierce, Smittybuilt, MileMarker in hydraulic, Superwinch.
Don't be too afraid of buying used and fixing it if its a "name", since parts are readily available, and you can sometimes get freebies if you write to the company.
If you are determined to go cheaper, then there is another option. You can buy a smaller winch new.
Then, carry extra cable or chain and a snatch block or two.
I DO NOT recommend this but it will work.
With enough cable, battery power and snatch blocks, you could pull a semi out with a 2500lb ATV winch.
DON'T consider one of those ATV winches, unless you are driving a small Toy, or some other small truck that never goes in bad places.
But, whereas I would go with a 12k winch, you can get by with an 8 and a snatch block to increase your pull to about 15K.
You lose some in friction.
But, to do that, you will need big battery, a high power alt., and time. Since your pulling power is doubled, but so is the pulling time.
And you will probably have to wait and let the winch motor cool off on a long pull.
But, it can be done, because I have done it. But I never rode with that guy in bad places again.
We took my truck after that.
