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Alright folks, Im in the market to buy a winch, and need advice. Ive been told a smitty xrc8 is good by some and others tell me is warn or nothing. So, what winch do you have, how do you like it, and what have you made it do?
I had a warn xd9000i on my wrangler. It was great. Quick and quiet but expensive. My J2000 has a warn vr10000 which I got on sale for under $500. I'd say it's a decent winch for the price. It's kinda slow and loud, but I haven't put it to hard use yet.
While searching other threads I also read that I would need to beef up the bumper mounts because the stock mounts arent up to the force of a winch is this true, and If so how would I do that?
I have a warn M15000 on the front and love it. I have a Ramsey RE12000 in the rear. I choose it because it is a worm drive gear and wanted the slower line speed out back since I don't have rear steer…….yet. As anything else in life, you get what you pay for.
As far as mounting, any winch, whether it be the mount only or bumper to hold a winch, it MUST be tied to the frame either by welding directly to the frame or using appropriately sized grade 8 hardware.
1967 Jeep M715. Cummins HX35/HT3B NV4500 203/205 Doubler. HP60/14B. OBW. OBA.
Ive done my part to jump start the economy
I bought and run the t-max ewi outback on my YJ after reading the 2012 Fourwheeler winch shoutout. I have not had to do any serious pulling with it as of yet. I know that there are other name brands carrying the same winch (looks identical but black instead of silver, etc.). I don't recall the names but they now come with synthetic rope for reasonable prices.
One day I will wake up and realize that my jeep is complete...one day, I just know it.
88Wag, LT1/4L60E/NP242, J20 axles, etc. http://imgbox.com/g/rNuIasKYrS
95YJ, STaK, D44's, SOA, ARB's, Bilstein 5150s, 35" KM2's
50 CJ3A
77 J-10 (sold)
I have a friend who mounted one of the older 12000lbs units on his trailer. Been on there in the elements for 8 years and still pulls hard. He is more than satisfied with the purchase.
If you are going to offroad a lot and possibly need a winch often - by all means go Warn.
If you are occasionally going, and might once in a blue moon find yourself needing a winch - I would go with the XRC. Jeepforum has a really good review section, that has just about everything reviewed by users.
~Atla. (I'm just here for the pictures)
1983 J-10
2001 TJ
I have a HF 10000 pounder. And for general winching, quick type stuff. Its been great. I wouldn't trust it to pull myself up a cliff or anything like that. And yes. They're slow.
xd9000i but honestly I think I've used it maybe twice in the last 15 years so I can't attest to much. If I hadn't gotten it for a song I probably would be winchless.
Broken Photobucket image in my post? PM me.
'86 GW "Troubled Child" tc.wagoneer.org
360, TBI, 4" Skyjacker, 33" BFG MTs, WT D44+ARB, WT AMC20 + LockRight, CB 2m 6m 70cm, K0FSJ
The world's first Robotic Full Size Jeep!
I've got an XRC8 on the front of my Cherokee. Only used once so far and it worked great. I've not done a lot of winching in general but the reviews on Jeepforum seemed generally positive for a unit that will get occasional use. It also happened to be on sale about 3 months back. The guy at 4Wheel said Smittybilt is coming out with a new version of the 8000lb unit, but I have no idea of the truth of that.
X2 on mounting directly to the frame for the bumper. I got a crawler style bumper from BJ's and it goes to the frame. No issues there. Good luck! Snap a pic of your new winchy front when you get it mounted up.
"Wait, what's on fire!?" KJ7TCT
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1976 Cherokee w/t 'Susan' 401/TH400/QT(PT)
FiTech Go EFI, Edelbrock Performer intake
3" Rough Country Springs, HEI Dizzy
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2018 Cherokee Trailhawk V6 'Sedna'
Everything I have seen says the XRC series are good bang for the $$. Slow, loud, but pretty reliable.
Depending on your use, you may want to think about more than an 8 though. A Wag loaded with typical off-road gear, and a couple friends is pushing (if not over) #5000. For deep sticky mud especially you really should have a winch rated at double vehicle weight or more.
Make sure you get at least one (maybe 2-4 ea.) snatch-block, tree saver, and a couple D-rings of the correct rating as well. Not only can they double your pull, but they come in handy winching around obstacles, or even pulling another truck AWAY from yours.
Jim
1978 Cherokee chief AKA = Butt Ugly
Current status = BACK under construction
modified body w/TJ flares
AMC 360, junkyard TBI, 4L80e
NWF doubler w/ upside down 203
SOA D60/14B-FF
custom shackle flip w/F150 springs
H1 wheels + (for now) tires
-----Coming Soon-----
snorkels, home brew OBA+OBW
I have the Smittybuilt 10k on my xj and his does great. Ive only used it maybe 10 times in 5yrs. They do have a lifetime warranty, which I have had to use for the free spool/lock lever. For the money I cant complain.
If I knew I would be using a winch frequently then I would go with Warn or Ramsey.
You will also want to run a good battery and make sure your electrical connections are good and clean.
The downsides are the Smittys draw more amps than the higher dollar/bigger named winches, and they dont disapate heat as well (long hard pulls..... more frequent breaks to let it cool). All winches will build heat on hard pulls.
Just some things to be mindful of.
1989 Grand Wagoneer, 4" Rusty's Lift, LS 5.3L swap (in progress), 4L60e, NP241c.
1991 Grand Wagoneer, all stock, a work in progress, for sale soon.
1982 Cherokee Laredo, 360ci, aluminum intake, Edelbrock carb, HEI, w/32x11.50x15, warn 8000, Dana 44/AMC 20
2001 Cherokee Sport, Old Man Emu lift (worn out), front/rear C4x4 bumpers, Smittybuilt 10,000 winch, 31x10.50x15, Edge Tuner kit w/throttle body & AFE cold air, Gibson exhaust-my daily driver until the '89 is finished.
Check this company out, I read somewhere that Engo was started by the old disgruntled CEO of Ramsey Winch. Good Prices for what you get, 4 Wheel Mag did a test of all the winches and this one held in there well with the best.
I have a Warn 9.5TI on the YJ for close to 10 years and love it. The condition of my cable is a testament to how much use it has seen and I've never had any trouble.
Tried pulling my Buddy's JK 4 door off of a crushed car with a snatch block and had to tie my Jeep off to a TJ because the winch was pulling me to the JK (with brakes fully applied)!
There have been times where my rig's and possibly my own life depended on the winch. The peace of mind that I had a Warn doing the work and not a HF POS was priceless.
If you just want something to pull you out of a ditch, most any winch rated for the weight of your rig will do. I have seen some nasty pics of the insides of a HF winch and let's just say they are NOT waterproof.
-Rick
87' GW 5.3/4l60E/NP241C, Dakota Digital dash, high steer, 31's, still needs a bigfoot gas pedal to tie it all together.
90' YJ 3 link coils front, 4 link double triangulated coils rear, D44s, ARBs, 4.56, 35's
Pretty decent info. I'm a Ramsey preference with warn Number 2 & nothing else in the class. I have a stripped Smittybuilt in the shed gear assembly shot. Ive heard the HF argument. No way Jose. they are all slow.
Last edited by serehill on Sun Oct 19, 2014 2:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
1980 Cherokee wrangled & mangled
MSD complete system
Eddy intake
Holley 650
Comp cam 270H
4" Rusty's
Ramsey 12K winch
208
Built to drive not sit in the garage.
No longer strangled. I didn't build it for anyone else.
If you can't improve it why waste your time?