Winches?

[4x4Hemi]

I dont know much about winches, wondering if anyone could teach me something about them haha,

whats some good brands to look up? only ones i know about are Superwinch and warn winch?

How many pound winch would i need with a 1500 truck? 10000 pounds more then enough ??

anything else i need to know? any favorites out there? im planning on fitting it in a bumper im getting made from Addictive desert designs. anything helps!

 

[Burla]

If you are in mud, 12k or better is wize. When you have to pull something through mud it can double or triple the weight of the truck depending how bad your stuck abd how thick the mud is.. You want to save money or get a lifetime winch?

 

[4x4Hemi]

Definitely life time. I dont want to buy another winch again haha. I wouldnt be opposed to saving a bit longer and get a longer lasting winch. what would you recommend then?>

 

[Burla]

Warn but get their top of the line one. They made a weaker winch to compete on price, but they are not as good as the $1000 plus models. Mile Markers are pretty good too, and cheap, I new a couple guys who ran them in their jeep.

 

[4x4Hemi]

This is one i was looking at


Warn Industries - Jeep, Truck & SUV Winches: ZEON 10-S

or this one too

Warn Industries - Jeep, Truck & SUV Winches: ZEON 12

i dont know much but those seem to be some of their good ones

 

[Burla]

Never heard of that, it has been a while. I believe they were XD's my bud ran.

When I can afford it I'm going with the Warn M12000 that's all I know. Any of their top of the line will last a lifetime.

 

[4x4Hemi]

haha alright well this is still confusing. The Mile marker ones all seem to be under 800 bucks and are "budget oriented" unless you get a hydraulic winch

 

[directconnection189]

Love my superwinch with synthetic rope, been stuck in the mud a few times and pulled a IH9600 dump truck with both front rotors locked up on it only. The only thing I would recommend if you are going with a big winch is either a bigger battery and/or bigger alternator. I've heard and seen plenty of cases where the winch pull power under a load and the alternator kick off line and there is nothing more annoying than holding the gas while trying to winch a heavy load

 

[Poriggity]

IMHO, there are a lot of GOOD winch companies out there, competing with Warn. I have a bulldog winch that I am working on installing on my truck and I have used their products for a long time with no issues. They are cheaper than Warn, but will still last a long time. I will say that IF you can justify it, or afford it, Warn is usually the top choice. They make some solid stuff.

 

[Williamw454]

Warn winch is the only way to go. I had a 9k lb on my old ram 1500 and never had a problem. I used to bury that truck till you couldn't open the doors. I had a super winch before that with the synthetic rope and the fcker snapped sending the hook through my windshield.. Remember you can always double up the chain (snatch block) and get twice the pulling power. But the 12k would be sweet just to say you have it.

 

[dogcar3]

I would recommend the Warn, just for their record in winches. I have used other competing winches before and always had that little thought in the back of my brain if it would hold up. Now that I have a Warn, that thought is gone. If you are in a place where you need a winch, you will be glad you spent the extra money and got a good one.

 

[4x4Hemi]

Im thinking warn is the way to go as well. Is the synthetic worth it? ? Their a few hundred more for synthetic

My buddies are telling me I should get a 15000 pound one... I think 12000 would be lots wouldn't it?? Plusn15000 pound ones are around 2 grande

 

[dogcar3]

Take a look the vehicle recovery thread in the Power Wagon section of this forum, it has some good info on what size winch you need:
http://www.ramforum.com/f73/vehicle_recovery-139/

And look at it this way, the Power Wagon only has a 12000lb winch on it.

 

[4x4Hemi]

Okay so im stuck between 3 winches. I dont want to spend more then about 1200 bucks on it, so these are the 3 i came up with, if anyone wants to tell me benefits or whats wrong with each?? please dont just say "get warn its better" haha i know these are different winches, but i dont know the benefit,

Warn Zeon 12
Warn Industries - Jeep, Truck & SUV Winches: ZEON 12
Problem i see with that one is the power it delivers per layer?

Then theres Superwinch 18
Superwinch, LLC - Talon 18.0 – 18,000 lbs/12V
Solid amount of power, but weighs about 100 pounds more then warn winch?

Superwinch 12.5
Superwinch, LLC - Talon 12.5 SR – 12,500 lbs/12V
Benefits are synthetic line, hawse fairlead and less weight

nevermind posted prices on the super winch, their about 4-600 bucks cheaper anywhere else

soooo what ya think?? any other suggestions in that price range?

 

[dogcar3]

I'm sure you would be happy with any of the winches you listed. Just do Google searches on each of them for reviews.

But, look at the Power Wagon again, Ram decided on Warn. Must be some reasoning behind that.

Maybe I am just biased though.

 

[4x4Hemi]

Well theres alot of mixed reviews on everything pretty much haha lots of guys say go warn winch but then the an equal amount of people who say its over priced and the cheap ones do the job haha

 

[dogcar3]

Well theres alot of mixed reviews on everything pretty much haha lots of guys say go warn winch but then the an equal amount of people who say its over priced and the cheap ones do the job haha

There are a lot of reviews; I personally have not read one bad one about Warn. I have seen a couple here and there about most other brands. Warn has a big name in winches for a reason: they are the benchmark. But you may pay a little more because of that.

That said, if you got with something else like a Ramsey, Smitty, Super, Recon, Viper...I'm sure you will be trouble free and love your purchase. Bad reviews tend to be posted more then favorable ones because people feel jaded about a bad product. If I were to buy one, it would be a Warn. I have 100% confidence that it will work when I need it the most.

I kinda feel the same way about synthetic cables. I know they are as strong/stronger then steel. I know they are less dangerous. Lighter. And can get in multiple colors. And I had one on my last winch and it worked great. My big thing about them is how they handle abrasion, and wear-and-tear/weathering. How many of the little fibers can break before the cable is compromised? I don't want to play the guessing game. When I winch, I make sure my cable is not rubbing on anything, so I don't know how much of a problem it would really be. I just like the feeling of being 100% confident. Because if I am in a situation where I need it, I want it to work.

So the choice is yours. I believe when it comes to winches, you get what you pay for. As long as most of the reviews you read are positive about a winch, then you are probably good.

 

[Burla]

Go to amazon and look up warn reviews M series like I said. They have 21 5 stars and 4 4 stars and no as in zero 3 or 2 or 1 stars.
Customer Reviews
WARN 26502 M8000 8000-lb Winch
Now, compare any winch you are considering to that. Cheap winches fail all the time, the gears are not the same, the quality is not there. However, you know the quality is there with a Warn. The only people that complain about Warn are the ones not understanding the pull weight differs from the actual weight of the truck. If you get a compliant on Warn it will be like I said their cheap series, if you buy the M series you just will never hear a legit complaint.

Here is a thread where you can here from Warn themselves on the difference between some of their winches.

warn thread iha8mud