Looking to buy a winch?

[deano]

Now that I am ready to buy .....

What brand and size for a .

YJ with 33's.


Will I needto upgrade the alternator?

[OhioYJ]

You can use a winch with just your factory battery and alternator. That being said, yes dual batteries and an upgraded alternator would be better. I run just the factory alternator, and my optima battery and have no problems with my 9000 lb winch.

I'd say bare minimum of 8000 pounds, 8500-9000 would probably be better. How often do you think you'll use it? A synthetic rope is a big plus, but does add to the cost, I think the rope is a hundred times better than the cable.

[deano]

Hard to answer...but when you need it.

Anything special to keep in mind with rope...
sunlight?

[OhioYJ]

Most of the ropes out now are UV resistant and such, the main worry is using the correct fairlead, you shouldn't use a roller fairlead with the rope.

[OhioYJ]

Oh and in case you didn't know Warn is the big name in the business, their lifetime warranty is hard to beat.

Check the warranties of other brands before you buy. I personally went with a Tabor, its made by Warn, but you only get a 3 year warranty. Of course then too, it was half the price of many Warn winches. So weigh your options carefuly.

[RednexInc]

if you are looking for a cheaper winch Harbor sell 8000 whiches for 250 bucks but there are no roller fairlead

[kwrangln]

When it comes to winches, you get what you pay for.

[Knuckelhead]

When you absolutely, positively have to get yourself out of the mess you’ve gotten yourself into, don’t you want the best thing that’s going to save your ass? Go Warn. It sure beats the hell out of looking for help in the middle of nowhere. IMO

[HotRod YJ]

A Warn 8000 is the best bang for the buck in a high quality winch. I know a bunch of guys that still run the factory alternator and even the stock battery with no problems. Those ites can be upgraded later on if you see a need. If you keep killing your battery and frying the alternator, then obviousley those things would neede to be upgraded. For the majority of people out there though, the expensive upgrades are probably not really needed. I say use what you've got and upgrade when you see a need.

[Green Goblin]

Although I agree that you get what you pay for, and that Warn is the best, sometimes it is just not in someone's budget to drop 600 to over 1000 bucks on an item that (depending on their wheeling habits) may be a "Just in case" item.

I received the Harbor Freight 9000# winch as a Christmas gift, only because it was on sale for under $400.00, otherwise I would still be winchless.

The HF winch appears to be exactly like the Milemarker winch. Could it possibly be that they are manufactured by the same company?

That being said, if you can afford the best, buy the best. Warn is the way to go, if you can spare the coin.

No matter which brand and model you choose, always be extremely careful in it's use.

[kwrangln]

GG, you've got a good point about exceeding budgets, however, I've found it to usually be cheaper in the long run to save a bit and buy the best part available instead of buying a more affordable part and then having to upgrade or replace when that cheaper part fails.

There are deals out there, they may take some looking, but they are out there. I see warn 8274's go for $500 or less used on the net pretty regular like. I got my hs9500i for less than $600 delivered brand new.

Keep saving, scan the sale boards frequently, and you'll end up with a top of the line winch for about the same as one of the bargain winches are going for new.

[MudSlut]

I've seen the Mile Marker winch fail twice when needed and it was brand new........may have been users error though! tongue.gif

[CjRobPos85]

Originally posted by MudSlut:
I've seen the Mile Marker winch fail twice when needed and it was brand new........may have been users error though! tongue.gif for u information jeff it only failed once and it was nobodys fault....get back to "work" and seeing how i won it at the OK4wd show id say its the best winch money can buy

[MudSlut]

When you broke (or bonzied, sp?) your rear drive shaft....for the second time that day, didnt it not work when we were going to winch you up Hummer Hill, that would be #2!

[JeffD]

What about Ramsey? I just got a ramsey patriot series for xmas any good?

[Jason J Crawford]

I had and broke 2 Ramsey winches in a relatively short period of time before switching to a Warn. Had my Warn for 6 years now and I've only had to replace the cable.

[edudley]

I too like the WARN winch. I even had them build a couple of custom air powered winches for special applications at work. Years ago I got yanked by a Warn 8274. There was never any other winch for me. It is strong, fast as heck and has not let me down. Mine is 27 years old and has served my faithfully for 5 years. I found it for sale used locally and simply checked the oil and mounted her up.

[zachv]

Basically, if you NEED a winch, you need a Warn. If you want to look good at the mall or qualify for contingency cash during a comp a Ramsey will fill the bill, but they have never been as reliable as a Warn. I just hope the new company that owns Warn does not screw up the winch product line.

Any other brands should not even be mentioned unless you are trying to show how cheap you bought an electric motor bolted to some cheap gear set that has a cable wrapped around it...

[JeffD]

Well thats not what i like to hear

[kwrangln]

You have the ramsey winch, run it. Take care of it like you would take care of any mechanical device (clean and lube from time to time) and you'll be good to go. Wouldn't be my first pick, but its a good deal better than the cheapies people are always asking about. The whole warn/ramsey debate is usually pretty heated with strong proponents on both sides of the fence, I just happen to fall on the warn side. After you've run it for a few years and its gotten you out of a bunch of bad situations, you'll probably be on the ramsey side of the fence. Quit worrying.

[PJ]

I had a Black Mountain winch for years on my old Jeep and used it exactly 10 times in 6 years of off roading. Guess what - it worked every time.
12,000lb capacity - $450.00 at Tractor Supply.

Same as with cars.....I guess I could afford to buy a BMW 7 series. but I just can't seem to get over the fact that my $13,000 TJ serves the purpose I wanted it for............and I have $60,000 left to make mods.........but not by buying overpriced winches !

[PB2]

Originally posted by JeffD:
Well thats not what i like to hear Well, then how about this...I have a Ramsey winch and I'm happy with it. Here in the desert we use them very seldom, and when we do it's usually just to get moving over a rock or out of the sand. Not like in the east or south where the mud creates a huge amount of hold on the tires. So I just could not justify the expense of a Warn when it would be use so rarely. I have used it 6-10 times and it has worked every time. Once we had to use 2 winches to pull a guy up a hill. The other winch was a Warn and it out pulled mine considerably in speed. But overall I've been very happy with the performacne I've gotten.