Winch dilema

[Simmonz]

Im wanting a winch for my '94 YJ but I cant decide on one!! Anybody have any opinions on the best? I was looking at a Warn M8000 but then I heard that some Ramsey winchs have lifetime warranties. Now im stuck between a rock and a hard place.... I dont wheel often but when I do I want to know I can get out of whatever I may find myself in. Oh and by the way, my jeep isn't a rock climber YET... I usually just find myself frame deep in mud. Thanx for any opinions ahead of time.

[CanaMark]

Well I talked to a 4x4 custom shop. Buddy said, to not go overboard on the pound rating. Cuz you will bend a frame easy if you do 15k lb. (if they even have a 15k, I know they got 12k lb)

[wilwith1l]

Warn is nice, you pay more for it though. Look at some other brands as well, Mile Marker, Super winch, Magnum. Mile Marker also makes hydraulic military winches, strong enough to pull an up armored humvee (7k lbs). Superwinch has grown to be a trusted name as well. Most of these brands offer free videos and propaganda. Warn is simply the most trusted name in the buisnes, and therfore the most expensive. I don't know why anyone would suggest against an M12000 or 16000, as it has a faster single line pull speed. There is alot of technology in winches now, line thermal sensors, to keep you from burning out your motor.
The M8000 is a good choice, and the standard to which others are held.

[CanaMark]

I just heard you can bend frames easy, he could have been just saying to an unexpirienced wheeler. I'd go 16k warn with syn rope and rollers all the way around. Fair lead I think its called

[wilwith1l]

Synthetic rope is nice. It is lighter, so it floats. So you aren't digging around the soft bottom of a murky bog. It also won't cut you in half if it breaks. The bad part is it takes up twice as much space. So instead of running 125' of cable, You might be able to fit 75' of rope. Roller fairleads are the standard, and will let your cable last longer than a Hawse fairlead.

[jon_renegade0]

ummm, not so true with a synthetic wnch line a hawse fairlead is reccomended. a hawse fairleas is less likely to bind the rope into the corners of opposing rollers and are machined of aluminur to be softer on the line. rollers are meant more for heavy duty cable applications where the cable would wear n the metal to metal sliding of the hawse.

[Ray H]

Ive got a Warn XD8000i on my 95 Wrangler. Ive been very happy with it.
Minimum winch single line pull rating for a given vehicle should be 1.5 X vehicle weight. That means that if your Wrangler weighs in at 5000lbs loaded with you and gear (thats a high est.), you should have at least a 7500lbs winch. If your Jeep isnt built and you dont carry much in it, 6000lbs will do but just barely. I wouldnt worry too much about line speed. You arent in competition and theres not really enough difference to tell, they are all slow but they get the job done.
Theres alot of cheaper winches on the market today. I cant say good or bad about those because I havent been around them enough. I will say that Ive never heard anyone say anything bad about Warn. If youve got the money, thats the sure bet. I would put Ramsey up there right behind Warn in reliability with Superwinch close behind. Anything else is a crap shoot.
The Milemarker hydros are real nice and have alot of advantages. The one big, BIG disadvantage that kept me from getting one was the fact that they wont operate with the engine off. For selfrecovery, thats a deal breaker for me. I would hate to be in the woods with my Jeep laying on its side and not be able to use the winch to pull it back on all fours or suck water into the engine in a mud hole and not be able to pull myself out or break the motor mounts on a hill climb and you get the idea.

The advantages of synthetic rope over wire rope are:
1) if synthetic rope breaks, it will just fall to the ground and not whip like wire will.
2) synthetic rope is lighter
3) its said to be stronger.
4) its repairable

Disadvantages of syhthetic rope are
1) It abbraises and snags easier
2) its costly

I use wire rope because thats what came on the winch. Its got a couple freys but is still in good shape. When it gets bad or breaks, I may replace it with synthetic, I havent decided yet. Wire has been used for many, many years with success and safety but it needs to be respected.

In my 8 years of off roading and rockcrawling ive never heard of anyone bending a Wrangler frame while winching. not to say it hasnt and cant happen. Theres only four 1/2" sized grade 8 bolts that hold a winch to the vehicle. I would think the weak link while winching would be the cable first, then those four bolts. Cherokee frames are a different story. Being unibody, great care must be taken when choosing a method to tie the winch into the frame.