Winches

[nagal]

I received a much unexpected Christmas bonus. Since I firmly believe all such unexpected funds should be spent for fun and not bills I want to get a winch (and now I can afford to pay someone to do my gears

The two I am torn between are:

WARN 9.5ti Thermometric Winch
SuperWinch EPi9.0

I know this is an apples to orange comparsion but is the warn really worth the xtra money?

[Old Fart]

Michael,

What is the price delta? Be sure to budget for mount, accessories (snatch block, tree saver, etc)

I'm a rebel - run an old Ramsey REP 9000, but have a Warn accessory kit

[nagal]

Have not priced mounting kits yet but there is a $300 difference between the winches.

Granted the Warn just looks way cool, I don't think its worth $300 for upgraded looks

[Old Fart]

Well, there's a way to make "cool" work for you. Find someone who's upgrading to the "newest and baddest" and buy their old winch - sometimes deals can be had that way.

Don't get me wrong - I'd love to look out and see an 8274 Warn perched on my YJ's front bumper - but not for the price they command new. Someday, I'll find one used, and it'll happen. Until then, the Ramsey has never let me down in the almost 10 years I've had it.

Are the two you're looking at comparable, line speed, motor type, cable length - all those good things you can compare?

And the hard question - do you NEED a winch or WANT a winch? I've had periods where all mine did was keep the YJ's front end from floating off into the clouds, had times where I used it every weekend. Need to consider that part of the equation - $300 is a lot of beer - even the expensive stuff _I_ drink

[nagal]

I WANT a winch, I will be clear about that. Yes there are a lot more upgrades I could get but rarely will I have enough money at once to buy a winch. Most of my other planned upgrades can be done piece by piece if needed.

The 2 winches compare almost identicaly. The Warn is faster at lighter loads but both have the same speed once you hit 4k lbs. Not sure on the warranty of the SuperWinch and that could be a deal breaker.

$300 is almost enough to replace my crappy stereo. I dont drink enough beer any more to worry about that

[Old Fart]

Ok, there's the solution. Buy the cheaper winch, and spend $300 on beer for me!

Stereo - whassat?

[jmbrowning]

Having self-extrication equipment is always a good idea. Every mod you put on your Jeep is designed to get you deeper into trouble. Only the winch is put there with the sole purpose of getting you OUT of trouble.

If you can, get the Warn (more on alternatives later). I agree with buying used as well. I bought Chris_L (the original) old X8000i winch and it came with a synthetic rope too. It has done great for me on many occasions winching myself and others out of precarious situations.

Inexpensive "off-brand" winches are not a bad deal either. The Ramsey electric winches and their evil twins, the Harbor Freight winches, seem to get a lot of use (albeit at lower speeds).

I don't know that I would ever do enough winching to ever need a thermometric winch. The motor has never really gotten hot even when feeding out under load. Might I recommend the M8000 (which the Missus runs and got us out of a very bad situation when deer hunting) or the XD9000i.

If speed is really important to you, go with the HS9500 or the 8274. I've never driven over a rope or had it any where near my running gear because it ran too slow. Frankly, I have winched most of the moderators here and I have never heard them bitching about how slow my X8000i was.

However, I did get a look I'll never forget when I let out 4" under load on Potato Salad Hill (winking at Brian and Chris).

If you'd like to come to Moab with us, I'd recommend A winch and spending the money on upgraded axles. The axle upgrade may make a better investment as there will probably be at least 3 winches or so in the group. FWIW, I found I had twisted up the splines on my rear driver Dana 44. Lockers, big tires and hard throttle on Rocker Knocker did it in I believe.

[goodtimes]

I recently installed a T-max EW9000 on my jeep. I cannot give you a copy of my report (as it has not been made public by Stutz Ind), I can tell you that there were very few problems with the winch. I am probably one of the very few people outside of Hangzhou Industrial &/or Stutz Industries who have torn their winches down for a formal inspection. While I found a couple of minor problems (mostly relating to manufacturing processes), the winch I have is of good quality. The motor is properly balanced, sealed bearings, good insulation resistance, strong solenoids, 3-stage planetary gearset, good heat dissipation, etc.

The only problem I have with it currently is that the line speed is slower than my jeep while in 4-low/1st gear. That can make it a little more difficult to keep the line tight during long pulls when I *almost* have enough traction to get myself through. This is more of a gearing issue than a winch issue though.

BTW, a 9K tmax winch retails for about $630, much less than a 9K Warn.

[sarah]

Whatever you do, DO NOT buy the Harbor Freight winch. Rick's is already broken after only a handfull of pulls here in the desert.

[blkTJ]

However, I did get a look I'll never forget when I let out 4" under load on Potato Salad Hill (winking at Brian and Chris).

FWIW, I found I had twisted up the splines on my rear driver Dana 44. Lockers, big tires and hard throttle on Rocker Knocker did it in I believe.

Sorry about the look.

I somehow twisted the splines on one of my fancy shafts as well.

[goodtimes]

Whatever you do, DO NOT buy the Harbor Freight winch. Rick's is already broken after only a handfull of pulls here in the desert.

What broke Sarah? Has Rick done any failure analysis on it yet? I curious to know what went wrong.

[lowenuf]

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...ight=Warn+8274

one heck of a deal on an awesome winch....if i did not own a new Warn X8000i with synthetic rope, i'd buy this in a heartbeat..lowenuf

[NAILER341]

i have been very happy with my warn 9500 hs winch. it replaced my ramsey 8000 qm.
it too was a good winch, but waaay slow, and required more amps.

[Dukes69]

Whatever you do, DO NOT buy the Harbor Freight winch. Rick's is already broken after only a handfull of pulls here in the desert.

Supprised? :confused:

[Dukes69]

Sorry about the look.

I somehow twisted the splines on one of my fancy shafts as well.

If it makes you feel any better, I bent my driver side rear shaft.