Winch

[BRuss610]

Okay so again I'm looking for advice... I got a 1997 jeep wrangler sport and I was wondering what kind of winch I need. I'm new to the jeep and I love it always wanted one and now I want to slowly make it in to a beast. I'm looking at winches and they range from anywhere to 8000lbs to 12000lbs I was wondering if I could get 8000lbs one because they can range from $280-$310 and then if you go up they get to the $500 dollar range I was hoping 8000lbs would be okay if not could someone let me know. Like I said I want it to be badass but I also don't want to go to crazy with money on my first jeep.

I know nothing of the jeep world only that i love it so far so any help would be awesome.

[daniel_buck]

Yes, 8000lb is good enough for a TJ. More would be nice, but 8000 is sufficient for most things. Lots of folks use 8000lb winches on TJs.

It's more work, but if you need more pulling power, you can use a snatch block and double up the line.

[BRuss610]

okay thanks

Yes, 8000lb is good enough for a TJ. More would be nice, but 8000 is sufficient for most things. Lots of folks use 8000lb winches on TJs.

It's more work, but if you need more pulling power, you can use a snatch block and double up the line.

*******
okay thanks at what lbs do i not worry about anything i really wont go up to 12000lbs but should i spend the extra money to get a 9000 or 10000lbs?

[daniel_buck]

difficult decision, maybe others can chime in.

For me, 8000 has been fine. I've winched myself quite a few times, helped winch over a few vehicles from a flop, and moved around some big boulders. Moving the big boulders definitely put the most strain on the winch, if you plan on doing that type of stuff, I'd get 12000 for sure. But even with 8000lbs, you have to fight to keep the bolder from pulling the jeep

There is a "rule of thumb" that suggest 1.5 times heavier than your vehicle. A typical TJ jeep weighs 4000+ once it's loaded down, probably even up to 5000 pounds if it's got armor, bumpers, and so on. So the "rule of thumb puts this at 7500 if your jeeps weighs 5000 fully loaded, which is just under the 8000lb winch. It's just a general guideline though, it really depends on how you are going to be using the winch. And keep in mind that the winch doesn't pull it's advertised rating until you are down to 1 wire wrap diameter on the drum, the more times the line goes over itself (larger the diameter) the less it will actually pull.

For general offroading recovery, I think most any TJ would be just fine with an 8000lb winch.

In either case though, I'd go with synthetic line. Easier to use, and if you take care in how you use it, it'll last a very long time.

[USMC 0369]

Just my $.02~

[COLOR="#800000"]Your winch is about recovery & safety.

Having your winch fail on you at the wrong moment can, at best ruin your trip. At worst it can be dangerous. Going for the lowest cost may not be the best plan of attack. On the other hand with some brands you're just paying for the name. It's somewhat complicated.

There are guys on here that have been rockin' a Harbor Freight winch for a long time and never had it let them down. On the flip side I know of at least one guy who's Warn winch couldn't handle pulling it's own weight without smoking. (Must have been made on a Friday afternoon or something.)

Daniel is right about synthetic line. It's safer than cable also. I would just advise you to make sure the winch you get is capable of using synthetic line. It's not something you can just put onto any winch. For example: This 8500lb Superwinch is listed on Amazon for $299. Great deal right? However when you go to the manufacturer website and scroll down to the "Warnings" is states this winch is not suited for synthetic line. If you wish to use synthetic line (recommended) you'd need to bump up into the higher cost brackets.

Another consideration is line speed. When out running around in the snow, we had to use a winch a few times to get through the "over the hood" places. We found quickly that a faster pull rate was much more useful in the snow than slower. So it may be something else you want to look at. Most manufacturers list the pull rate for both no-load and loaded on their websites & advertisements.

As I said, it's a complicated question and a lot of differing opinions. I can only give you my experience and what I've researched. To me, Superwinch all the way. I got the 9.5 Talon because I wanted to use synthetic line and because I wanted a buffer zone for pull rates. I'm never sure who or what I'll be pulling with the winch. So far, just big, heavy rocks.

I would say your first step is to figure out what you'd be pulling and what set-up you'd like to use.
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