roundfiler

I went out on my first excursion in MI today and had an absolute blast. Made it home with a more or less intact, nearly-stock vehicle, so I'm pretty happy for that. There was one point during the trail though that my new trail-buddy had just barely made it over slick incline, and I struggled with it for quite a while. At one point the question came up as to whether or not I could engage lockers. Given that lockers are not going to be happening for a while I figure in that situation a winch would have been the next best thing.

I guess my question is if anyone can provide any advice as to what to do/not to do when going about buying one. I know everyone (including me) wants the super heavy Warn stuff, but I'm going to be stuck into the budget-mid range for some time. I do have a steel bumper with a winch plate on the way already so I don't think mounting will be an issue but that may be an adventure on it's own. If any additional information is needed I can provide it.


Mods, if this is in the wrong place please let me know. Super noob here...

resharp001

IMO, the Smittybilt X20 winches with synthetic line are a real nice balance of price and performance. It would be super nice to have a Warn, but most can't justify that for the use. I believe you are on the right track in regard to the idea of a which as a backup plan if you can't make it. Lockers are really nice, but sometimes those aren't even enough.....or sometimes you just work yourself into a real precarious situation and you need that safety line just as added protection.

roundfiler

What would you suggest weight-wise for self-recovery? I've been seeing 8k-17k+. I can't imagine a circumstance that would involve free hanging with anything I'd be willingly doing.

resharp001

Most recommendations would be double your vehicle weight. Having said that, I have a heavily modded 4dr and I've been fine with a 10k winch myself for years. I wouldn't want to free-dangle over the side of a cliff with it, but for pulling or securing the jeep I'm ok with it.

roundfiler

Anything else I need to know? Will I need to do a significant amount of electrical or whatever else for this type of thing? I'm comfortable tearing down the dash and playing in the fuse box again if needed. Looks like the bumper supports up to 12k, so 10k looks like a good bet as far as the winch goes.

I've convinced myself that this is happening now and I just need to make sure I'm not underbuilding or walking in totally blind.

I really appreciate the help so far.

resharp001

nothing major to do in reagard to electrical. Pretty basic set up. What you might consider is a nice set of battery terminal blocks that offer multiple connection ports rather than the few wimpy options you have on the factory terminals. Over time more and more gets run to those terminals and they get pretty messy.

NoGaBiker

I have a 10k Zeon on my 2-door JK and a 12k Zeon on my 2022 Defender 110. Both winches have been used enough to know they work, even in deep, deep shit. In this photo, for instance, I was submerged in viscous goo, and the bottom was so hogged out where tires go that I was sitting on the frame uselessly spinning tires. My buddy behind me in a Bronco couldn't yank me out backwards, so we had to winch out. It was trivial for that 12k to yank this 5600# Defender out under those conditions, so I would see no reason for anything beyond a 12k for a JKU, and probably a 10k is plenty.



I started with a Smittybilt 10k XRC synthetic in 2014 on my Jeep. It worked great, and back then I was just learning what the hell I was doing, and soloing 100% of the time, so I had to use it a good bit. Then I got hung up against some rock on The Escalator element of Hell's Revenge in Moab and tried to pull out by hooking to two side-by-sides turned sideways and linked together, because there are no trees anywhere near. The X20 did fine but the mounting hardware (supplied by Smittybilt) proved not to be up to the task and the winch pretzelled and pulled off the bumper from two captive nuts stripping. That's when I replaced with Warn. Just one person's anecdote, for sure, and there are many people who actually use their SBs without this happening. But I'd just look into replacing the cheapass square-nuts that you screw into from underneath with Grade 8 hardware customized with a grinder to fit into the "captive" channels meant for the square nuts. You'd probably be good to go then.

roundfiler

Definitely something I'll keep in mind. My grinder has just been collecting dust for a while now anyways.

I do have a follow-up question though. I was thinking about in-cab controls through something like an s-tech switch pod. Would the ability to do that be universal to winches, or is there limited compatibility there? I never have full trust in a battery operated device, so something like a wireless controller might be nice, but I definitely like an actual physical connection that's not directly on the winch itself.

NoGaBiker

I have fears about dead batteries, and dead spares kept next to the winch controller, and that horrible feeling of futility caused by having the right tools but they won’t work because of a dead battery. So I use wired controllers on all of my winches, including an ATV I have and a ClubCar AWD mini pickup. I just don’t see any downside. The cable is like 16’ long, easily reaches inside the cab so you can drive the jeep and work the winch even if you’re out by yourself. Throw it in your recovery gear bag that never leaves your Jeep and you’re in business. And they’re several hundred bucks cheaper in the Warn world.

Sv_dude

The smittybilt winches have a pretty good track record for reliability. I agree with others above that a 10k is good enough. Keep in mind though that if you get stuck enough, you can always use a snatch block and now your winch has a 20k pulling capacity. I’ve done that once but I was wedged between rocks and I had to use a hilift to lift the Jeep a bit to get it un-wedged then still had to use a snatch block for extra pulling power.