TEEJ

eh, about the same for maintenance, maybe use better steering pump fluid.

I don't think a new power steering pump, that fits, will be cheaper to get installed by the time all the plumbing is worked out, etc....vs a battery.

The Optima and the Exide Orbital are comparable, I've used both gel cells, and they are both great. The Orbitals tend to be a little cheaper...less PR/bigger company.

Wait time - that's a tough call.

Put it this way....if you are the only guy with a winch, and you are recovering someone ELSE, you are a hero, even if they lose 1/2 hr waiting for a recovery...out of the 8 hrs you have to wheel that day. The gang is pissed at "Mr. I can make it with my bald tires" for wasting 1/2 hr of their day, not at you.

If you are with others with winches, and you are pulling YOURSELF up/out of something, and YOU kill the 1/2 hr out of the OTHER's lives....well, that can be more uncomfortable.

If you need to do 4 recoveries, you could lose 2 hrs of wheeling, etc.


If you have a winch that's 3x faster for example, 10 minutes vs a 1/2 hr makes a difference, your same 8 hr day only lost 40 minutes for those same recoveries.

What did you SPEND to go wheeling that day?....How much an hr is that? (Maybe $100 on gas, $100 for food/camping/hotel/beer/park admission, etc?, say $200 total? divided by 8 hrs = $25/hr?)

What did you lose WAITING for the winch? (2 hrs @ $25/hr = $50)

Lets say you offroad and use the winch for 4 recoveries/month X 12 months = $ 50 x 12 = $600 lost, waiting for your slow winch.



What do you lose if you have NO winch, and no one ELSE does either? (The WHOLE Day, maybe, depending how soon you screw up, etc.)

So - there's no WRONG answer....but, think about what your TIME is worth when you go on a trip, and how much of that trip you'll sacrifice willingly to wait.

(especially if you spend thousands of dollars to lift it, armor it, lie to your wife about what you spent, and otherwise make it ABLE to GO on these trips)

Pete799

Those are some really good points thanks for the input TEEJ unfortunately I am still a poor college kid who just spent every penny I had on my rubi. I wish i had the money and wife to lie to about spending it. Summit Electric winches are the same as tmax just with a different name correct? They have a 9000 for 450 which seems like a good deal. Also does anybody know what they charge for shipping. I think the tmax sounds like the winch for me as long as the price is right. Does anybody know if there are any really good sales in the not so distant future? If so that would be much appreciated.

TEEJ

I'm NOT sure abooot that summit/t-max thing.

And, alot of winches share a common parent company, but have downgraded parts to meet various price points.

Same with a lot of products.

For example, the same Brand toaster at Walmart will have different specs than that same toaster at sears, etc.

The Cooper tires that are also sold by PepBoys, etc under a different name have different construction than their main lines, etc.

Products are value engineered to meet the price points of their target demographics.

If poor college students with no future Ex-wife to lie to need them to shave $100 bucks to make the sale, they take out some expensive parts/processes, and make a winch he can afford.

samc

Here's something that gets overlooked. Pull strength, speed, and current drain are inter-related. More motor horsepower means higher current drain; no way around that, it's a physical reality (although a series-wound motor will be slightly more efficient than the cheaper permanent magnet motor, and make slightly more horsepower for the same current drain). Higher speed means either higher current drain and motor power, or less gear reduction and consequently lower pulling capacity. There is no free lunch. More expensive, fancier, winches will use a higher-horsepower motor, which draws more power, and will run faster for the same pull. It'll draw more amps for less time, but the energy used for a given load is pretty much the same. Less expensive units seem to use a lower power motor, and run slower.

The famous, or infamous, moab jeeper "winches in hell" thing demonstrates this; the budget Harbor Freight winch was the slowest of the bunch, and also had the lowest current draw. All three of the finishers managed pretty much the same load (in fact, all of the winches managed the rated loads), but more money bought higher current drain, more horsepower, and higher speed. That's the trade-off.

roddogg

I bought a harbor freight 10k last year when it went on sale. I have used it a total of 8 times pulling others out of holes they were not equiped to be in. I used it once to pull me off a tree on a hill that was too muddy to try and several other times to pull falling trees off trails. Am I satisfied? for the most part even though its a little slow but what do you expect from a winch for under 4 bills including winch plate.

The reason I mentioned my experense above is two fold. price and the moob shootout.

It all goes back to " its better to have a winch and not need it than to need a winch and not have one. I ahve used come alongs, high lift jacks and snatch staps in the past a slow winch is still easier that any of these when its dark, raining or cold.

Buy the best you can afford and when you get in a better spot buy the one you want. Just make sure that it can pull at least 2 times your vehicle weight. I have owned other jeeps and have had other winches before and just wanted something to get me out of a tough spot if I needed it. I take my Jk off road less that 10% of the time and when I do I am mostly with a group of jeeps that have thier own recovery systems.

Just my two cents.
Later

Pete799

I am just worried because I can only come up with money for one winch and really do not want it to break after a few pulls. This is my first winch purchase ever and have never even used a winch before so my knowledge is very limited. I am thinking that hydraulic might be the way to go. It may be slower but it seems that there is less that can really break without some serious abuse. however how is our stock pump. I have a stock rubi and no plans to lift it in the near future. Will it hold up or is it too week. Thanks everybody for your info.

BigJerm

usually people use the big GM pumps for a winch like that. Not to mention, if your engine dies you have no winch. Atleast with electric you can winch as long as your battery last, not very long but maybe long enough to get you out of what ever caused the engine stall

RescueGreenRubi

I was in the same possition as you a few years back. My uncle had two Harbor Freight/Chicago electric winches(one front, one rear) on his old CJ5 for several years. I found out that there was a new HF store near me so I went and picked up the 8000 LBS. winch for my YJ and have used it several times in the past 4 years with no problems. It was 299.99 and came with the mounting plate. Here in Florida I mostly run on muddy, dusty, deep water trails and have submerged it several times and it still runs great. It has a little surface rust here and there but nothing that a little sanding and painting can't fix. I have even pulled a full sized Bronco on 33's buried to the frame and a stock full size GMC pickup also buried to the frame with no problems. Granted, I had to strap my jeep to a tree to get them out but it worked. I really don't know about the realiablity of it as apose to the big name brands but myself and anyone else that I have run into that use them haven't had any problems.

sgmrock

Get the best you can afford. better to have it and not need it... as they say


BUY AMERICAN !!!!!

Pete799

The harbor freight winches intrigue me. I know they did well in the moab winch shootout. Is 8000lbs enough for my two door? I could always use a snatch block right? Also how are ramsey winches? Summit racing has one that is an 8.5 for around 470. Which is pretty much the same price as the 9000 summit racing winch.