Winch Deals
03-16-2008, 04:23 AM
#52
JK Newbie
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: alhambra, CA
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I have tried 4 winches in my offroad rigs..Mile-Marker, Tabor 9th by Warn, Tmax 9500, and Warn 8th...I used the Mile-Marker for a year until it conke dout on me..It has slow speed and not that durable...Tmax have a fast line speed but the finish rusts and I have used a Tmax winch on other rigs that overheated on extreme winching..Personally, the Warn is the best! If you are on a budget go for the Tabor! Decent line-speed and very durable..Been using mine for more than 2 years...It is a Warn and cost $400..Warn made the Tabor line to compete with the cheaper China-made winches which I mentioned earlier.
03-16-2008, 04:54 AM
#53
Opinions are like a$$holes; we've all got one. For everybody who'll tell you how bad the Harbor Freight/Smitty Built/MileMarker Chinese-made winches are, you'll find somebody who has one and is fine with it, although they're less likely to boast about it. You can spend as low as $300 on an 8000 lb Chicago Electric from Harbor Freight or the equivalent from Champion (and the HF one is solidly built, not junk at all), or well over $1000 on a Warn. The Warn is more nicely finished, more carefully built and inspected, and worth the money if you have it, and need it badly enough. The $300 winch will certainly pull you out of the ditch just as well, but without the bragging rights; and it might wear out a bit sooner.
I've had both at various times. If money were no object, I'd get the Warn. If I needed it on a regular basis, I'd get the Warn. Neither one of these being the case, I have the Harbor Freight, and I'm just fine with it.
I've had both at various times. If money were no object, I'd get the Warn. If I needed it on a regular basis, I'd get the Warn. Neither one of these being the case, I have the Harbor Freight, and I'm just fine with it.
03-16-2008, 05:00 AM
#54
JK Freak
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Parker, CO
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I have tried 4 winches in my offroad rigs..Mile-Marker, Tabor 9th by Warn, Tmax 9500, and Warn 8th...I used the Mile-Marker for a year until it conke dout on me..It has slow speed and not that durable...Tmax have a fast line speed but the finish rusts and I have used a Tmax winch on other rigs that overheated on extreme winching..Personally, the Warn is the best! If you are on a budget go for the Tabor! Decent line-speed and very durable..Been using mine for more than 2 years...It is a Warn and cost $400..Warn made the Tabor line to compete with the cheaper China-made winches which I mentioned earlier.
03-16-2008, 08:58 AM
#55
JK Enthusiast
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Opinions are like a$$holes; we've all got one. For everybody who'll tell you how bad the Harbor Freight/Smitty Built/MileMarker Chinese-made winches are, you'll find somebody who has one and is fine with it, although they're less likely to boast about it. You can spend as low as $300 on an 8000 lb Chicago Electric from Harbor Freight or the equivalent from Champion (and the HF one is solidly built, not junk at all), or well over $1000 on a Warn. The Warn is more nicely finished, more carefully built and inspected, and worth the money if you have it, and need it badly enough. The $300 winch will certainly pull you out of the ditch just as well, but without the bragging rights; and it might wear out a bit sooner.
I've had both at various times. If money were no object, I'd get the Warn. If I needed it on a regular basis, I'd get the Warn. Neither one of these being the case, I have the Harbor Freight, and I'm just fine with it.
I've had both at various times. If money were no object, I'd get the Warn. If I needed it on a regular basis, I'd get the Warn. Neither one of these being the case, I have the Harbor Freight, and I'm just fine with it.
If you aren't intending to swing from cliffs and be pulling a convoy of folks up waterfalls and so on then there are many inexpensive options.
I have one and have used it and it was just fine.
Mine is one I bought at Desert Rat that is chineese made.
But they get rewired here in Arizona and so the electrical side is a lot better.
If your usage is basically intended to be NEVER except when needed due to bad judgement (this happens to Jeeepers a lot for some reason
then just remember that most needed pulls are for short distances and if you can run thru a puller or D-Link then even a small one will work for that.More important than the make etc. is that you understand due to the nature of gearing in a winch it has more power when unwound down to near the last wind on the drum. As you wind in it will lose power.
One other note worth thinking of. The standard cable that comes with your winch is difficult to use and dangerous even as it stores energy and acts like a spring. If it ever should break it will whip back and take your face off. So make sure you can remote your rigg from inside the cab and even better switch out the cable for something like the Amsteel Blue or other similar synthetic rope.
Those ropes do not store energy. They will initially streatch a bit and thats it.
If they break they just fall to the ground.
Also due to they do NOT get wire frays in them they are a lot more user freindly to handle.
The steel cable always fray and will stab you nicely. And they are a pain on the rewind when repacking the winch for travel.
I run 5/16 synthetic rope and it has handled my 2dr on farely steep uphill hull down pulls getting me off and out.
I also have a 3/8 100ft extention rope for long reaches. In Arizona long reaches is the norm.
I also chose to go with a "portable rig. It plugs into a 2" reciever in either the fron or the back. I did this due to the nature of many of the trails around here is such that there isn't room for one Jeep let a lone 2 and no turn outs and very limited ancor point choices in many case. Sometimes NO ancor points even which is typically dont in the desert floor.
This has proven itself to be a wise choice for me and I think should be more often thought of .
Being able to reach backward to winch is a good thing at times.
Also I keep the winch inside nice and clean and dry untill needed.
That aspect of things helped me feel better about buying a cheaper winch too.
Good luck to you and have fun and make it home!