• Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Winches (not the ones we married (wenches)

R

rgjeep

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Lake Elsinore
Hey winch wise whatcha got and how wells does it work??? I am looking at one of the Tuff Stuff on line, little overkill but helluva deal. Chime in please.
 
I'm satisfied with my used Warn M8000.
 
I got one about 4 months ago..I have only used it at the house to see how good it pulls..
001-2.jpg

As you can see i have it mounted to a cradle so i can use it in front or the rear..
 
Go Warn or go home. I was looking at cheaper brands, but decided to spend a bit more on a Warn M8000. It was only $530, so not much more than one of the cheapo brands. Definitely worth it for the line speed. I did some pretty heavy duty pulling this weekend and the Warn powered through all of it. At one point, I was winching up a super steep and muddy hill from a low winch point. My tires were getting no grip so the winch was doing all of the work, plus the hill had steps in it, so due to the low winch point, it was literally trying to pull me through the top of the hill instead of up and over it. The other people I was with had heavier rigs and on the same hill had an M8000, XD9000, 8274, and two Superwinch EPi9000s. I would not have wanted a cheapo winch at that point because the winch giving out or breaking at the top of the hill meant you were flying back down a 30 foot, super steep hill onto some huge rocks.
 
My 0ld M8000i just gave out due to lack of mantenence.... it was on my dads jeep for 10 years. Might try to scrape the nasty greese out of it, clean up the drum, and epoxy the broken brush back together.... but latly been looking at WARN's line of Hydrolic winches.

Personally I would go with a warn, or a Mile Marker if your short on funds. Im pretty sure that tuff stuff winch is a rebadged Smittybuilt (which is a rebadged T max made in china winch haha)
 
I have a Ramsey 8000. It has continued to amaze me everytime I use it. I have a lot of buddies with Warn and they run into problem nothing ever big but I believe a winch is something you would want to always work. Good Luck
 
My dads truck came with a Ramsey 12,000 lb winch (its an ex-BLM truck) and that thing has been used and abused and it still pulls very well with no problems. 2 other Jeeps in our off road group run Warn XDi9000s and love them, never have any problems. i would say go with a warn or a Ramsey winch.
 
austinaubinoe said:
Personally I would go with a warn, or a Mile Marker if your short on funds. Im pretty sure that tuff stuff winch is a rebadged Smittybuilt (which is a rebadged T max made in china winch haha)
Click to expand...

haha that MileMarker electric is the same Smitty/Tmax/Tuff Stuff/Harbor Freight winch haha
 
Save your coin and go Warn all the way. I have an HS9500 on the buggy. It's been rolled over on, underwater many times and just beaten to death. After 11 years of abuse, it still keeps on ticking. I have had the M8000 and the XD9000i on my prior XJ's and never had a single issue.

Ramsey does make a good product. I have seen them in action on friend's rigs and hardly seen an issue. I am very leary of these cheapo units.
 
Seems like most tow trucks use a Ramsey....and they get used every single day.

(of course, I live in Tulsa and Ramsey is MADE here...so that might have something to do with it)
 
Last edited:
nofender said:
Save your coin and go Warn all the way. I have an HS9500 on the buggy. It's been rolled over on, underwater many times and just beaten to death. After 11 years of abuse, it still keeps on ticking. I have had the M8000 and the XD9000i on my prior XJ's and never had a single issue.
Click to expand...

Warn FTW. The M8000 on my Jeep is at least 12 years old, well used, and has never needed repair. M8000s are going for $539 right now and have a $25 rebate on them in addition to that. Shop around online and you might be able to find them even cheaper.
 
If you wheel hard, lots of hard pulls, save my ass kind of wheeling, Warn M8000.

If you need the odd pull here or there, or used for pulling stuff around the house, maybe save some money on something else.
 
3 - Yes three! Warn XD9000i - Well used, 2 are ready for new cable or rope. One winch controller failed from abuse (one of the other guys on the trail had a Warn controller - another plus) and a buddy fixed the pulled out wires for me the next weekend.

Go Warn.
 
its part time wheelin and it is on a budget. Had a Ramsey Patriot plus on my Ramcharger but sold that one due to blocking all air flow on the jeep.
 
I ended up buying the tuff stuff winch cause i was cheap and seemed to be a good deal. I am pretty tough on my jeep and offroad equipment and honestly I am not happy with this winch. After submerging it once in water It blew one of the selenoids. I've only had it for about 6 months and the break is really noisy. Its pulled slow from the first day I bought it, but still does the job I guess. There customer service is great however, answered all my questions before I purchased it and sent me 2 new selenoids after that first one went out. Also sent me a replacement brake but havent had time to tear the thing apart. They wouldnt however just let me ship them the winch back and give me my money back which is what I would've liked.

My brother bought the Smittybilt xrc8000 the same time as me for like 20 dollars cheaper than my tuff stuff winch. It didnt come with a snatch block but pulls alot faster, doesnt make any noise, and stiff have yet to have a problem with it. If you are looking for a cheaper winch then go that route.
 
im looking into getting a winch and to be honest with you i know next to nothing about them. i dont know if a higher ratio (279:1 vs 250:1) makes that big of a difference or hp of the motor... i know from expierence that just because something holds the name brand doesnt mean it's still the quality it once was (toyota for example). im not sure if i should go with a double battery setup or go with my same duralast gold battery with a higher amp alternator... my winch may only get used 3-5 times a year if at all so its not going to see much heavy duty wheeling. i see that the warn 8000 has most of the votes including the guy i usually wheel with so now my search begins to learn about winches .
 
so... i learned so far that a winch with say for example 253:1 gear ratio vs a 279:1 gear ratio. the 253:1 will pull faster but not with as much torque. also learned that the planetary gears tend to get hotter faster during long pulls vs the worm gear's so it will depend on what your looking for your winch to do. look at the specs of the tuff stuff and the others. and go from there. with that being said. i think im going to end up buying myself a smittybilt xrc8. i dont tend to use it for alot of trail pulls, it will get used more at home to pick stuff up using snatch blocks. or pulling up tree's etc.
 
8274 has been doing a good job holding the rug down in the garage so far.

Will report back once I actually get it on the rig.....:gee:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Anak
Fixing What the Professional Fixed
Replies
7
Views
711
Bent
Bent
M
New to my XJ & wrenching - How to choose parts and what to prioritize?!
2
Replies
28
Views
4K
flyin_ryan
F
Anak
Dadgummed Ambitious Varmint
Replies
1
Views
246
techno1154
techno1154
Goose_XJ88
2 Lift or Not 2 Lift. That is the question
Replies
8
Views
280
Phil
Phil
S
Starting my XJ overland build, need advice
2
Replies
30
Views
7K
Evan03
E
Back
Top