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Looking for a winch

volumeknob

NAXJA Forum User
Location
MI
Hey guys, new here but not new to forums in general. I'm looking for a winch for my 98 XJ, 4-1/2" of lift on 33's. I'll be mostly trail riding, some rocks and mud will be in the future for sure, just a little bit of everything. I found a Warn XD9000i with hand controller on a hitch mount bracket, all of it like new for $700. It would be $13-1,400 new. I'm just curious if there's something else better for that kind of coin, after digging around this seems like a lot to spend on a used winch. I have provisions on my bumper for a winch but love the idea of taking it on and off or being able to put it on the back or front for recovery purposes. I'd also have to create a way to attach a fairlead to the bumper or winch if I mounted one on the bumper. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks guys!
 
It's a great winch, I have the same set-up on my 2k. But use/condition can only be seen by you, the price is "reasonable"!
 
I feel it's reasonable, not by any stretch a deal. Just curious if the $300 HF 12k or a Smittybuilt 12k would be a better choice. Let the stone throwing begin ;) LOL
 
I'd say that depends on your intended use. Heavy use, I'd personally stay away from the HF. Imo, id want a quality winch I can depend on.

Right and that's the advice most folks follow. It's not going to see heavy use at all but I'd hate to be out wheeling and have an issue. This can be said for any brand though which is why it's a roll of the dice either way.
 
I've got the HF winches- both the old and the new sorts- and they work just fine for my needs.

I am not a winch challenge competitor. I am not sponsored. Most importantly, when it comes to that much energy on a line I am NOT in a darn hurry.

YMMV. This works for me.
 
I have the XD9000I on my XJ but in the front bumper. I got mine for free but not working. All it took was a solenoid to get working. Mine is a very early one by its serial number. Warn winches are top of the line. They still support almost every winch they ever made. I have a winch mostly for errands on our family farm. I trail ride and mud some as well. But when I need a winch I want it to work. Warn has a reputation of almost always working. Is the price good for you, only you can decide. Is it a good setup at a good price I would say yes.
 
I have a smittybuilt 8k on my jeep. Have had it for almost 8 or 9 years now. Never really had a problem out of it. In the future i will be looking into going with a warn winch and the smittybuilt will be put on car trailer. Only reason i am wanting a new one is because i want one a little newer and little more pulling power. If your not gonna use a winch that often i say save a little money and go with a cheaper one. Thats just my opinion.
 
I'm looking at the Smittybilt XRC 9.5K Gen 2 for around the same price as the HF 9k. 4WD.com offers 10% off for a first time customer, but I can't use the code on Smittybilt.... The only thing I like about the HF is I can get one locally if I have an issue vs. the rest that would have to be boxed up and shipped off on my dime. Obviously this doesn't mean much if I'm buried out on a trail but that's with any winch. In my opinion $700 is a lot to spend on something that I'm not going to use much. It's a fair price but I can do the same thing at half the price which means more funds for actual parts I need to make my XJ reliable. What your guys thoughts?
 
I'm looking at the Smittybilt XRC 9.5K Gen 2 for around the same price as the HF 9k. 4WD.com offers 10% off for a first time customer, but I can't use the code on Smittybilt.... The only thing I like about the HF is I can get one locally if I have an issue vs. the rest that would have to be boxed up and shipped off on my dime. Obviously this doesn't mean much if I'm buried out on a trail but that's with any winch. In my opinion $700 is a lot to spend on something that I'm not going to use much. It's a fair price but I can do the same thing at half the price which means more funds for actual parts I need to make my XJ reliable. What your guys thoughts?

Buy the HF. Is it the best? No. Are you winching for a job, or as a 4X4 challenge competitor? No.

Having limited funds, and limited need for a winch, buy a less expensive winch.

Even if you buy the Best Winch EVAR, slow down when using it. Think about what you're doing. Learn how to recover vehicles safely. Lookup FM 20-22, US Army Vehicle Recovery Operations, on Google (it's freely available several places). Learn it. You'll recover smarter, safer, once you study up on it.

and don't ever let Bubba Bucknuts strap a chain to your vehicle and then yank you out. GREAT way to kill someone.

EDIT to say: Believe it or not, EVERY wheeled or tracked vehicle already has a winch. Can you figure it out? If not, you need to get FM20-22.. a hard copy would be an excellent thing to keep in the Jeep.
 
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Buy the HF. Is it the best? No. Are you winching for a job, or as a 4X4 challenge competitor? No.

Having limited funds, and limited need for a winch, buy a less expensive winch.

Even if you buy the Best Winch EVAR, slow down when using it. Think about what you're doing. Learn how to recover vehicles safely. Lookup FM 20-22, US Army Vehicle Recovery Operations, on Google (it's freely available several places). Learn it. You'll recover smarter, safer, once you study up on it.

and don't ever let Bubba Bucknuts strap a chain to your vehicle and then yank you out. GREAT way to kill someone.

EDIT to say: Believe it or not, EVERY wheeled or tracked vehicle already has a winch. Can you figure it out? If not, you need to get FM20-22.. a hard copy would be an excellent thing to keep in the Jeep.

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction on the recovery operations, that's more important than picking out a winch in my opinion. I've been diggin around but didn't know about the FM 20-22. I'm all about doing it safely, maybe I'm weird for wanting to come home alive :cheers:
 
Thank you for pointing me in the right direction on the recovery operations, that's more important than picking out a winch in my opinion. I've been diggin around but didn't know about the FM 20-22. I'm all about doing it safely, maybe I'm weird for wanting to come home alive :cheers:

:thumbsup:

I first encountered that book as a Grunt in the 218th Heavy Separate Brigade. I have a copy floating around somewhere, am going to track down another to throw in the Jeep.
 
:thumbsup:

I first encountered that book as a Grunt in the 218th Heavy Separate Brigade. I have a copy floating around somewhere, am going to track down another to throw in the Jeep.

It's a healthy PDF document but worth going through. I dated a gal a few years back and her dad ran recovery back in the 80's, he always had some good stories about driving rigs out in swamps and coming back to round up the guys to pull it out. They soaked up every second of it, literally!
 
I have a harbor freight 12k new in box -- bought it a few weeks ago on sale -- $279 I think -- I was intending it for my suburban but am really thinking it may work well on the XJ

It's a heavy beast though

Anyone know how the HF 12K compares weight wise to a warn 9K?
 
I have a harbor freight 12k new in box -- bought it a few weeks ago on sale -- $279 I think -- I was intending it for my suburban but am really thinking it may work well on the XJ

It's a heavy beast though

Anyone know how the HF 12K compares weight wise to a warn 9K?

They both are around 85lbs.
 
Like most winches they are made in China, most work fine, some don't. I'm not knocking them as most brands have at least some parts made in China. It's all about how you feel. I had my Warn given to me or I would probably have one of the less prominent brands on my Jeep as Warn prices are really high. You do seem to get what you pay for though. Here's a link to a winch shootout, it's several years old but is interesting none the less.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/129-1107-massive-multi-winch-shootout/
 
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