Calling all winch cradle owners

[Boost_Retard]

I am in need of a winch cradle, I have a 8500lb winch and a tow package equipped xj with a rigidco FBG front bumper

My local shop will have a warn unit in for me to have a look at tomorrow,
It appears to be fully welded and it's gonna cost me 240

I can hold off for another 10days and wait for the rough country unit to show up and get that for 140

I'm waiting on a reply from rigidco and had a look at what jcr has to offer..

What are you using? Is the warn worth the money? I don't want to cheap out and don't want a bolt together unit, I will take the warn home tomorrow if anyone has anything good to say about it

Thanks

 

[iluv83vettes]

I have a Warn XD8000i portable. Its the same as the newer XD 9000i portable but its about 14 years old. I'm going to take it out of the cradle and put it in a winch bumper soon when I get it. never had any problems with the cradle itself except that it wouldn't fit into my JCR bumpers on my old jeep because the 2" pipe that went into the receiver wasn't long enough to put a pin in so I had to use an extension. I also never mounted cables to the front and rear and just used jumper cables with the connector on one end. I have never winched off of the back of vehicle so it doesn't make sense to me to use the cradle. Your needs might be different than mine though.

 

[souske]

I was seriously considering going this route, until it was explained to me: have you ever been stuck in a place you would want to attach that which?
If things are getting crazy enough I need a which, trying to attach one might risk serious injury.

 

[foxwar71]

What souske said. Plus, winch cradles don't really like side loads and pulls in weird directions. It can force the received to wanna twist and bend and such. In theory its a great idea to have a removeable winch, but it rather have one that's mounted solid and won't go anywhere. A winch tucked behind the front crossmember doesn't hurt clearance and keeps it out of the way until its needed.

 

[Rod Knee]

I have a Curt. Very basic but solid. I cut the neck off the receiver hole in my bumper so that the back of the cradle sits flush with the front of the bumper...the winch is not much further in front of the vehicle than it would be using a typical winch bumper. I run the hitch pin into the neck of the cradle behind the bumper. I mount the winch and cradle before I go wheeling rather than waiting until I am up to my ass in alligators.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...Shopping-_-Winches>Winch Accessories-_-142701

 

[macgyvr]

I have the warn.

I to had to modify it to fit in my JCR front bumper as well cause I had the same hitch pins woes up front.

I used it a long time on my baby XJ with a ramsey 8000. Made some crazy tough pulls with it. Pulled me, pulled others.

I was going to sell it, til I saw that new ones were $250...might hang on to it for a bit.

mac 'never know when a trailer needs a multimount set up' gyvr

 

[Boost_Retard]

thanks for the feedback, that curt mount looks pretty beef and its dirt cheap,
I had not thought much about the possibility of the cradle mount not getting along with the bumper..

seems like everyone with a warn unit is happy with it.
I did get a reply from rigidco yesterday and the prices are better than I expected and if they are built anything like the bumper I bought from them I know it will be a solid unit that will fit
thinking im going rigidco,

thanks again

 

[Rod Knee]

I did not have a compatibility problem between the cradle and bumper (custom4x4fab). I cut the receiver neck on the bumper off in the interest of minimizing the distance the winch stuck out in front of the vehicle

 

[zachandandy]

Not wanting to deal with fishing the cradle out of the rear of my xj on a steep, muddy hill indirectly led to my brother in law rolling his fsj trying to get into position to winch me out. I still had to get my winch out on that muddy hill and drag it up to the front of my jeep, and got to spend the next 6 hrs recovering his. The recovery effort led to grenading the r&p in the front axle, which led to the 44/60 swap. Winch is now mounted to the front of the xj where it belongs.

 

[Boost_Retard]

im not looking for a winch bumper pissing match, i fully understand the advantages that both setups have to offer over one another.
me choosing the cradle mount route is mostly based on the fact that my jeep spends the majority of its life on the road.
(it is wheeled on a regular basis though)

The cradle mount, like my gear ratio & differential, tire & suspension component selection are all some form of compromise to keep my jeep a true dual sport vehicle.

i have been making due without a winch, this is more added insurance than a critical constantly used piece of equipment like some others have.

i really dont want an extra 100+ lbs hanging off the front of my jeep all day every day. it would ruin the way my truck handles and im very happy with its current combo for the daily drive.

i do appreciate the feed back and im all for the full time winch bumper, just not on my truck.

 

[bossman]

I've been runing the Curt for several years with no issues. I have a homemade front bumper so it fits fine. I use a 12K Harbor Freight winch that has been holding up so far. I ran cables both front and rear. I also use this set up on my F350 tow vehicle.
I got the F350 4X4 stuck up to the frame in the sand (with a 5K camper on it)and the little XJ couldn't pull it out. But sinking the XJ to the 'frame' it made a good pull point fo.r the camper to winch out. The XJ of course walked itself out.
Of course not as convinent as having a winch bumper, but more practical for my aplications.