What Size Winch ?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and thank you for reading my post. My XJ has a GVW of 4,800 pounds unloaded. I have an ARB front bumper and my winch options are the M8000 or XD9000. There is a significant price difference between the two and I was wondering if the M8000 would be sufficient enough. My XJ will probably be close to 5,200 fully loaded.

Thank you.

The bigger is better because when you are stuck it is harder to pull out of what ever you are in . and the winch is only as pull as much as they say when it has one row on the spool if it has 2 or 3 layers it get weaker . so I say get the stronger one . I have a 12,000 lb winch .

Whichever one you end up with I would add a snatch block for added pulling power.

Save your money and get the M8000, it's a great winch. I've used mine lots over the last 10 years and it never failed me (or others) on the trail.

Thank you all for the help. I was also thinking of a dual battery setup. I have seen postings stating to purchase a winch that is rated at double the GVW and I have seen charts that say x1.5 the GVW. So in my situation double my GVW would be 9,000 pound winch or x1.5 GVW would be 6,000 pound winch.

If this is your first winch, it is better to learn good winching techniques before buying one. That way you will discover what factors are important to you so that you can make an informed purchasing decision. Some clubs offer winch training courses. You wont regret the investment in good training.

I would start with choosing what type of rope first. If you are going to use synthetic rope you should really avoid any winch that has the brake inside the winch drum. On these winches, excessive heat from brake activation can melt synthetic rope. Winches with end mounted brakes don't have this problem. I used synthetic rope successfully for a year or more on a brake-in-the-drum winch before I experienced melted rope. The amount of heat generated by the brake will depend on the recoveries performed. I changed my winch to stay with synthetic rope.

When comparing winches, look at the motor horsepower, the maximum current draw and line speed. These will have an effect on your battery selection and electrical setup.

Set aside enough money for all of the other gear that you are going to need for your winch rigging. After training, you will know what you need for rigging, how much rope you want spooled on your winch drum and how much you want as extension(s).

All good points, remember that a 9k winch will draw a lot lees current that a 6k. Same applies to line speeds but inverse.

This is my first winch and the main reason I am getting one is because I plan on doing a lot of excursions with my family next year. The trips will be solo so I need to be able to recover myself in a timely fashion if I get stuck. When I wheel with my buddy’s they have winches so I have never needed one. I have seen a few recoveries on the trail and have seen a what can happen to synthetic rope when it gets pulled around rocks so I plan on sticking with steel. I have also noticed that tow trucks use steel line so figured that would be the most durable. Synthetic rope and the equipment needed for it is very expensive but it looks much safer so I guess I am on then fence with it but leaning towards steel.

M8000 with steel wire rope or synthetic has recovered many XJs from undesirable situations.

Make sure you have good mounting bumper-to-body and winch-to-bumper. Throw a pair of decent leather gloves in with the remote, for handling the wire rope.

I was fortunate to attend a winch course run by a military instructor a couple of years before I bought my first winch. Steel rope was the only option back then.

By the time I had bought my first winch I had already experienced quite a few minor hand injuries from wire ropes despite always wearing gloves. I used steel rope on my own winch for a while but it got damaged through my own negligence. I replaced it with synthetic rope and I haven't bought a wire rope since.

You learn stuff as you go, and learn best from mistakes. I have been using winches for recoveries for more than twenty years and I still enjoy watching recoveries on YouTube. Some of them are good examples of how not to do it, others are real gems for combining techniques. It's all useful. If you can spot bad rigging and are brave enough to shout out, you could save someone from a bad injury. A lot of guys don't like being told how to do stuff so even that aspect is part of the learning experience.

I live in the UK but I have winched on John Bull, the Rubicon and one trail in Colorado that I can't remember which it was. I know what winching in rock is like. If steel is your preference, master it. But also learn how to get the best out of synthetic as someone else in your group may be using it.

A guy in my local club posted this link a few weeks ago. It's an old manual but there are some great techniques in it. I'm going to organise a weekend event next summer to do a practical demonstration.
https://www.bits.de/NRANEU/others/amd-us-archive/Fm20-22%2862%29.pdf

Vince,

I just got a chance to read some of the Army Field Manual thank you lots of cool stuff including how to make a winch out of logs I tried that once when I needed to pull my dirt bike out of a mud hole it worked but was supper sketchy when loaded it felt like a bungy cord ready to snap back if I let go of the handle.

Yes, I agree with you. The safety aspects of that one put it in the last resort category.


A lot of the techniques in that manual scale down as well as scaling up. A couple of pocket sized twin wheel pulleys, 60ft of strong 1/4" cord, and two ground stakes (folded sheet steel tent pegs) all from a hardware store could be stashed under a seat or in a back pack. It would make a big difference recovering a dirt bike without assistance with prior practice.

chris420 said:

This is my first winch and the main reason I am getting one is because I plan on doing a lot of excursions with my family next year. The trips will be solo so I need to be able to recover myself in a timely fashion if I get stuck. When I wheel with my buddy’s they have winches so I have never needed one. I have seen a few recoveries on the trail and have seen a what can happen to synthetic rope when it gets pulled around rocks so I plan on sticking with steel. I have also noticed that tow trucks use steel line so figured that would be the most durable. Synthetic rope and the equipment needed for it is very expensive but it looks much safer so I guess I am on then fence with it but leaning towards steel.

Click to expand...

If you are going solo you should buy the stronger winch. You don’t want a broken winch and a few extra hundred bucks when your family is stuck with you

Synthetic rope can be fixed on the trail easier than steel it also won’t get frayed cable sticking out to stab you when you’re spoiling in. Advantages to both.

I say go for it. Walk into harbor freight get a 9k pay for the insurance you may or may not need the insurance.

Gloves, strap, chain 8' ,snatch block.

Then hook it up and go winch be safe keep bystanders out of the path of broken cables and just don't do what I do and youl learn by doing.

Let the winch rest if pulling more than a couple minutes in a wack.

Go learn by doing do everything to keep otheres and yourself safe.

A snatch block and winch has become a handy do all tool for me.

I pulled the trigger last night and purchased aWarn M8000 S with 100 feet of Synthetic rope. Now I need to figure out what other recovery gear to carry.

Do you have one of these https://www.bubbarope.com/grabber-winch-line-attachment/the-grabber ?


https://youtu.be/UNpmTNW0fbQ

I would suggest a tree strap and a snatch block a couple of d rings

And a good bag to store it in.

You can use something like this https://www.amazon.com/Rhino-USA-Co...=synthetic+d+ring+strap&qid=1606618837&sr=8-8 or something like it you can spend more or less but you need something like this .

Here's another starter kit with a snatch block and a choker chain. https://www.quadratec.com/p/smittybilt/premium-winch-accessory-bag

I try to carry at least one choker chain with me. They are heavy so I try not to bring all three. I usually, drive with friends that also carry a chain. The choker's slotted hook is used for hooking onto itself between links. This gives you precise adjustment of your snatch block rigging to keep the rope entry perpendicular to the drum's axis.

I sourced most of my kit from industrial lifting equipment suppliers, some army surplus, some 4x4 stores. I usually spray paint all of my recovery equipment that is not fixed to my Jeep in dayglo orange. This is mostly so I can see it when I have dropped it on the ground in foliage. It also helped me separate my gear from others when we have had to combine equipment for complex recoveries. Now that other's have caught on with the dayglo paint I have started adding a small yellow band with three black stripes which have historically been my family's colors.

I usually take:

4x bow shackles on my bumpers
2x D ring shackles
6x bow shackles of various sizes
1x 30ft nylon recovery rope
2x 2"x30ft straps
2x 2"x15ft straps
1x 2"x6ft bridle strap
2x 8"x12ft tree straps
3x snatch blocks
50ft of synthetic winch line spooled
50ft of synthetic winch line as an extension
75ft or less of old synthetic winch as an extension
1x choker chain
2x battery powered torches
1x battery powered lantern
1x spade
1x sledge hammer
1x British army ground staple and seven pins (ground anchor)
1x Warning triangle sign (to put on the brow of a hill that is concealing a recovery)
2x sets of thick leather winching gloves

1x bottle of water
1x small bottle of fast orange hand cleaner
1x basic first aid kit
1x small hand towel
1x pack of baby wipes

The last five items are not strictly recovery kit, but I keep them with my recovery kit to save having to go look for them.