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To winch or not to winch?

G

Gambit

Registered User
I've been considering a winch for my Jeep, but I've been on the fence about it. It will be going on my daily driver.

My first question is what about road salt & corrosion? Is this a significant probem considering the amount of sand & salt we put on the roads around here?

What about theft? I've heard of people welding the mounting bolts. How worried should I be about getting it stolen, & what are some suggestions to deter thieves?

If I get one, what should I look at for size? It seems like an 8k would do just fine for my TJ. Who is a good seller/installer in the SLC area?

Finally, is it even really worth it since I don't plan on wheeling alone & already carry a tow strap?
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
sometimes a towstrap doesn't do the job, and sometimes you cant pull hard enough with a strap...winches are always a wise investment, you can get covers for them or you could always get the multi-mount cradle and that way it doesn;t ahve to be on your jeep unless you are going wheelin...and you can also move it to the back of your jeep too...8K would probably work as long as its a quality winch (no chcago electric or cheap ramseys) but usually you end up winching more than just yourself and others you are with may have a vehicle too large for the 8K or they (or you) may be stuck really good and an 8K wont be enough...I have seen guys break and almost stall out a 9500 Warn...:eek:


with that said though, I am probably going with a 8K Warn on my rig so take it for what its worth:D
 
G

Gambit

Registered User
I've heard that the covers trap moisture & can cause the engine to run hotter because it blocks the radiator. Any truth to this?
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
Gambit said:
I've heard that the covers trap moisture & can cause the engine to run hotter because it blocks the radiator. Any truth to this?
Click to expand...


I personally have never had any experiences with the covers so I cant answer for certain...but they both make sence to me???
 
Floppy Hat

Floppy Hat

mbryson's hairdresser
Location
Lehi, Ut.
Gambit said:
I've heard that the covers trap moisture & can cause the engine to run hotter because it blocks the radiator. Any truth to this?
Click to expand...

I have a Warn 8274 on my CJ, which stands up much higher than other winches, and I usually have a cover on it. Granted, it is not my daily driver, but I haven't had any problems with it rusting while its been under the cover.

I had some overheating problems in the past, but removing the cover didn't fix it. The problems were due to the mounting system I had on it which blocked a lot of the air flow, my mounting system has since been redesigned and my over heating problems are gone. I also think if I had a fan shroud I wouldn't have experienced the problems that I did.

If you got a winch that lays down, like most do, I don't think you would have any overheating probs.

As far as preventing theft, I have gone the route of welding two of my mounting bolts, which has worked well. I know Warn make a locking system that is similar to locking lug nuts, if you wanted to go that way.
 
Shawn

Shawn

Just Hanging Out
Location
Holly Day
Before you purchase a winch you should ask yourself if you really need it. If you rig is a daily driver is it worth the expense and risk. How often do you really go wheeling? Do you take your jeep on trails that require a winch? Just some things to think about.

I had one on mine,,, used it very little, but I was cool ;) When that one time in 3 years does come up that you need it, it is worth having.. :)
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
those are all good points shawn...especially the last one:D you may never need it, but when you do its soooooooo nice to have:D
 
James K

James K

NO, I'm always like this
Location
Taylorsville, Ut
I think it is a good thing to have(DD or not) you would be amazed what you might use it for.

I have used my winch in the past to raise barn panels, straighten metal fence posts and other one off crap. If I could justify the expense I would have one on my tow rig.
 
Zukimog

Zukimog

JP
Location
Floriduh via Connecticut
Winches are worth their weight in gold. I'm a Warn user and won't even consider anything else. I currently run the 9.5ti and have had absolutely zero problems with it. I agree; tow straps don't always work. The 9.5ti are weather proof and are coated for the salty environment. There are no problems with engine overheating problems due to the stoppage of airflow (it just doesn't happen and I have a smaller grill surface than most). There maybe some condensation that can get trapped under the cover, but it's not an issue. If you want to feel better, take off the cover every once in a while and clean it. Why people seem to think winches are fragile is beyond me. Winches are the way to go.
 
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mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
Shawn said:
Before you purchase a winch you should ask yourself if you really need it. If you rig is a daily driver is it worth the expense and risk. How often do you really go wheeling? Do you take your jeep on trails that require a winch? Just some things to think about.

I had one on mine,,, used it very little, but I was cool ;) When that one time in 3 years does come up that you need it, it is worth having.. :)
Click to expand...



Cherokee-Cruiser--Easy_does_it.jpg


I've used Shawn's cable before. (Thanks again) My next rig will have one built into the bumper, but I'm building it for a little harder trail than that pictured.

That said, I'd never like to do a semi-serious trail without at least one winch in the group. Preferably two. You can be the guy with the winch or make sure you are nice to them in the group that have them.....:D
 
BlackSheep

BlackSheep

baaaaaaaaaad to the bone
Supporting Member
Location
South Carolina....no public land
Gambit said:
I've heard that the covers trap moisture & can cause the engine to run hotter because it blocks the radiator. Any truth to this?
Click to expand...

There is some. I have a HS9500i on my rig, and I do cover it. As soon as I put the winch on my rig, I did notice that at highway speeds, the rig would run a bit hotter, but not at slower speeds. It ran hotter at highway speeds whether I had the cover on or not. As far as trapping moisture, maybe, but I haven't had any trouble with mine. I do admit though that I don't drive mine daily.
 
T

tweakeyjeep

Soccer Mom
Location
Sandy
Definitly get one. I have been trying to get one, I'm just a poor old bum though.

I have had my share of stucks and my share of my buddies being stuck.

I remember I came up on some poor kid in his brand new TJ that mommy and daddy bought him. He had the doors off, and it was cold. He had some girls in the jeep with him and he was stuck in mud up to the bottom of his door wells. It only had 31's. Hooked up my strap, couldn't pull him out from the front, tried a rolling start, no luck, tried a punch it and go start.... no luck.

I finally had to risk getting stuck by going into the mud behind him and trying to get him out... Finally a lot of wheelspin on my end and 4k rpm's later, i got him moving a little bit.

Tried a diagonal approach and finally got him enough momentum to get out. It took us an hour to do all of this. Now if I would have had a winch, I think it would've only taken about 15-25 minutes.......

I don't want even want to get into my snow stories... Tow straps just don't cut it when you are "seriously" stuck!
 
Z

ZUK

Registered User
Location
Phx, AZ
Gambit said:
I've been considering a winch for my Jeep, but I've been on the fence about it. It will be going on my daily driver.

My first question is what about road salt & corrosion? Is this a significant probem considering the amount of sand & salt we put on the roads around here?

What about theft? I've heard of people welding the mounting bolts. How worried should I be about getting it stolen, & what are some suggestions to deter thieves?

If I get one, what should I look at for size? It seems like an 8k would do just fine for my TJ. Who is a good seller/installer in the SLC area?

Finally, is it even really worth it since I don't plan on wheeling alone & already carry a tow strap?
Click to expand...

If you get a winch, you will end up using it only on your buddies. :) 8K is a good choice for the TJ.....a snatch block is optional but does double the pulling power to 16K which would almost pull a loaded cement truck out.
 
mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
ZUK said:
If you get a winch, you will end up using it only on your buddies. :) 8K is a good choice for the TJ.....a snatch block is optional but does double the pulling power to 16K which would almost pull a loaded cement truck out.
Click to expand...


Cement Truck? I think that's a reach, but it'll drag out most anything you'll come along on the trail.
 
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