adunne

so i got a quote from a buddy of mine on a smittybilt Comp-Series XRC-8 winch and the price is fantastic! Does anyone have any experience with this winch? Is it worth the extra $100 for the fairlead and the synthetic rope? between this and the warn that is double the price and doesnt come with the synthetic rope, which would you recommend?

My second question, is there anyway that you can install a winch like this on a stock runner bumper? I was thinking of mounting it in behind the bumper on a tray, and then cutting out a slot for the fairlead...has anyone done this? or do i have to get a winch bumper...

Tofer

i would recommend getting a real bumper.... not a brushgarud or winch plate that attaches to the stock bumper... but a real heavy duty bumper. ARB, TJM or a tube bumper.

GSGALLANT

You could be hardpressed finding a TJM bumper in the US anytime soon. They stopped selling them in the US shortly after I bought mine.

I agree with Tofer, though... a new bumper is the way to go. There are people that have built winch holders that allow the winch to be tucked in behind the stock bumper, and it looks good in the end, but it's a lot of work and you have to be really sure that your welds are good and strong.

terminator

iTrader: (1)

X2 on the TJM, ARB or custom front bumper. You can just keep checking for used ones, they pop up all of the time on here and TTORA.

Belize Off Road Team

I just installed a XRC8 winch on my ARB bull bar and let me tell you it has enough kick to completely remove a stock bumper. there are over 10 bolts holding the ARB bumper to the frame. there are 4 bolts holding the stock bumper to some mounts. an aftermarket bumper is the way to go. Good winch too.

CYi5

I've heard good things about the XRC8 and $100 for synth/hawse is a good deal if they are good quality. Just remember if you get an ARB bumper, they are designed to run roller fairleads, so you'd want to replace the metal rollers with Derlin ones if you run rope. You can run a hawse fairlead on the ARBs, just be weary of pulls at sharp angles, as the rope will rub on the front of the bumper.

The Summit 9000 (rebadged T-maxx 9000) is also worth considering at $449.

Ron Helmuth

the significant factor may be the light weight. The "Ultimate Performance" series from Warn is roughly 30 lbs lighter than the same winch without synthetic rope.

I doubt all the weight difference is strictly the rope but a 50lb winch is much easier to handle than a 80lber.

There are many issues that crop up related to winching. I would encourage you to think long and hard before you go that route. The previous repliers are correct in that you will need a substantial mounting point, and the stock bumper is not up to it. Next may come power concerns as your single battery is not the best choice if you intend to actually winch. And if you are not really going to be using it, then what is the real point?

My issue has always been... what is the purpose of a permanent mounting the winch in front if you have nothing to winch to? (Trees get scarce here above timberline where I would need a winch most)

Hence I would utilize a swappable cradle mount that bolts into the hitch in back and a hitch receiver up front. Then if you have gone past a recovery point you simply move the winch cradle to the rear and go backwards.

I'm not trying to discourage you-but again there are a lot of issues that many folks fail to realize until install is underway....