Currently shopping for bumpers & winches. Tell me about your winch setup.

Which winch do you have?

How difficult was the install?

Any unexpected snags?

What do you like about your winch?

Any complaints?

Has your winch ever broken or failed to perform? (sounds like a personal problem)

 

Ive got the same questions... anyone wanna help

 

Superwinch EP9.0 is a great winch with Syn Line--Very nice

 

I used the milemarker 9000 lbs electric winch with good success, unfortunetely the bumper I had failed to holdup to the job. My buddy has the same winch on his Jeep and it finished the job with no problems and has used his winch for years. It's a pretty standard bolt on part. Running the cables to the battery is a snap. I believe that some bumpers may required you to cut the grill to fit because of the externally mount solenoid box(the part that the winch control plugs into), however if you are clever you can relocate the box inside to the engine bay.

 

SmittyBuilt 8000

Easy to install (just depends on the bumper your installing it on)

Nope it's been great

It works every time I use it

No complaints

I had a milemarker that broke a month after I bought it. Go to 4wheelparts.com and order the smittybuilt 8000 it has a lifetime warranty.

 

Milemarker #12k. The remote broke first, then the housing, and then a solenoid. I have put it through some rough pulls,but overall wouldn't buy another Milemarker.

 

Thats funny because they are the exact same winch. In fact I have pics of milemarker components inside the smitty 8000. There is only one choice for me for winches and that is Warn. It's not just for the sheer durability and reliability of the unit but more for the safety factor involved with winching (which can be a very dangerous activity in itself)

 

Well she is............ oh you mean those winches, well then I have an arb bull bar and a warn 8000lb winch. Used it many times and never had any problems with it. I agree with dirtoyboy in that warn is the only way to go. My dad had a ramsey some years back when we lived in Kenya on our old datsun and it worked well but we seldom had to use it. Whatever winch you get just make sure you also get a good solid winch bumper. Who cares how great your winch is if it will rip your bumper off and leave your truck stuck.

 

i have a warn M8000 i bought at a pawn shop for 300 bucks that had been used. added new wires made on 1 gauge wire and the thing is a champ, pulled out numerous f-250's without snatchblocking and have never had anyproblems.

I have a steel cable but would highly recomend the synthetic, it is well worth the money not only in saftey but in ease of use too.

I built a custom bumper for my winch out of some 6" structual channel i had laying around so it fits perfectly but most winches all mount the same.

The biggest thing i would say to watch is your wires and connections (and battery/alternator for that matter) need to be good, dont go cheap and never use a winch on side terminals, they are not made for that kind of draw. I personally run a dual post battery and run the truck off the side posts and the top is for winch only, but that is me.

I love the warn winches and have seen champs and milemarkers granade. Tabor is the one warn makes that is a little cheaper if you can find them. a buddy has a 12000 and it rocks and handles his 02 F-250 with 45" AG tires so you should have no problem!!

 

My son has a MileMarker MX8. It grew a mind of it's own and would not turn off while powering in. It consumed itself untill we disconnected the power from the battery. We have replaced the MOSFET solenoid box with a standard one and it has been fine.

 

heres that pic i was talking about...this was inside a smittybilt winch

 

Only posted a little but now that i have time:

superwinch EP9.0

--Great winch--awsome line speed
--Drum doesnt get hot so it works well with Syn line
--Low power draw
--I know this doesnt sound nice but i was in a really bad spot and had to pull my truck over a small sapling at about a 45 degreee angle--went right up
--Has a remote control you can keep in the cab and not have to worry about getting out and hooking up the switch
--Cheaper than a WARN
--Beat the hell out of it and its still working like a champ....My .02

 

Here is a wierd tale...I got a Ramsey 8.5 mounted on a craddle so I can move it to the back. It has worked great except, I do a lot of new trial exploring and so I'm kinda trail blazing thru small brush. The Ramsey has the terminals mounted so one is out front hence the insalator that allows the cable to go thru the housing cracked.
I went to Summit (where I bought it) and they couldn't order that part. So the guy gave me Ramsey Customer service. Turns out they can't replace the part?. but they had a winch in the back shop they could rob from.
They did send the whole terminal cap assy. for free, but I'm kinda wondering what I'm in for the next time something breaks.

 

I hear a lot of the winch brands are great, but only Warn reeaally backs up their product when it breaks. Thats why im gettin a m8000 soon!

 

warn x8000i with synthetic rope, never had a issue with it and love it

 

Superwinch EP9.0



It was slightly more expensive than the Warn M8K I originally wanted, but after reading how well the EPi9.0 did against Warn's 9.5XP in Winches in Hell (MOAB Jeeper rag), I figured it was worth the extra change

Especially since it comes with a quality 20k snatch block




Installation was pretty straight forward, but because I wanted a stealth install behind the factory bumper, I had to chop the channel mount and re-weld a pair of mounting tabs in order to use all 4 of the factory tow hook mounting bolts...





Unexpected snags?

Well, the control box was a bit too large to fit anywhere in under the hood, so I opted to mount the noid itself in front of the battery and relocate the controller plug to the top of the bumper where I also added a main cutoff keyswitch...









I LOVE this winch!!

My only complaint is the painted cable....

Although the idea to mark the cable was a good one, the paint they use flakes off very easily, making a big red mess




Also, the paint on the spool end was a bit too short for my taste (especially since I yanked it out of the drum), so I recently made my own line marker with a piece of red heat shrink and set it out a good 20ft. just to be safe






If you do plan on ordering one, make sure you get a freshly built unit directly from Superwinch rather than a store bought unit off the shelf...

Reason being the early EP's didn't get the new style waterproof Albright solenoid pack which is now standard on all new EP winches...


I'll be ordering another for the rear as soon as I build a swing out spare tire carrier to make room for it


98 Aztek T/A WS7 (FOR SALE!!)
70 Ram Air IV T/A
97 FZJ80 Locked
00 Lifted G16E
GhettoChopper(FOR SALE!!)
94 Mitsubishi MiniCab (SOLD!!)
07 Ghetto Quad (SOLD!!)

 

Ramsey 8500. I've pulled out my 4Runner MANY times. Those are the easy pulls. I've pulled an 87 Bronco out of some thick deep mud. It was sitting on the frame. A Dodge Dakota, Ranger, an 87 Yota pickup, and a few F150s. I have made it stall out pulling on an old heavy Ford Tractor that was stuck and sitting partially on the rear blade. Apparently it was just too much weight and resistance. I let off the tension, said sorry I can't help you, spooled it up and left. I have never had any trouble with it. It has been underwater completely 3 or 4 times. I've had it about a year.

My funnest pull was an 80 foot tall oak? tree that was leaning over my lane. My dad wanted to cut it down cause it was leaning towards the powerline. I got on the back side spooled out almost all of my cable and hooked up to it about 20 feet up. I got the line TIGHT, and he cut into no more than 6 inches and I pulled it right over.

I made a winch rack/grille guard/push bar type thing to house the winch. My dad owns a welding shop so I go there one day when Im off school with some drawings and tape measure. Any parts made out of flat metal I can make a paper template and cut them out on the flame table. I clean them up myself and grab somebody to weld it for me. My winch rack bolts into the two tow hook holes underneath the frame rails and then through the side of the frame in holes I drilled. When I use the winch under heavy loads the rack will actually curl forward an inch or two (like the tractor that made it stall out, not anything normal). But it has never shown any signs of breaking. When I let off the tension, it curls right back up tight to the bumper. It's tough, but it doesn't help much with my approach angle, so I will be making a complete bumper that moves the winch back about 8" soon. The rack will be up for sale if anyone is interested.

 

Anyone with the Smittybilts have problems with water? I go through a lot and don't want any problems.

 

for mine i have a 9k pull warn tabor winch i paid 300 fpr it and it fits nice in my allpro front bumper. the install took 3min it has 2 wires red and black and all you do is connect it to the battery

 

I have a Warn XD9000 that use to be on the '91 4Runner.
Have had the winch since February of 2002, it is a great winch.

On my second synthetic line too.
I prefer synthetic over steel cable.
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