I've got a T-15 and a TRD tranny cooler and I'm looking to add a winch.

1) I've heard that the M8000 won't fit with the TRD cooler, true?

2) I checked the dimensions of various winches on the Warn site... I'm assuming that all winches will have the same fitment issues as the M8000 with the TRD cooler (all winches had the same depth of 6.3")?

3) Have any of you used the M8000 in a real trail recovery situation? Is its 80' of rope sufficient? Is the pull speed sufficient? Is 8000lb line pull sufficient?

4) I've read about supposed advantages of running synthetic lines. Are those advantages really advantages, or just marketing hype by the manufacturers? Is one synthetic line better than another?

Thanks guys.

 

I don't know about anything else that you asked, but synthetic lines are worth their weight in gold.

Just the piece of mind if it breaks, it is not going anywhere and you can weave it back together on the trail. It is very real, not hype. Have you ever seen ghost ship? When I was in the Philipines, we broke one on a 8274 and that bugger went through the side of the cruiser that was stuck. Thankfully we were all out of the way and using proper safety.

I am interested in the HS winches as the regular speed, ala the 8000, seem pretty slow.

 

Jackson,

Why not pick up some of the cooler mounting zip ties and just mount the TRD flush against the radiator and get it out of the way?

 

I probably will if that's what needs to be done. Once I decide on a winch and get it ordered, I'll decide if the cooler needs to be moved.

 

I'll be getting a winch at some point as well, so I'm curious to see what you settle on.

 

When the time comes, I'm probably going to go with the HS9500. I can get it at dealer's cost, so I thought I'd bump up from the M8000. It's only about $100 more for me, and for the extra strength, speed, and line, I think the $100 is well spent.

I've got so much freakin crap going on right now my wallet doesn't know what to think. Between the truck, building a house, and my bike, my wallet's head is spinning.

 

Thinking about regearing and going with lockers?

 

Thinking about it (buying diffs from a junkyard), but we'll see. I'm at the point where I don't know if it's worth putting that kind of money into my 4Runner for wheeling oriented mods. It's a great truck and I love to wheel it, but to improve its trail ability at all, I'm going to have to drop some healthy dollars.

My other option is going to be to buy an FJ40 Landcruiser. With the same money that I'd be putting into my 4Runner I could make the 40 a pretty serious trail rig.

 

A winch serves alot of purposes as well. My truck get me just about anywhere i want to go the way it is set up right now. Any more mods such as lockers would probably cause me to do some damage or break stuff. Just ask corey, we does some great wheeling with open diffs, but has the security of being able to extricate himself or others if needbe.

 

Everything I have read lately before deciding on a Hayden tranny cooler states that the TRD is mounted in the way of where a winch would need to go. So just mount it like the Hayden and I would think you would be fine.



Not that winch, but another Warn. Yes, I would think so. Again, different model #. Unless you are pulling out a Ford Excusrion!

I've heard the synthetic lines don't SNAP like the others do. As far as which one is best,

Let me know what you get and how it works out. I'll be getting a winch when I get my TJM so I can just do it all in one swoop.



Brian

 

Jackson,

I hear your pain, man. I struggle with this every time I buy something else for my 4runner. Part of me keeps wanting to buy an older LC and start with a vehicle thats a bit closer to being trail-ready. However, I feel like I've already gone too far down the 4runner road at this point to turn back. Since I live in an Apt., I wouldn't have anyplace to store a second vehicle anyways. At least the 4runners are still decent daily drivers, even with all the mods we do. If I get to the point where I'm really getting serious about increasing the off-roadability, like doing solid axle swaps or serious fab work, then I'll just switch over to the landcruiser. At the moment, I don't feel too limited about the trails that I do, since I'm still building up my experience. I'll feel alot more comfortable once I get some better protection underneath though.

 

This is how I rationalize things... FWIW:

The modifications started when I bought my boat. The extra weight destroyed the stock suspension. I needed something beefier, so HD lift springs were logical. That's how I got the lift. Fortunately, at the same time, I needed new tires. I went with an AT because I needed a good on-road tire, but I wanted to be able to start taking my truck off-road. So the lift costed me about $500, and that was justified by the extra weight of the boat. I needed new tires, and32s were about $50 more than the 29s I was going to get, so that's basically a wash. The transmission cooler was the next step, again because of the towing

The sliders were a birthday gift from my father. I do a lot of outdoor activities (camping, kayaking, mtbing, etc.), so the seat covers are worth their weight in gold. The TJM is basically protection from deer, and the lights are great on back country roads. With the exception of the Hella 500s on my roof rack and my safari basket (which was a gift), all mods were done with the goal of having on-road and off-road functionality.

Even if I never took my truck off-road, I doubt I would have done anything different (except for the safari basket and the Hella 500s).

I'm to the point now where I'm looking into some off-road specific mods (and expensive ones at that). Regearing, a rear locker (maybe a front as well), and a winch run up a pretty hefty bill. That kind of money could be put into an FJ40 and give me a much better trail rig. I'd also have a truck that's a blast to drive in the summer with the top off.

To me, if I'm going to keep up with my off-roading hobby, it just makes sense to buy an FJ40. Problem is finding one that meets my criteria for what I'm willing to spend.

 

To keep up all you need is a rear locker. An FJ-40 will as well and it will also need a big money spring over.