picking a winch

larsen101 · Mar 18, 2009

so im guessing this is the right place to ask this. im looking into winches and not to sure what kind of weight i need to get. i have an 87 ranger xtended cab. thanks

JohnnyU · Mar 18, 2009

Get the largest pull rated winch that you can afford. I had an 8K MileMarker on my Ranger. I wouldn't recommend MileMarker due to their painful slowness, but the price was right.

That winch is being rebuilt to serve trailer duty and will be replaced with a 12-15K on my Chevy.

Will · Mar 18, 2009

The best winch for you is THIS ONE. You don't need an 8,000 and the speed on this 6,000 is incredible. I bought an EPi 9.0 and it's fast, but not as fast, and I rarely come close to maxing it out. Usually you just need a little help and if your winch is slow it's hard to keep from running over the cable. That EPi 6.0 will be awesome. It comes with a snatchblock and you can get 12,000# of pull on the rare occasions you need it--and even on the snatchblock it will be faster than most other winches.

I just used mine today to clear a bunch of small trees out of my wife's sisters yard down in Louisville. I had it on the portable receiver mount in the back of my Chevy and we strapped the trees, pulled, strapped, pulled and the speed made it a pleasure rather than an ordeal. ANd having owned a MileMarker 8,000 and a Harbor Freight 8,000--those are sssssllllloooowwwww. So slow they are a nuicance. They are half the price of a Superwinch, but they suck badly and I wish I had just gotten a fast winch to begin with.

There are some fast Warns as well, but they are more expensive than the Superwinch. Check Jegs for prices. I got my EPi 9.0 through some Jeep place for $600 with free shipping but it's been a couple of years. Jegs has good prices, and will match prices too if you call them. I'll bet they will match a free shipping deal. I've called and gotten them to do amazing things. The person on the phone is empowered to work with you.

dirtsquirt · Mar 19, 2009

It comes with a snatchblock and you can get 12,000# of pull on the rare occasions you need it--and even on the snatchblock it will be faster than most other winches.

A snatch block does not double the pull, about 2/3rds so you would get about 10,000, you loose some pull on the 90 deg turn.

JohnnyU · Mar 19, 2009

dirtsquirt said:
A snatch block does not double the pull, about 2/3rds so you would get about 10,000, you loose some pull on the 90 deg turn.

??

If the cable is doubled back to the winching vehicle, it will double the pull.

larsen101 · Mar 19, 2009

ok i was looking at the smittybilt xrc8 because of the price. other than the slow pull time is there anything else wrong with it?

metalmacguyver · Mar 19, 2009

The typical recomendation is take the weight of the vehicle and add half. For my truck at approximately 5300lbs, an 8000lb winch would just about work. I have a 9K winch and I have stalled it out a couple times.

The true quality of a winch shows in the speed. Yeah sure a slower winch gets it done but after have a chance to use/see a fast winch in action, you will wish you had one.

And using a snatch block is exactly like a 2:1 lever.

And its a 180 degree turn....

Sunk · Mar 19, 2009

larsen101 said:
ok i was looking at the smittybilt xrc8 because of the price. other than the slow pull time is there anything else wrong with it?

It has a permanent magnet motor, from what I have read series wound are much better for winches. The magnets can wear out over time or get damaged. I've looked at the XRC8 and it doesn't look too terrible, the main thing I hear is that it is slow.

I'm also looking at winches and trying to figure out my options..

Will · Mar 19, 2009

It's not the magnets wearing out. The series wound greatly increases the torque of the winch when the motor is loaded and greatly increases the speed when the motor is unloaded. It's the perfect motor for a winch--like a diesel engine with torque-rise.

larsen101 · Mar 19, 2009

ok now between the xrc8 and the superwinch you were talking about what are the main differences other than the cost?

Will · Mar 20, 2009

I never really heard of the Smittybilt, but it says the XRC8 is series wound. The little video on 4wheelparts says its 37fpm, which is the same as the Warn XD9000i. So I don't know why it's so cheap. The only difference, and I have no idea about the reliability of it, is that the SUperwinch EPi 9.0 and the XD9000i have integrated solenoids that are sealed inside the housing instead of open to the air. I would go for it since it's half the price of my winch and only about 40% of the Warn. It would be worth Googling it to make sure there isn't a huge hate group out there with pitchforks and torches heading for SMitty Bilt's world headquarters.

larsen101 · Mar 20, 2009

hahah ok thanks for the help

Sunk · Mar 20, 2009

I've looked around and found the Smittybilt listed as both series wound and permanent magnet which is interesting. I googled it found a thread on a Jeep forum by a guy who bought one and it was definitely permanent magnet. He pulled the cover off and one of the magnets was damaged, before he even installed it. Could be a fluke, but that doesn't say too much about their durability.

colinrmitchell · Mar 20, 2009

That thread is two years old though, and the Smittybilt website says it is now a 5.5HP series wound. I am about to buy one, I think, because my HF winch has a broken magnet, and the Smittybilt is in my price range.

The bigger motor with the 172:1 seems like it would be better and faster than 295:1 with a 4.1HP motor (the ratios are approximate). This appeals to me, since I cannot afford a Warn or Superwinch.

Sunk · Mar 22, 2009

OK, that's good to know.. I didn't really pay attention to the date of the thread, I was just curious since I hadn't heard much about them. I'll be curious how yours works out.

picking a winch

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