• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

How many people have snapped a winch cable, and other winch q's..

djlarroc

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Denver, CO
Shopping for a winch and have been doing a lot of reading.

Wanted to ask you guys, if you really think cable is that dangerous? has anyone snapped a line? or had a bad experience? i like the weight savings of synthetic, but is cable really that bad?

Also, what are focal points in choosing a winch (aside from brand).

Would you prefer more hp, and a higher gear (lower numerically) for speed?
Lower hp, and more gearing?

Total weight capacity?
Battery draw?

Basically, I'm trying to find the best value in a cable winch $400 and under. Synthetic, $500 and under. 8-10k
 
Well I dont have a winch yet, but every time I have helped use one or been around one, I hide real good...

IMO I will only buy a synthetic line for the safey factor. I know some will say cable has been around for ever and if used correct its fine!....but I dont want the risk of one bad time.... I have never seen anyone inspect the line or factor the vehicle weight/ pull angle/ etc to see if they were possibly overloading thier line winch before hooking up..
 
Last edited:
When I was kid, I watched my uncle snap a steel cable on his Jeep's winch. The cable popped back though the windshield and out the rear window, missing his head by about six inches. It was an eye opener!
Hanging something heavy on a cable, while pulling, is always a good ideal.
I use synthetic line.
 
haven't broke a line yet, generaly you can tell when the line is loaded to hard and may break. Most pulls aren't that bad, on the bad ones hide. If you can afford a synthetic line get it, Its worth every penny not jsut for saftey but its easyer to handle and pull. I'm still waiting for my steel cable to wear out, then its going synthetic.
 
Shopping for a winch and have been doing a lot of reading.

Wanted to ask you guys, if you really think cable is that dangerous? has anyone snapped a line? or had a bad experience? i like the weight savings of synthetic, but is cable really that bad?

Also, what are focal points in choosing a winch (aside from brand).

Would you prefer more hp, and a higher gear (lower numerically) for speed?
Lower hp, and more gearing?

Total weight capacity?
Battery draw?

Basically, I'm trying to find the best value in a cable winch $400 and under. Synthetic, $500 and under. 8-10k

1st, I'm going to suggest that you do a search here. This subject (the brand, etc... of a winch has been hotly debated).

My stance is that most any dang winch is better than no dang winch.

The guideline is to buy a winch that is capable of a pull 1.5X the dead weight of your vehicle. So for an XJ, that would get you a garden variety 8000lb winch or larger.

All the 8000lb winches with steel line all weigh about 90lbs. And about 40-50lbs with synthetic.

Cables: Keep cables free of crud and salt. I have always lubricated mine with a light spray oil. Very cheap winches come with 3/8" line, the better ones come with 5/16" line. Depends on what you want, a real heavy and hard to deal with 3/8" line, or a reasonably flexible 5/16" line.

Synthetic: Must keep clean and keep out of the sun. UV is your enemy.

Speed: Whatever you can put up with. For years I ran a Mile Marker E8000, or a HF 8000lb winch. These were some of the cheapest China made winches at the time, and they were slow. You could eat breakfast while recovering your rig; however, it was recovered which is more than I can say about the no-winch option.

I got tired of the slow speed option, and presently run a Warn M8000 on one rig and a Warn VR8000 on the other. The VR8000 is a bit slower, but the capacity is there.

I have tried a XRC-8, but though the speed was there, the unit I had pulled out badly. Some folks have better luck and swear by them because of price point vs similar specs to a VR8000.

Whatever you decide, the winch should be easy to use, and should work well mechanically. Lets face it, a winch that won't let you free spool out line is a PITA to use.

Lastly, Battery. Get yourself hooked up with a red top Optima battery in the 1000 CCA range. Even though the newer XJs have a 120Amp Alt, they can certainly use the CC reserve of a reasonably sized Optima to move the load.
For load: Imagine a starter motor at full crank. That's what a winch will pull just before it stalls.

About Winch Safety: See the WARN Website. http://www.warn.com/corporate/images/90/TechGuide_PN62885-A2.pdf
 
Last edited:
If you can afford a synthetic line get it, Its worth every penny not just for safety but its easier to handle and pull. I'm still waiting for my steel cable to wear out, then its going synthetic.


This is truth. If you hang something on the cable it won't whip back like people have talked about. I have broken a couple winch lines before that had heavy blankets on them and they fell to the ground. I have also seen people who have not put anything on the cable and seen it whip back like others have said.

I personally still have a steel cable, but when it wears out, I will replace it with a synthetic mainly because it will be easier to handle.
 
Lastly, Battery. Get yourself hooked up with a red top Optima battery in the 1000 CCA range. Even though the newer XJs have a 120Amp Alt, they can certainly use the CC reserve of a reasonably sized Optima to move the load.

Yellow top would be better than red top. Other than that, everything else you said I agree 100%.
 
Thanks guys! lots of good replies..

i already have an optima YT. i have done quite a bit of forum searching, but ultimately many threads are full of warn vs everything else, and it gets old. that's why i didnt want to name brands, but better yet, what gearing is preferred, and if hp really does matter all that much. i know the lower the gearing, it supposedly is a bit slower right? speed isnt so much a factor, as long as it works well.

thanks for the info on the cable gauge, something i had not read about.

have found some really good buys on cable winch, but not so much on synthetic. and to upgrade later, ive found the best prices on synthetic lines are about $175+.
 
I have a used (30 year old) warn 8274 and love it. Its ugly and heavy, but will pull just as well as any planetary winch on the market today. It will also likely work for anothe 30 years.

Winching is inherently dangerous, you need to educate yourself on proper use and care of your recovery gear. Synthetic is better in some respects, but still requires care. It will not tolerate chafing, so be sure to carry chafing gear.
 
I run synthetic. I was working with a friends older cable line that frayed a bit and as we reeled it in I had a piece of cable go through my hand. Very painful and not fun. Synthetic is nice, easier to spool and work with but as stated above, it hates rubbing in the wrong ways. Its all a personal choice and neither way is wrong.
 
i know the lower the gearing, it supposedly is a bit slower right? speed isnt so much a factor, as long as it works well.

I recommend you look up a number of winches and DL their install/spec manuals and compare them.

The info in those manuals (Usually at the MFG website) gives info on Amp Draw per LB at one drum wrap. It gives FPM rates at specific weights for 1 drum wrap. And it also gives winch capacity over a number of layers of wrap. Interesting stuff.

In the end it all depends on what you can afford that fits your needs.

And yes, Speed is not so much of a factor if it works :D
 
Series wound motor, FTW.

Customer service and parts availability FTW.
 
I run synthetic on an 8274. Basically what everyone said in this thread already... synthetic may be safer than steel cable and all that, but that's only one aspect... it's also much easier to handle and spool on the drum, lighter, and won't cut up your hands. I wear leather gloves anyway when winching, but I've seen pieces of wire pierce right through those and into someone's hand before and that's no fun.

The two major downsides to synthetic.... 1) You need to be a little more careful with it... don't drag it through the mud if you can help it and don't bend it around stuff cause it chaffs easy. Most synthetic lines you get will have a moveable guard thing that you can use if you need to route it around a rock/tree/stump/whatever. Keep a winch cover on when your rigs parked outside, as UV rays from the sun can damage it. 2) the cost is higher.
 
Back
Top