The great winch debate.

[Ray H]

Both those pics show situations that I would much sooner have a winch than a Hilift or come along. They are both good examples of not real hardcore offroading that quickly went bad but could've been much worse without the proper tool.
The muddy hill reminds me of a situation that started out on a simple dirtroad and became impossible (without a winch) with a dusting of unforcasted snow a couple years ago. If one of us wouldnt of had a winch, we would all of spent the night there.
I guess a winch isnt worth the money as long as its all fun. Its when the fun suddenly ends that its really worth it.

 

[XJCreeper]

Being prepared should always be #1 if you do travel far off the beaten path. A hi-lift and a tow strap is must have. The hi-lift is great for doing all around recovery. But to use it for winching you need to have invested in a chain, couple d-rings, and a some bolts before you have the situation in the woods. The more equipment you have such as straps, chains, d-rings, and anchor points means you are better prepared for where you want to go/do.

If you don't really travel too far out in the wilderness a high lift is all you may every need to get you there and back. For me having fun riding around the Sierra's a winch can be a real mechanical friend. Adding a locker and tires almost always means you will be more stuck when mother nature does messes with your fun. At this point a winch is a must have along with the hi-lift. The way I see it really depends where you what to go and being prepared to get there and back in good shape.
[image]http://members.dslextreme.com/users/davidjudkins/XJ/IM000061.JPG[/image]

 

[Cox89XJ]

I wheel alone also, it’s a hunting vehicle mostly. First thing I did was get a lift kit, Second tires, and Third a winch. Less than one year and the winch has gotten me out 6 or 7 times.

 

[ckh550]

I pulled some trees out of my yard with my 12,000 lb winch..so they have multiple uses!

 

[Osprey413]

The way I see it a winch is insurance against getting stuck. The insurance may not cover everything, but the more you have the more likely it will come through for you. Which is why I have a come-along, a high-lift, an axe and shovel, and soon a winch. With those, I figure that unless I sink my jeep in mud up to the roof, I can probably get out.

 

[rstarch345]

BENT expresses my sentiments very well.

I too spend a lot of time wheelin' solo and it was the first thing I purchased, as I was stock at the time. Since then my XJ has changed dramatically, but the need for the winch has not.

If you're interested in reading a story of one of those times when even the winch didn't do it, here is one from last October http://www.4wd.com/4wdforums/showthread.php?t=9353

 

[Dingo509]

The idea on if you need a winch or not is primarily based on where you live, same as a snorkel or flotation tires, Let's face it a XJ with 31's is not going to cross greenland very well. at the same time an XJ with 40's and no suspension travel isn't going to run the rubicon very well. Snorkels are the same thing, in places where the water gets deep, the snorkel in invaluable, yet it's useless on Sledgehammer. A winch is just insurance that if your tires, suspension, gears, and lockers don't get you through the winch MIGHT. but then again do you really NEED to go through that mudhole oor can you go around it?

Dingo

 

[XJCreeper]

Great wheelin story! Too bad about the milemarker hydraulic winch popping a hose. I've got a 10,500LB one and have pulled through hours in deep snow with it. Wouldn't leave home without it. When this happen there is no greater feeling than you tire making it back to terra firma. :sunshine:

 

[IH8RDS]

I use my winch every chance I get. Even around the house. A winch to me is the best mod I ever did. I run 31" tires and a locker in the rear, so I cant get over allot of stuff under my own power. I go up sometimes with just my family to remote areas, and a CB can only reach so far. I have a high-lift too but I dont trust it. I guess its a peace of mind mod for me.

 

[warwagon98xj]

a friend of mine has the harbor freight one. he has used and abused it literally and honestly it works great its not the fastest thing in the world not like the guy with the warn but it works. and who wants to go home in a hurry anyway.

 

[XJCreeper]

I heard the Harbor Freight winch is basically a Milemarker with a different motor that the Milemarker one. A proven design for a great price.

 

[XJ_Vikings]

when i started wheeling i didn tknow a single person who went. it sucked having an S-10 try and pull you out in the middle of the woods. Milemarker had a sick rebate offer going on and i was graduating high school... and it was my birthday. So now i run with a winch, and have found a hand full of people to go with. Most of them are full sized trucks and its nice for them to try crazy shit knowing that even if i cant pull them out with my XJ i can winch them out.

 

[Timber]

I heard the Harbor Freight winch is basically a Milemarker with a different motor that the Milemarker one. A proven design for a great price.

Same motor.

 

[WB9YZU]

I heard the Harbor Freight winch is basically a Milemarker with a different motor that the Milemarker one. A proven design for a great price.

Both are made by the same company, but not Milemarker. They are made by a Winchmaker in China.

Milemarker buys the winch, puts a 2yr P/L warranty on it and sells it for $499.
Harbour Freight buys the winch, slaps their name on it, a mounting bracket for the control box, a winch plate for a Wrangler and a 90 day warranty and sells it for $399 (can be bought on sale for $299).

I have both. I broke a casting on my Milemarker (operator error) and spent 3 weeks trying to get them to help me, so I bought the Haror Freight piece, mounted it on the XJ, put the winch plate on my YJ, repaired the Milemarker and put it on the YJ.
Both winchs have nearly identical specs and guts.

Most folks will tell you to do a Winch first, because with no lift, you will be dragging your sorry but everywhere if you are alone

I tell folks not to go Off-Roading alone and because of that, I don't neccesarly recomend the Winch as the first addition. Besides, to mount your $400 Winch, you need a $250 bumper. A significant investment. Most XJs are built over time and with available money.
I recomend tow points, armor, then lift and tires as the set of newbie mods that get the most fun for the money.

Now, that being said, I do sometimes, go solo Off-Road, and in those cases, the Winch and Hi-Lift have come in very handy when I have gotten myself stuck

Ron

 

[XJCreeper]

Thanks for the info on the differences between the two. I need another winch for another project and $299 beats $499 for the same thing.

 

[XJ_Vikings]

the only complaint i have with my milemarker e9000 is overheating, if you only have 1 level on the drum and pull all the way in, the motor will shut down due to overheating. that being said, winching that far is uncommon

check for rebate offers, i got 100 off with mine

 

[Starscream]

Someone said it before me, and I agree: a winch is a peace of mind mod. You may never need it, but if you ever go alone it'll pay for itself the first time by saving you the headache and money.

I had a Ramsey REP8.5e for about six months and only used it twice. I used it once for a friend and once for myself. Each time I could have used a strap and gotten out just as easily, but since I had a winch I felt compelled to pull myself out.

If you never go alone, spend the money elsewhere.

 

[Ben H]

there is also somthing to be said about slowly pulling yourself out, as to getting jerked by brute force.

 

[JarheadJon]

And if you do buy one...

Do this great nation and your self a favor and buy an American one! Even if that means a few more pay periods worth of saving.

The pennies we save up front, get us in the end with overall quality and longevity suffering and even more so in respect to the American economic and labor force balance.

When our children fight the Chinese.....

JMC

 

[KarlVP]

If you wheel regularly, then I suppose the majority of us go in groups.

Even if you do go in a group and nobody has a winch, you may end up in more trouble than you expected. Usually we are farmilliar with the places we wheel.

Sometimes, the winch works safer, and easier than yanking/hilifting people out of stucks.

I, myself have been many situations, where a winch, instead of some good pld pulling on a yank strap, would have been the way to go. I have seen bumpers come flying off, shackles and mounting points break, and people get injured, where with a winch, it would have been a safe, steady recovery.

Never underestimate the power of a winch. It save your equipment and the people around you. Even an easy day may turn into a hard one.