which wench in the wenching best

[Cheropair]

I got both of mine used - the first was a Warn 8270, prerunner to the 8274, needed some TLC, mostly some wires in the solenoid pak, and a bit of work on the cable (first 20' was trashed), works great with about $300 invested.
My wench came to me second hand, also needed some TLC, even came with an accessory (I love that accessory, she's 26 now). Investment was a lot more than I expected.
Now, the winch is mounted on the wench's XJ. They have both gotten me out of some sticky situations.......

 

[Jes]

Damn, I need to get me a wench.

 

[cal]

If you want speed and reliability, get a Warn 8274 and don't look back. I ran one on my CJ, and I just picked one up for my XJ. It is by no means compact or light, but it is by far THE workhorse of winches. They're rated at 8000#, but I know they'll go further than that without stalling or burning up. In addition, this winch pulls FAST. You'd be hard pressed to find another winch that will keep up with the same line load.

You should include that no one makes a pre-fab bumper for the xj/8274, so thats a commitment to paying for something custom or doing the work yourself.

 

[Capt. Nemo]

You should include that no one makes a pre-fab bumper for the xj/8274, so thats a commitment to paying for something custom or doing the work yourself.

Good point.

I don't have much to say to that except that putting a winch on any XJ is a little bit of work and takes some committment. I guess I forget that not everyone is able to work on their XJ themselves and is confined to the aftermarket offerings (this is a generalization - not pointing the finger at anyone specific).

 

[cal]

Good point.

I don't have much to say to that except that putting a winch on any XJ is a little bit of work and takes some committment. I guess I forget that not everyone is able to work on their XJ themselves and is confined to the aftermarket offerings (this is a generalization - not pointing the finger at anyone specific).

It's a point I thought worth making, since I have an 8274 sitting on the shelf waiting for the motivation (and technical assistance) to setup a bumper for it, that is not the size of a dinnertable.

 

[Cheropair]

Try Mike at Custom 4x4 fabrication in Oklahoma. He altered his standard bumper to fit the 8270 for me. Sorry, can't find any pics right now. I think he kept the plans.....

 

[Danno]

I just got back from doing Tellico. One friend had a Warn 8274 and was cussing it because it would winch TOO fast. In the group was a warn 8000i and a 9000i (Mine). In reality they all worked well. you get in spots where you have to have a good quality winch.
Last time I was in Tellico with we all got caught on the trail (back from Slickrock) behind a Chevy that had broken a knuckle. We waited patiently for several hours while they tried to fix it. (It was blocking the trail). Finally we used my winch through a pulley blocked to a tree to winch the FS pickup off to the side of the trail and outa of the way. Later on down trail we had to winch a FS Dodge PU back on the road and then the trailer he was towing. This was also done using the pulley tied to a tree technique. Also Woody was hooked up to my rear bumper. I think my XJ has a wheelbase about 6" longer than factory!
The moral to the story is to buy a good quality winch and learn a few techniques to using it. Multiple uses of a winch will expose the quality (or not) of a winch. The cheap ones can't handle repeated use. Heat will ALWAYS kill electronics.

 

[CJHVN]

i guess you've never run into situations where speed is somethign you need. some obsticals require a quick recovery after being stuck. speed is always good in my oppinion.



the reason behind buying quality is to try to eliminate the times when you will need someone else to do your work because of a failure. do not go into the decision of buying a winch with the mentality there are reasons why some manufactures have a good rep and some do not.

if your on trails that you have frequent chances of getting stuck buy a winch and save your money for a good quality unit. if your gonna be on dirt roads and splash thru the ocasional puddle and get stuck once in a great while invest your money else where and get a come-along for those rare stuck occasions. just like many other aspects of building a rig there are many places quality is somethign you don't want to skimp on.

You really shouldn't assume something about someone you know nothing about.

OK, I guess I'll have to simplify my response....

If you are into hardcore wheeling, competition offroading, or just really like pushing the limits and you have the cash, get the best winch money can buy. You'll need it.

If you're a web wheeler looking for a cool winch to add you your list of rig modifications that include offroad lights, stereo equipment, and chrome bling and your most hardcore offroading experience is accidentally hitting the shoulder on the highway and kicking up a few rocks, buy an "el cheapo" and call it a day. You don't need a big/fast winch to get over the speed bumps at the mall.

Use your own judgment. Don't drop $1200 on a Warn 8274-50 if you'll be cruising the mall. And don't buy a "Earl's Winch Co." winch if you know you are putting yourself in situations where you'll need it.

There are a lot of different winch companies out there. Warn, MileMarker, Superwinch, Ramsey, Chicago Electric, etc. Do some research. Find out which one best fits your needs and your budget.

This debate could go on forever.......I'm off my soapbox and done with this one.

 

[ttu.or]

im not tryong to say they are good but last time i checked the military is using hydro mile marker winches. they cant be that bad or uncle sam wouldnt comission them.

 

[cal]

im not tryong to say they are good but last time i checked the military is using hydro mile marker winches. they cant be that bad or uncle sam wouldnt comission them.

Two words

"Cheapest Bidder"

-Cal

 

[white99XJ]

I've noticed mos people swear by the Warn winches and I agree they are extremely reliable from using them on two of my buddies rigs. Just curious why no one has mentioned Superwinch. Are they worth considering?

 

[cal]

I've noticed mos people swear by the Warn winches and I agree they are extremely reliable from using them on two of my buddies rigs. Just curious why no one has mentioned Superwinch. Are they worth considering?

Superwinch.. don't they make aftermarket selectable hubs for d44's?

 

[CJHVN]

Superwinch.. don't they make aftermarket selectable hubs for d44's?

Yep, so does Warn and Mile Marker.

As far as MileMarker and their military contract, cal is correct. When a military contract is released for bid, there are VERY stringent specifications that have to be met to be awarded the contract. That's not to say that MM is the best or that Warn couldn't meet those specs. It just means that MM met the specs and had the lowest bid on their winches at the time of the bid. When the contract expires, they will send the bid out again and everyone will get a shot at it.

I can tell you that the military gets the MM winches much cheaper than you and I could get them. GSA pricing is much lower than suggested retail and it's fixed so they can't increase the price after the contract is awarded.

With a heavy duty steering pump, MM hydraulic winches are pretty nice. They don't drain your power source and they tend to run cooler than electric.

 

[919Chief]

Yep, so does Warn and Mile Marker.

As far as MileMarker and their military contract, cal is correct. When a military contract is released for bid, there are VERY stringent specifications that have to be met to be awarded the contract. That's not to say that MM is the best or that Warn couldn't meet those specs. It just means that MM met the specs and had the lowest bid on their winches at the time of the bid. When the contract expires, they will send the bid out again and everyone will get a shot at it.

I can tell you that the military gets the MM winches much cheaper than you and I could get them. GSA pricing is much lower than suggested retail and it's fixed so they can't increase the price after the contract is awarded.

With a heavy duty steering pump, MM hydraulic winches are pretty nice. They don't drain your power source and they tend to run cooler than electric.

Actually, they are paying more than you can buy them on the street for. I am a maintenance tech deployed in Afghanistan and have added a few to vehicles that did not have them. For the winch, mount, and lines the cost is close to $3000.

I think the real reason for the choice has more to do with the fact that HMMWV's have had for the longest time crappy electrical systems, and the Army insists on still buying crappy 6TL batteries that can't handle that strain very much.

The Army started with electric, Warn to be exact, and then went to hydraulic. I seriousy doubt they will ever switch back just due to the expense of switching so many vehicles.

 

[CJHVN]

I worked as a contract department advisor in the military for years and now I work for a government contractor. I was not directly involved in transportation contracts, but I do know quite a bit about military contracts.

I don't know that I would agree with your pricing information. Although, there may be many factors that I am not aware of that would cause the price to go that high. So I'm not saying you're wrong.

I do agree with your HMMV info and the reasoning for hydraulic winches. But you can't say they'll never go back based on the size of the fleet and the cost to retrofit them all. You sound like you have military experience and it's well known that "Military Intelligence" is an oxy-moron! Plus, they started with Warn electric and went to MM hydraulic. What would stop them from going back?

On a side note, one of our favorite jokes on new recruits was to send them out to get all the keys from the HMMV's at the end of the day......

 

[CJHVN]

I just realized how far off track we've gotten...

The poor soul that asked the question about "wenches" hasn't been involved in this thread since he asked the question! I hope we didn't scare him away!

Back to the original question, do some research on different brands and you'll figure it out. It's not rocket sceince.

 

[919Chief]

I worked as a contract department advisor in the military for years and now I work for a government contractor. I was not directly involved in transportation contracts, but I do know quite a bit about military contracts.

I don't know that I would agree with your pricing information. Although, there may be many factors that I am not aware of that would cause the price to go that high. So I'm not saying you're wrong.

I do agree with your HMMV info and the reasoning for hydraulic winches. But you can't say they'll never go back based on the size of the fleet and the cost to retrofit them all. You sound like you have military experience and it's well known that "Military Intelligence" is an oxy-moron! Plus, they started with Warn electric and went to MM hydraulic. What would stop them from going back?

On a side note, one of our favorite jokes on new recruits was to send them out to get all the keys from the HMMV's at the end of the day......

Yeah, we do that still, plus the old barrel of steam for the steam cleaner... and we had new guys taking exhaust samples to send in with the oil samples not long ago......................


2590-01-456-7879 is the NSN for the winch kit, and FED-LOG shows the current price at $3117.00. Working for a contractor you can get a copy of FED-LOG and verify that I am sure. That's up since the last ones I ordered.

I doubt they will swap back now just due to the much larger number of winches out there, all the M1114's have rear mount winches standard where the standard HMMWV's rarely had them unless they were added by the unit (I think the M998 with the winch was the M1031, but most units that had M1031's authorized had M998's without winches as substitutes).


Another reason is that hydraulic winches are more soldier-proof. With an electric it is easy to burn out the winch motor or kill the batteries, a hydrualic is harder to screw things up with.

 

[CJHVN]

Being in the Air Force, you wouldn't believe how many "new guys" we can get to go to Supply to pick up a "spool of flight line"....

Or checkered paint....

Or conduit stretchers.....

Or left handed wrenches....

WOW! Talk about off topic!