Is a winch really necessary?

[misterturbo]

My question is, if you have a winch, did you also buy the armor needed as to not destroy your vehicle pulling it out of a bad place?

This might be one of those can of worms type questions... but... what does the general populous feel are the 'must have' skid plates to add or upgrade?

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[PlayfulBird]

This might be one of those can of worms type questions... but... what does the general populous feel are the 'must have' skid plates to add or upgrade?

That is interesting for sure.

I just notice that the crossbars especially on the ends keep getting bashed hard on most peoples JT I have seen. My choice is something that when bottomed out lets me slide rather than the sharp corner ends that will snag/bend.

 

[WILDHOBO]

This might be one of those can of worms type questions... but... what does the general populous feel are the 'must have' skid plates to add or upgrade?

I love this question. My quick answer is it really depends on the types of trails. As I think this will take be a good side discussion, I started a thread in your honor.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...ds-are-necessary-“can-of-worms”-thread.63454/

 

[ChrisNLA]

My 2016 JK had a winch on it. I used it three times while wheeling in 6 years in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Utah. I used it a couple times to pull cars onto a trailer, and once to pull the neighbors fence out of a bush patch.

I'd like to put one on the Gladiator to have when needed.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

Is a condom really necessary? Nope... but when you catch the clap or you end up with some chicken-necking-hood-rat baby mama... you're damn sure going to wish you had worn one! HAHAHA!

Better safe than sorry man... and it's nice being able to help another human when they need it.

Gives new meaning to the term “snatch block”

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

The first response might be the best:



A couple other good ones:




To many people, the term overloading is synonymous with being self-sufficient off road. Looking at it like that, yes, a winch is a must to be self-sufficient. You can recover your vehicle using other items like a shovel and traction boards, a winch will make it so much easier (yes, we have had to use traction boards, shovels, picks, rocks, logs AND a winch all in one go on recoveries before).

But it doesn't need to be your first mod.

The top five mods we usually see are lift, bigger tires, sliders, bumpers, winch. Not necessarily in that order.

For winches, you find different people favor different winches and all for various reasons.

If the budget is a limiting factor, then people often go with the cheaper overseas winches. One of our more popular budget winches is the Warn EVO VR 10-S. They are Warn's value series, they are built overseas to Warn's specs and they have a good reputation:
https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/jeep-truck-suv-winches/103253-warn-vr-evo10s-winch-rope

At the higher end of the budget scale is the Warn Zeon 10-S. These are built right here in the USA and have proven to be a very tough winch:
https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/jeep-truck-suv-winches/89611-warn-zeon-10-s-winch

For more information between those two winches:





There are other more budget minded winches out there like the Smittybilt X20 winch, though they are not a lot cheaper than the Warn VR series winch:
https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/...lt-x2o-10k-winch-waterproof-gen2-and-fairlead

Thanks for weighing in on this guys. I’ll second that the Evo is a good winch. I’d only add that folks should note that it uses wiring whereas the Zeon uses buss bars. On some bumpers that mount the winch deep between the frame rails, like the AEV, there’s a lot of interference between those wires and the Jeeps grill. It will fit, but it’s tight. I’d maybe consider a Zeon next time. Also the wireless feature is great, but I’d add a winch disconnect to prevent inadvertent activation of the winch.

Also, Tim’s ARB slider install is excellent and a real lifesaver! Its the missing instructions ARB should have included. Keep up the great videos!


I just bought your last set of 3” Diesel AEV springs last night. Great vender!

 

[Northridge4x4]

Thanks for weighing in on this guys. I’ll second that the Evo is a good winch. I’d only add that folks should note that it uses wiring whereas the Zeon uses buss bars. On some bumpers that mount the winch deep between the frame rails, like the AEV, there’s a lot of interference between those wires and the Jeeps grill. It will fit, but it’s tight. I’d maybe consider a Zeon next time. Also the wireless feature is great, but I’d add a winch disconnect to prevent inadvertent activation of the winch.

Also, Tim’s ARB slider install is excellent and a real lifesaver! Its the missing instructions ARB should have included. Keep up the great videos!


I just bought your last set of 3” Diesel AEV springs last night. Great vender!

Yes, the EVO can be tight due to the wires on the back, but the Zeon can be real tight due to the overall larger frame size. A Zeon in the AEV front bumper is a tight squeeze.

Thanks for the props on the videos, the vid crew are continuing to put them out.

Thanks for the business, we love it when we can get people the parts they want for their 4x4s!

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

Yes, the EVO can be tight due to the wires on the back, but the Zeon can be real tight due to the overall larger frame size. A Zeon in the AEV front bumper is a tight squeeze.

Thanks for the props on the videos, the vid crew are continuing to put them out.

Thanks for the business, we love it when we can get people the parts they want for their 4x4s!

That’s good to know. AEVs not great instructions for the RX bumper call out the Zeon as approved and put in a boilerplate statement about not being tested with other winches. I assumed the tightness of the Evo confirmed their statement. It sounds like the Zeon can also be difficult. I’m not surprised. I like AEV but the RX bumper was a nightmare to install and required some “cold forging” and “driveway machining” on my part to get the skid and outer shell to fit properly. It definitely not bolt on. It’s more like assemble in place.

 

[CoachA]

If you off road. A winch is like insurance. You hope you never have to use it. But if you do. You are happy that you have one.

As Christian Slater’s character, Clarence Worley, in “True Romance” said, “Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.” He was referring to a hand gun he decided to carry into a business meeting that turned into a massive shootout. You get the idea.

 

[Northridge4x4]

That’s good to know. AEVs not great instructions for the RX bumper call out the Zeon as approved and put in a boilerplate statement about not being tested with other winches. I assumed the tightness of the Evo confirmed their statement. It sounds like the Zeon can also be difficult. I’m not surprised. I like AEV but the RX bumper was a nightmare to install and required some “cold forging” and “driveway machining” on my part to get the skid and outer shell to fit properly. It definitely not bolt on. It’s more like assemble in place.

When we did our AEV EX bumper install on the Hella Yella Giveaway Wrangler, we started with a Warn Zeon and it was super tight, so we went with the VR EVO10-S. It was tight against the grille, but had more room up at the front.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

When we did our AEV EX bumper install on the Hella Yella Giveaway Wrangler, we started with a Warn Zeon and it was super tight, so we went with the VR EVO10-S. It was tight against the grille, but had more room up at the front.

Another great video. The RX seems to go together a bit differently than the EX. Brackets hold the hoop in place, separate from the main piece of sheet metal, so they had to fit together which they did okay. It looks like the EX is more integrated. My winch plate is slightly angled which necessitates someone holding the winch in place while you start the bolts. I had to guess on how much lighting loom needed to be run for the AEV lights, since you can move it ones its all together. It’s hard to tell from the video if it’s the same on the EX.

The biggest issue I had was that holes in last outer piece of sheet metal simply don’t line up anywhere near the holes in the inner piece and the stubby end caps had the same problem. I could use a podger spike to align most of them, but the one hole that bolts the sheet metal to the winch plate was inches off. It was just in the wrong place.

The tow hooks on mine have to be loosened, both the long bolts going into the side of the front of the frame and the button head bolts in the front and bottom, in order to get the skid plate on and off. That totally sucks. If I need to get to the sway bar disconnect, light bar or radiator while in the field. I ended up modifying the skid so I only have to loosen the bottom tow hook plate bolts and the skid plate bolts and bang it a little with a rubber mallet.

All in all, I was able to work around the issues, I provided some feedback to AEV on the problems and some poor step ordering in the instructions. The bumper has been noise and trouble free and it’s stout. Some of the issues are simply from the fact that it’s a very integrated design with hidden lines for the lights. I also don’t seem to experience any airflow issues. I installed my bumper right before your video came out. It would have been a help if not simply to see someone else to through the process and confirm things like the winch clearance issues, etc.

 

[Northridge4x4]

Another great video. The RX seems to go together a bit differently than the EX. Brackets hold the hoop in place, separate from the main piece of sheet metal, so they had to fit together which they did okay. It looks like the EX is more integrated. My winch plate is slightly angled which necessitates someone holding the winch in place while you start the bolts. I had to guess on how much lighting loom needed to be run for the AEV lights, since you can move it ones its all together. It’s hard to tell from the video if it’s the same on the EX.

The biggest issue I had was that holes in last outer piece of sheet metal simply don’t line up anywhere near the holes in the inner piece and the stubby end caps had the same problem. I could use a podger spike to align most of them, but the one hole that bolts the sheet metal to the winch plate was inches off. It was just in the wrong place.

The tow hooks on mine have to be loosened, both the long bolts going into the side of the front of the frame and the button head bolts in the front and bottom, in order to get the skid plate on and off. That totally sucks. If I need to get to the sway bar disconnect, light bar or radiator while in the field. I ended up modifying the skid so I only have to loosen the bottom tow hook plate bolts and the skid plate bolts and bang it a little with a rubber mallet.

All in all, I was able to work around the issues, I provided some feedback to AEV on the problems and some poor step ordering in the instructions. The bumper has been noise and trouble free and it’s stout. Some of the issues are simply from the fact that it’s a very integrated design with hidden lines for the lights. I also don’t seem to experience any airflow issues. I installed my bumper right before your video came out. It would have been a help if not simply to see someone else to through the process and confirm things like the winch clearance issues, etc.

Nice write-up of the probs you had, maybe it'll help someone else trying to install one.

 

[Blade1668]

I'll chime in before reading the next 5 pages.
I've got a winch on or for all my Jeeps. 3 that are receiver hitch mounts. My XJ has been used quite a few times for self recovery and just in case besides pulling others out. Now the LJ and JT have bumper mounted, neither one has been used to pull them out yet. But I have pulled quite a few out with my LJ.
I just bought a new 4wheeler about a week ago, first thing I added a winch (thankfully) I did. I decided to go do trail clean up since I'm breaking it in. Well I "broke it in" rolling it down a steep hill and only the winch got me out of that mess in middle of a 16 mile trail. So if you "roll solo" (pun intended) it could be life or death or saving vehicle decisions. I'll add that you need to have winch line extension, shackles and snatch block(s)... Oh the line was short by 4-6 ft. lucky I put in tree saver, shackles. So rig, pull re-rig, pull, ect, ect. I limped it off the trail then home. I was on local ATV, hiking, bike and horse trail just picking up trash left on the trail nothing hard-core.

 

[Gl4dy8r]

Having a winch is an integral part of my recovery gear. I'm out in remote AZ and UT often, and I have a satellite phone. However, do I want to wait for hours for help? Not if I don't have to. Part of being an outdoorsman is being self sufficient whenever possible. Give yourself the tools to succeed.

 

[Gvsukids]

Part of being an outdoorsman is being self sufficient whenever possible. Give yourself the tools to succeed.

Especially when at the mall.

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