Let's Talk Winches

[PyrPatriot]

Ha! I did a 600' pull last fall. I stuck a Kubota RTV 900 with tracks in a bog. The closest I could get my jeep was 600'. I used google earth to plot the closest straight pull, I bought 4 - 100' foot synthetic cables ( rated at 20,000lbs off e-bay and used several tow straps. The line of pull was through a section of red willows and I chain sawed a path through them, Using two 4"x4"x10' posts and two sheets of 3/4" plywood , a floor jack and lots of odds and ends of 2 x whats. % hours later I had recovered the Kubota.

What winch? How does that work? You would pull in 100ft, attach the kubota to a stake or tree, remove one of the 100ft extensions, rinse and repeat? Is that what the 4"x4"x10' posts were for or were they used in conjunction with the jack and plywood to make a ramp for the kubota out of the bog? It sounds like a recovery that needed a lot of thought and effort, so I want to know more details.

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[aldo98229]

In the 12 years that I’ve been Jeeping, prices for Warn winches have gone through the roof. Meanwhile the competition has gotten much better.

Decades ago Warn was the only viable option. That’s not the case any more. Nowadays the competition offers more features and good quality for a lot less money.

Made in USA doesn’t hold much water, either. Warn’s most popular winches are now made in China.

I will be shopping for a new winch in spring. It will be the first time I don’t consider a Warn.

 

[kim_hates_olives]

Just had the Smittybilt 9.5 Gen 3 installed its really an improvement over the 2nd Gen but to be honest I wish I bought the Badlands 12k winch at Harbor Tool and Freight during Christmas. I have 5 friends who have it and they rave about it and have used it a lot.

Can you take a pic of where the pos and neg cables are attached to your battery please? Im trying to install mine and have no idea which pegs to connect it to

 

[Renegade]

Can you take a pic of where the pos and neg cables are attached to your battery please? Im trying to install mine and have no idea which pegs to connect it to

Here’s a photo of the negative. The positive is almost identical.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

With your JT in your profile pic? Water up to your bellybutton sitting is WAY over the fording depth of the JT, so if you were in that rig were there any long term effects on the vehicle from so much water? Water should be close to the hood at that depth, visualizing it in my head.

Never winched underwater, but that's why I like having an electric winch, in case I need to run one under water with engine off. I did do a full 100ft pull, friend's 4Runner was stuck in dense mud (talking your foot sinks into it and takes the boot when you try to walk) to his axles. I had to pull him out with my JT as pictured and Smittybilt 10k winch. Two Warn winches failed during the recovery before I was asked to help (idk why all the Wranglers got asked to try first). One was a fancy platinum model of some sorts, the remote interface broke and we couldn't even get the winch line out (for his Jeep to at least anchor another Jeep) because of no exposed clutch handle. Another was a Warn winch that was pulling and pulling but not making any progress.



So you were out of the water and winched him out?

It took a I did not get up on the bank until towards the very end due to the angle of his rig and I had to pull upstream fighting a helluva current so I had to slowly work my way to the bank.



Better to get a winch you can afford than nothing. If your budget allows for only a cheap $300 steel cable winch, then roll with that. Some folks get a JT/JL and can't afford much more. But they want to go wheeling a bit, nothing serious. And they have been stuck in just a slippery surface, not even mudding. I once drove over some clay mud that made my tires spin, not digging in much, but also not much traction with AT tires. A winch would have gotten me out quicker than an hour of finding bits of wood and brick to put under the tires and inch my way out.



What is a <3 trail?

Trails come in 1 - 5. Few dare go beyond about 3 to 3.5 beyond 3.5 you rig needs to be built to tackle that level and so does your driving ability. In fact as you head towards the 5 level trails you driving ability becomes the deciding factor on you success. <3 = 3 level or less, 3> = 3 level or higher.


See above, if that's all you can get better than nothing. And like you said, just know the limitations. For me learning about overheating the motor and having a faster line speed helped my decision in winch choice.

A winch is better than no winch. For most a cheap winch will work because they are not going to run the hard core trails. That said I have winched a lot of of folks that had a winch on he front of their Jeep. Either the winch failed or was just not up to the task or they were stuck so back in a precarious position that would have led to a roll over roll down.



I have yet to see someone on the trails with a 15k lb winch, but I would like to. I guess it would be needed for one of the bigger trucks.

I have never seen one past 12k, why, just not needed if the 12k don't it then its not coming out..

Let say again winching is a dangerous business, if you are not confidant in your ability winch you may be better off not even going there. Off the top of my head I have seen 3 people die on the trails over the years. Saw a man lose his leg when a steel cable snapped, seen fingers and hands get sucked into the winch drum. Most accidents that happen are due to driver error usually in challenging a trail way above their driving skills where mistakes come at a high price. Usually mistakes are prefixed with "hold my beer'.

 

[PyrPatriot]

I have never seen one past 12k, why, just not needed if the 12k don't it then its not coming out..

Let say again winching is a dangerous business, if you are not confidant in your ability winch you may be better off not even going there. Off the top of my head I have seen 3 people die on the trails over the years. Saw a man lose his leg when a steel cable snapped, seen fingers and hands get sucked into the winch drum. Most accidents that happen are due to driver error usually in challenging a trail way above their driving skills where mistakes come at a high price. Usually mistakes are prefixed with "hold my beer'.

Examples of 3.5-5 level trails? Now Im curious and want to see if any are shown in online videos

 

[Dav6662]

I have always run a Warn winch...in the case of my Gladiator I am running a VR-EVO 10-s

 

[Ole Cowboy]

Examples of 3.5-5 level trails? Now Im curious and want to see if any are shown in online videos

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=moab+hells+revenge

 

[PyrPatriot]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=moab+hells+revenge

Oh, like this

 

[Ole Cowboy]

Oh, like this

Been to Moab maybe 10 or 13 times, I led trails up there and there are always guys showing up with some 4wd rig he is all full of it, often they end up flying back home or spending $2000 +++ to be extracted. Some guys with exotic rigs that they have invested tens of thousands of dollars in will pay for a helicopter extraction, some just leave their rig there and strip what they can. I got a call one time I was up there and was asked if I could go rescue at Jeep in Pritchett Canyon one of the most difficult trails in Moab and it has eaten Jeeps for years. This guy rolled over and fell into a wedge and it was a drop off on one side and a rock wall on the other. I they had tried to get him out and could not do it, but I extracted him with my WARN winch 9.5Ti and then found out it had broke a spring perch on the front axle which left him with 2wd. But I remembered I had 2 Mil Spec Nylon ties that were made for use on the M1 Abrams tank. I cross tied it and with my sotting I took him out of the Canyon. I talked with him later on and he had to replace the entire body of the Jeep.

 

[What's Next?]

Has anyone put the Badlands on the factory steel bumper? Will it fit?

 

[Bitching]

Badlands apex 12k all the way here. Got mine for $400 back in May. Used it a few times and it's worth every dime I paid for it and some.

Nice lines on the bumper. Please share/

 

[Jeeperjamie]

Nice lines on the bumper. Please share/

Rugged Ridge Full width with high clearance ends

 

[Deadpool392]

Has anyone put the Badlands on the factory steel bumper? Will it fit?

Yes it will fit, you still have to get a winch mount for it though. The free spool lever also will not work without modification to the handle or the bumper. I bought the rugged ridge winch mount

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CT8Z11M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You will have to modify the mounting brackets for the steel skid plate though if you want to keep it.

 

[uplandgunner]

What winch? How does that work? You would pull in 100ft, attach the kubota to a stake or tree, remove one of the 100ft extensions, rinse and repeat? Is that what the 4"x4"x10' posts were for or were they used in conjunction with the jack and plywood to make a ramp for the kubota out of the bog? It sounds like a recovery that needed a lot of thought and effort, so I want to know more details.

Yeah pretty much so, pull in 100' and then remove a length of rope and then pull the winch rope back out and rehook. The timbers and plywood were for keeping the Kubota above the bog as we winched it in. The bog was fairly froze before I got it stuck as I took the Kubota back and forth a few times before breaking through as the temps went up. By the time I got all the cable I needed to do the pull the ground was quite soft. The first 150 feet was slow going till we got it to firmer ground and could discard using the wood.

In the end we needed the winch for over 500' before I could run the Kubota out under its own power. Oh yeah the Kubota was stuck in reverse as the shifter linkage jumped out of the shifting fork so i drove it backwards the final half mile back to the barn/ shop.

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