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Lightweight Winch & Recovery Gear Setup

DoAWheelie

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Hey all! So brought home my new '21 Mojave and absolutely love it. Have been using it to explore CO trails and head out to camp sites. When I do hit trails, I generally don't go for obstacles that are hard for the sake of hard, but rather just running somewhat challenging trails that are the path to a cool camping spot. I have no desire to destroy my ride if I can avoid it :). WIth that in mind, I need get my recovery gear in order because it just seems smart.

I don't want to hang too much weight off the front and impact the characteristics of the suspension so I'm looking to find a compromise that gets me the ability to recover my vehicle in the case of a mild dig in, but not add all the weight. I threw a few options below and would love to hear thoughts/ideas. As a note, I always carry a Garmin Inreach for emergencies and don't often go alone, but would like to be prepared.

Recovery traction boards PLUS:

1. Superwinch winch2go - Cheapest, most flexible option. 40lbs for 4000lb pull. Can add snatch blocks to multiply at 8000lb with the one included (or more). Doesn't have to live on the truck.
2. Rugged Ridge Arcus with 54lb Warn 9.0RC - Full tilt option at ~$2300, but REALLY cool. Seems like it would add ~100lb net to the front end, lightest config I can find.
3. Get over the weight and put on a steel bumper & more cost effective winch because it doesn't make that much difference...

If the answer is #3, what do you guys suggest in terms of a light weight winch that might be a bit more cost effective than the Warn 9.0RC golden brick?

Thanks!
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eaglerugby04

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I ended up with the RR Arcus for similar reasons. Didn't want to kill my payload but still wanted something to hold a winch. Also wanted something afordable that the winch would sit inside. Pretty much the only thing I found.

I ended up going with a smittybuilt 12k, not sure on what it weighs, but didn't seem to bad since it was synthetic.

This setup was under 1k.


Another option for you is to do a front hitch receiver and quick connect wiring and just place the winch on when you need it.
 

MoparToYou

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I can vouch for the Arcus front bumper. It is lightweight, but comes with an excellent winch mount and recovery hooks.

A warn M8000s winch is 74 lbs, and cost a whole lot less than that Warn 9.0RC. How much is 20 lbs worth to you? I use a Warn Evo 12k that weighs 84 lbs. I did notice the difference in weight on the front end after I installed the bumper and winch, and the suspension is not as good as it was without the bumper and winch. But, ... the suspension is still really good, and after a few drives I didn't notice a difference any more.
 
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DoAWheelie

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Thanks for the replies! This isn’t going to become an overlanding rig for me so I just want to maintain handling where I can.

What are thoughts on the combo of recovery boards and a winch2go?
 

jtimbrook

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I’m switching my set up from an EAG skeleton mid-width bumper with a 10k rugged ridge trekker (approx. wt. 95 lbs.) to the Rugged Ridge HD stubby bumper with same winch (approx. wt. 101lbs.) both options fit into my budget and don’t compromise on my ability for self recovery.
Using an ATV winch seems like a recipe for disaster all to try and save 6-ish lbs and provide a false sense of safety. 8,000lbs isn’t enough (rule of thumb double the vehicle weight for minimum size winch) if you get decently stuck especially in Colorado and a recovery board isn’t going to be enough to help. Example A, you attempt a ledge and get high centered, the recovery boards are not going to do anything to help and now the winch has to deal with the weight of your vehicle overcoming the obstacle. 8k will not be enough so you’ll need to triple the line reducing pull length from its 50ft single line to an effective 16-17ft. If the closest anchor point is 25ft away then you’ve got a bit of wait coming. The Jeep can most certainly deal with the weight so don’t put yourself into a position where you need your recovery equipment to do it’s job in a less than optimal environment.
There are countless options available but most widely popular options will put you into the 100-130lb range so pick what you think looks cool, in your budget, and most importantly what you feel safest with.
 

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DanW

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I like your thinking on this, OP.

I've got a Smitty XRC9500 and with synthetic rope it weighs only 46lbs. I stuck with the factory steel bumper and used a JCR winch plate. All in all, it kept the weight down. On top of that, pretty much everything I've done has been in the interest of light weight, with the exception of a rear ARB diff cover, and FAD skid plate. I have a Rancho slider diff protector on the front and it is a little lighter than most armored diff covers. I did it mainly to protect the drain plug. I went with the ARB on the rear because the rear Rancho diff slider won't allow for draining the rear diff without removal. Otherwise I'd have done it there, too. I also kept the stock rims and put C rated 315/70/17 BFG All Terrains on it, which weigh only about 65lbs. That also meant I didn't have to renforce the tailgate (Wrangler, not JT), saving some weight there, too.

Light weight is important. It takes less traction or tractive force to get moving. It makes the engine work less hard, helping to retain power to weight ratio and fuel economy. It also results in fewer broken suspension and drive train parts. People don't realize these are light duty vehicles and piling thousands of pounds onto them really isn't a good idea. (The Gladiator, however, handles the weight better than the Wrangler.)

I always chuckle when I see someone lay 1500lbs worth of mods on these things and then complain about the lack of power.
 
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DoAWheelie

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@DanW Yes! That is exactly what I’m after! Everything is trade offs and weight is usually an enemy.

The Smitty XRC9500 is only 46lb?!? Well that may be the ticket I’m looking for and the price point seems reasonable. I haven’t seen this low of a number posted before though. Did you weigh it on install?

i do agree on the ATV winch being underpowered. The thought there was to be able to throw it in the bed, keep the lightweight front plastic bumper, and handle the vast majority of mild stuck situations. Although I don’t plan on mud bogging or having to yank it up a rock face, I don’t want to be stranded and Colorado is fairly unforgiving terrain-wise :)

The stubby Venator bumper is a little more appealing aesthetics wise but I’m going to call Rugged Ridge tomorrow for some weight numbers on each. I’ll post here once I have info.

Any other lightweight winch models out there anyone would suggest?

Thanks!
 

4S50

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I went with the Warn M8-S in the factory bumper to keep the weight down. I did not weigh the winch, but the book says 55 lbs.
 

DanW

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I went with the Warn M8-S in the factory bumper to keep the weight down. I did not weigh the winch, but the book says 55 lbs.
55lbs is excellent. Most weigh more than that, plus, you got a Warn!
 

DanW

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@DanW Yes! That is exactly what I’m after! Everything is trade offs and weight is usually an enemy.

The Smitty XRC9500 is only 46lb?!? Well that may be the ticket I’m looking for and the price point seems reasonable. I haven’t seen this low of a number posted before though. Did you weigh it on install?

i do agree on the ATV winch being underpowered. The thought there was to be able to throw it in the bed, keep the lightweight front plastic bumper, and handle the vast majority of mild stuck situations. Although I don’t plan on mud bogging or having to yank it up a rock face, I don’t want to be stranded and Colorado is fairly unforgiving terrain-wise :)

The stubby Venator bumper is a little more appealing aesthetics wise but I’m going to call Rugged Ridge tomorrow for some weight numbers on each. I’ll post here once I have info.

Any other lightweight winch models out there anyone would suggest?

Thanks!
The shipping weight was like 48lbs, so I subtracted 2 for the packing. Mine is the previous gen. I think the Gen 3 weighs more but has better features. I think I read that it is in the 55 pound range. So unless you find a gen 1, mid 50's is about as good as you'll find. So your setup with 40lbs is great. I also think I've rarely needed more than a few thousand pounds of pull, anyway.

Warn makes a rock crawling competition winch that I think is around 40 to 50lbs, and it is painted a cool looking red, but it is crazy expensive. It has a very short rope and narrow drum, but that wouldn't have bothered me if the price was a good deal less.

My brother just put an 88lb Badlands 12,500 rated winch on a heavy Bestop bumper on his Gladiator. That setup is HEAVY. But he likes it, so that's what matters. The whole time I helped him install it I was smiling that the weight wasn't going on my Jeep! Lol!
 

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DoAWheelie

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Ok so...

Best number I have for the factory plastic bumper is 38 lbs (maybe someone who has swapped can verify this?)

The Arcus is 71 lbs, the overrider bar is 12 lbs, and Warn M8S is 55 lbs. This would leave a net weight gain of 100lb on the front bumper. If you ditch the overrider bar you net 88 lb gain.

Weight figure for the Rubicon steel bumper in the stubby configuration looks to be about 70 lb (best guess from Amazon) but needs the winch plate add-on. The Warn winch mount plates are about 37 lb so total package for Mopar steel with M8S would be 162 lb for a net gain of 124.

Truthfully, I prefer the Mopar bumpers over any others which I consider to be a compromise aesthetically to get a winch in there. Rugged Ridge also seems to have a spotty quality history which I'm not keen on...

If you could add a winch plate to the plastic bumper it would presumably hit the same number as the Arcus while maintaining factory looks. Has anyone tried this?
 

jtimbrook

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Are you wanting the winch sitting on top or in the bumper? if you really want to just keep the plastic bumper you’re going to want to add the Rockhard 4x4 winch mounting plate Quadratec winch plate (specs show it weighs 40lbs).
 

jurfie

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Genright makes aluminum bumpers that can hold a winch low. Personally I like the Ultra Clearance, but the Stubby requires less cutting and mods and only weighs 20lbs. You can also get either with a hoop if you want.
 
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DoAWheelie

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An aluminum bumper sounds like a great compromise since I don't intend to use the bumpers as sliders. The GenRight stuff looks nice and I like that it's made in the USA. I think my main problem is that I just want all the things :)
 

jurfie

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An aluminum bumper sounds like a great compromise since I don't intend to use the bumpers as sliders. The GenRight stuff looks nice and I like that it's made in the USA. I think my main problem is that I just want all the things :)
Genright aluminum bumpers (and many others) are stout and will take a beating. Most people don't need a steel bumper; given the type of wheeling you described you would be doing, aluminum would be more than suitable. The weight savings alone are worth it, IMHO.
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