Rubicon/Gladiator Winch?

[jefflaur1]

What winch do you suggest that will bolt up to the Runicon Gladiator front bumper? It has a plate that has to be removed but what would be a good choice to use for my new 2020 Runi?

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[DeezJT]

Can’t go wrong with Warn. The new VR series looks pretty and budget friendly too. The smittybilt and Harbor Freight are also well liked.

 

[Hank_]

What type of wheeling do you do. How often will you be using it. I g
Had great luck with my Smittybilt X20. I used it several times per year and never a problem. I am looking at the Warn evo 12000 lb synthetic for mine now. If I lived out west and used it all the time I would look at one of the more expensive Warn winches.

 

[GoVR46]

I have a Warn Zeon 12S for the front Rubicon steel bumper, was about to buy the Badlands Apex 12k winch for a rear receiver setup but can't make up my mind if I want the extra weight.

 

[Mark Doiron]

I opted for a Warn Zeon 10-S. A 10,000 pound winch is sufficient for the Gladiator (5,000 pounds curb weight doubled to 10,000 pounds is the common rule of thumb). The advantage with the 12,000 pound is, you can pull yourself out along with a trailer. If that's not your use case, then disadvantages of an oversized winch are slower pull rate and shorter winchline. The extra twenty feet of a typical 10,000 pound winch may not seem like much, but you can use up line quickly if you need to toss a snatch block into the rigging. And adding an extension in that event can get tricky since the joint won't pass through the snatch block.

Your other consideration is the winch mounting plate. I bought mine from Rock Hard. There are many other options for the OEM steel bumper.

Here's what my Jeep looks like with the factory bumper, Warn EVO 10S winch and (hidden) Rock Hard winch mounting plate ...

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