Should I get a winch? Please school me on them.

[Blue Ridge]

I just ordered Metalcloak bumpers, and I'm torn between getting a piece of sheet metal fabricated and powder coated to cover where the winch would go, or just buying a winch. I don't plan on any severe wheeling until this truck has been beat up by life a little. But the prepper side of me thinks it would be a reasonable purchase and one of those things you'll be really glad you had even if just once in a blue moon.

A little about me/my driving. I live very close to work, and take occasional road trips. Live in the NC mountains, and do get some snow and ice. I deer hunt in the winter and turkey hunt in the spring; both of which mean driving out in the sticks. Usually hunt with a buddy, but only one (my) vehicle. Unless I pick up the wheeling bug, I don't see a winch getting used often, but want it to work if I need it.

We had nearly a foot of snow this winter and this Gladiator climbed right through it. I easily pulled a Honda out of it using my rear tow hook and a strap. The more I write this out, the less I think it's something I need but if I get one, I'm trying to make the right purchase. Buy once/cry once and all. Is there a drastic difference between 8,000, 10,000, and 12,000 pound pulls? Is synthetic line worth the cost increase? How much mileage loss should I expect? Will the front droop noticeably? Any brands to be looking at besides Warn Evo that are in the $6-700 range? Do fairleads and hooks typically come with them? I ordered my bumper without fairleads added, thinking they should, but could probably change this seeing as it will be several weeks before it ships. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

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[Jefe1018]

For about $650 regular price a Badlands Apex 12,000lb winch will be a great investment if you ever need it.

 

[CerOf]

A winch is cheap insurance.

 

[The Crusader]

I plan to build a home on acreage later this year. I'll use the winch to pull cables through conduit and clear brush. One of my favorite times with my last Jeep was pulling people out of ditches after an ice storm. I'm sure there will be other uses besides wheelin'.

 

[kevman65]

The thing about winches, you don't need one until you NEED one.

If you know that you're not going to wheel in areas that may require a winch to get you out of trouble, then you don't need a winch.

Synthetic versus steel. The two biggest advantages of synthetic are weight savings and safety. Steel weighs considerably more, if a steel cable breaks during a pull there will be damage and possibly injury.

 

[chaosjake]

A lot of my wheeling (and even just back road country driving) is solo, so a winch is on my short list of upgrades. Buddy of mine was heading home in his JK Wrangler one night, when his son was about 6 or 7. Took the shortcut down an unmaintained dirt road, and got a little too cute with a mudhole. After they'd been stuck for several hours and no other vehicles went by, his son asked, "Daddy, are we going to have to spend the night here," and that was the moment he knew he was going to order a winch as soon as they got home. Ended up getting out eventually with some digging, airing down, and a whole lot of prayer, but that experience convinced me.

 

[staying_tuned]

Great insurance. I've never needed more than 10k. 2 recoveries on my $600 black friday SuperWinch XS10SR and it appears to be a great winch. Synthetic line, LED spool light, wireless and wired remotes included, etc.

On some of your specific points:

- Weight isn't as much of a factor considering you can double your pull strength with a snatch block. Whatever size you end up with, grab a snatch block and know how to use it. Very easy.

- Many, including myself, opt for synthetic because it doesn't stretch like cable. If the line breaks it's far less likely that gear will go flying. It's easier to unwind & spool which is great when performing load maintenance on the unit and nowadays the price different far less making it a great option. The downside with synthetic is it can be cut fairly easily and it picks up debris easier than I like but thats really nit picking.

- Fairleads and hooks come with them but most are sub-par from a quality standpoint. I used to run an ultrahook by Factor55 but now use a ProLink (also by Factor55). The prolink is fantastic because I can just attach a d-ring on it with a short 40k lb. tree saver with a d-ring on the other end of it. I can take a few pics so you can see what I keep with me at all times.

- They weigh around 80lbs. If you already have a winch ready bumper, I don't think adding just the winch would impact droop much but if you're going both at the same time you'll likely drop 3/4".

When recovering vehicles like you describe you have far more control over the situation and outcome with a winch vs. tugging via tow hook. With your wireless remote, you can stand their and examine nearly every variable at play while things are happening. After using a winch, I feel blind and primitive yanking on anything with a fixed mounted tow hook. Lastly, I use my winch for so many things. It makes pulling bushes and small trees a trivial task. Last summer we moved our shed, I just slid some PVC tubes under the entire shed (fully loaded) and the winch drug it 50 feet no problem at all. We just had to keep feeding it pipe to roll on. Point being its great to have that kind of tugging power and be able to control it with a wireless remote.

 

[fourfa]

Real talk: once you have one, be ready to use it 5X more to rescue other people than for rescuing yourself And be aware there's a bag of accessory kit and training that needs to go with the winch. Since you mention snowy/icy roads, you'll need the ability to anchor your own tail to a tree, or icy recoveries of other people can just pull you down in the ditch with the stuck truck. Been there.

Use it one time to get yourself unstuck though, and it will easily be the best money you ever spent. I had the all same questions as you (~15-20 self rescues ago)

 

[mx5red]

 

[GRDIESEL]

Check out XBull for some competitive options. https://www.xbullauto.com/

 

[Rusty PW]

I have a 15,000 lb winch on my Power Wagon. I've used to get myself unstuck. Pulled other vehicles out. Pulled shrubs out. Pulled trees down. Pulled a big ass gun safe up a flight of basement steps. Hoisted the deer I shot up a tree. When I get my JTRD. I'm planning on getting a Warn Zeon 12S.

 

[XJFanatic]

A winch is cheap insurance, I don’t wheel hard like I used to. Never had a winch than. Today I am older and have a family so I would rather have a means to self extract if needed. The winch will still be my last choice. I would rather some one pull me out with a strap or kinetic rope.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

For about $650 regular price a Badlands Apex 12,000lb winch will be a great investment if you ever need it.

I got my Apex 1200 on sale for about 500 when tax and all was figured in. I don't regret spending that money.
I've used mine twice - once to help a neighbor move a big stationary generator into place off a trailer and another time to pull a guy out of a snowy ditch after a snow/ice storm.
If that's all I use it for it's well worth it as the look on that guys face when I got the car out, his amazement that anyone even stopped - it was worth every penny spent on mine to me.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

A winch is the Jeep's Minime so, yes.

And spend money on the winch accessories like you do your Jeep; 3 or 4 snatch blocks and tree huggers, as many extension straps, plus shackles, soft and clevis!
Plus a snatch rope to accompany the winch.

I would rather some one pull me out with a strap or kinetic rope.

Someone and or myself, will have to be barely stuck to get yanked out. I know the bungee technology doesn't make it the shock it used to be but I'm scarred by the carnage I've witnessed in the past, lol.

 

[vrael]

Check out XBull for some competitive options. https://www.xbullauto.com/

Looking for a budget, but decent winch.

The Xbull 10k and Zesuper 13k look to be identical except for the name. The Amazon page sketches me out.

I'm aware of the Badlands winch but are there any other budget winches that typically get recommended along with them??

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