Need advice for a daily driver rig

Which upgrade for a dd jeep cherokee

  • lock right

    Votes: 19 34.5%

  • smittybuilt winch

    Votes: 36 65.5%
  • Total voters
    55
NickMaul

NickMaul

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2009
Location
Norfolk, VA
i have built up some spending money and have been on the fence about a smittybuilt xr8 winch or a dana 30 lockright. i would absolutely love the gain in traction. still rolling on 31s so i am not worried about much breakage.

BUT.....the winch would be a nice upgrade and has some good uses.

ECGS has a lockright for 260.00 and best price i have found.

NEED GUIDANCE!
 
I bought a winch 3 months ago and I don't know how I got by without one. The funny thing is I haven't used it to pull my jeep out yet but I've moved everything around my house without any issues. Buy the winch now get the locker later IMO.
 
Winch is handy, locker is handy... Winch will be used more by friends than by yourself, be aware of this, I bought a Tabor 9k a few years ago, sold my jeep before I ever used it, my brother gladly took it off my hands (free of charge at the time) and used the hell out of it, soon as the winch was on the jeep the 2 am phone calls came rolling in, "Man im stuck can u bring the jeep out here and get me"

gets frusterating after a while, but if you ever get stuck, they are extremely handy, its very nice not to have to wait an hour for a buddy to come get you.

Locker isn't going to help that much, might get you through a few more holes and up a few more hills, winch will do both of those, and then some, gotta say go for the winch, just don't let your friends know ;) jk.
 
Safe route: Winch first and then find a used locker.

Fun route: Locker first and wheel with people who have winches. :)
 
As long as you always wheel with some buddies, then get the locker and just make sure you've always got a good strap and d-ring in the back. I've been wheeling my Samurai now for a few yrs without a winch. I've been thinking about buying one for a while though.
 
I'm gonna sway the other way and say locker first. You'll always use the locker while wheeling, it will amaze you how much more terrain you'll be able to hit. There's no doubt a winch could come in handy, but would be unused most of the time. The catch-22 is that the locker will get you in more places where the winch would come into play. Even without a winch though, a tow strap, hi-lift, rock stacking, or even a few buddies pushing one corner of your rig...you still have extraction options.
 
I haven't had to use my winch in probably 4 years. Its much easier and quicker to use a tow strap if I need to pull the jeep out of the garage:bounce2:
 
I say locker first. You should never wheel alone anyway. I was a while before I got a winch. I have only used it for my jeep once in 3 years. I use it for everybody elses though and I could have done those with a strap, except when I had to use it on myself. But that isn't fair. It took 3 winches and about an hour to get it free. So one winch would not have mattered.
 
If you get in a situation where you need a locker and dont have one, a winch will solve the problem. If you get in a situation where you need a winch and dont have one a locker will not always solve your problem.
 
Here's another thought for ya, I used my winch to straighten my tie rod so I could drive off the trail, can't do that with a locker.
 
Rox&Mud said:
Here's another thought for ya, I used my winch to straighten my tie rod so I could drive off the trail, can't do that with a locker.
Click to expand...
i already carry a spare tie rod just in case.....plus rachet straps and muscles could do that
 
If it was me, I'd search for a used winch AND a used lockright and do both.

If your rig is a DD, and you drive it on the highway in the snow/ice, a front locker will take some getting used to. A rear locker will be noticable but less so. I would put a locker in the rear axle first, many times you won't even need 4wd. I'm sure others will chime in on this, and in the past I've done both (front first/rear first). I still say rear first, for a daily driver, unless you are going with a selectable, or have front hubs you can unlock.

My experience with winches... once you get one, you will make it through 99% of what you thought you needed the winch for. I have used mine for self recovery 3 times in about 15 years. About twice that for recovering others. A good strap is quicker, easier, and should be your first investment if you don't already have one.

Remember with a winch you have to mount it. On a XJ that probably means an expensive aftermarket front bumper.
 
add another 'winch now, locker later' on here. winch is good for you and anyone else your willing to help. locker seems more affordable so id just get it some other time. or get your GF/Wife to get you a locker for Christmas!
 
best upgrade I ever did was the front locker. Has gotten me everywhere. Winch is great if you love helping EVERYONE.
 
I went with the winch first on my Rig still waiting on the locker. Either way your balls will get alot bigger with a winch or a locker. I am not scared to try anything now that I know I can get out of there. The first day I had my winch installed I stuck the truck twice, but in three years i have used it about 8 times. A couple of times was to move stuff around the yard.

I agree with Schardien that you need to factor in the cost of a Winch bumper. If you have some basic metal Fab skills it is not a hard project to fab one up.
 
kinlawk said:
I went with the winch first on my Rig still waiting on the locker. Either way your balls will get alot bigger with a winch or a locker. I am not scared to try anything now that I know I can get out of there. The first day I had my winch installed I stuck the truck twice, but in three years i have used it about 8 times. A couple of times was to move stuff around the yard.
I agree with Schardien that you need to factor in the cost of a Winch bumper. If you have some basic metal Fab skills it is not a hard project to fab one up.
Click to expand...

i already got the bumper installed on my jeep ready for a winch. going out today to check on a used warn.
 
Depends on where you spend most of your time. If rocks, locker first. If mud, winch first cause from being locker f/r i know you will sit it on the axles much quicker. Rock's dont "sink" like mud does. Chris.
 
winch- i bought a parts jeep and needed a good way to take out the blown motor. i just left the trans bolted to it cut a few bolts holding everything up there and let the rest of the bolts break as the winch pulled the motor and trans out the back and under the car. very useful fer lots of thing. you would be suprised the stuff you can use it for
 
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