which winch

Kind of depends on how much you use it. A middle of the road winch can last 10 years if you don't use it but once or twice or it can last 2 weeks if you use it heavily. As long as 9500 is more than 2x the weight of your rig it should be fine.
 
It's going on a k5 and it probably won't be used much. Just want an insurance policy to get unstuck sense I don't know anyone with a full size truck
 
I like what I am reading about this one. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200464238_200464238

I have a Milemarker on my tacoma that I bought 12ish years ago for my CJ. No problems at all. If I were to buy one soon, I would get it for sure.


Edit, just saw your post about a K5. I would consider something rated for more than 8k. One thing to keep in mind is a snatch block doubles your power, and cuts your speed. A fast 8k and a snatch block may not be bad.
 
Winches are probably the most debated topics on the web. IMO its best to save up and buy a good Warn 10k. The initial cost is rough but warns tend to outlast any vehicle you mount them on.
 
If you are stuck or in a bind, is a cheap winch with questionable reliability really worth it? I would rather spend the $$ and have something that I know will work when I need it to.
 
I *think* the VR series are made overseas to Warn's specs and quality control. Not saying that is a bad thing, but I would rather have an American made winch. The Warn Zeons are good looking winches. $950 on 4WP.
 
Look for deals on a used warn. I have had two 9500i's and a 8000i and have never paid more than 150 for one. I ran a vr10000 on my cruiser and it worked well. Had it less than a year so can't comment on the longevity. My 9500i on my jk is probably 10-12 years old and works like new.
 
I currently own a warn vr10,000 smittybuilt xrc8 old and slow horrible freight 8k that I paid $60 for I bet you cant guess what is hanging on the front of my new buggy.


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I have an engo 10k and I love it, I haven't had a single issue and it gets great reviews. Paid less than $500 shipped for a 10k winch with synthetic line
 
I've always been very partial to Warn. I've got an 8274 that's older than I am (by probably 10 years or so) and works every time I spool out the cable. I'd love to find a good used M12000 for a good price. I'd probably have to go with synthetic cable as well. There's 150 feet of cable on the 8274 and it gets old handling it.
 
Engo scored very high in the Fourwheeler Magazine tests. I wouldn't be afraid to try one.
 
Winches are one of those things where you get what you pay for, with few exceptions. I had a local shop try to sell me a lower end winch they had on hand and when I asked about longevity his answer was "if it works out of the box who cares if it works 8 months from now?"

I ordered an M8000 from Quadratec.
 
13bullets said:
Winches are one of those things where you get what you pay for, with few exceptions.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I recently cobbled together an M8000 out of a bunch of parts (found winch frame on Pirate, motor on Ebay, solenoids off a friend's broken winch). All in all I built one for much less than new and expect it to hold up pretty well, plus Warn has been making the thing for decades now so I think parts will be available for a long time to come.
 
I got a harbour freight 10k lb winch for Christmas about 5 years ago. It's strong as 4 ox, but slow as Alaskan winter molasses. It stays on the front of my explorer uncovered and keeps ticking. I use it 2-5 times a year, mostly for tree work or moving non-running vehicles.

It's the old style, I'm gonna sell it soon for a new style 12k lb winch. The former smittybuilt winch designer now works for harbour freight and designed their badlands branded winches. Petersens did a thing on them when they first came out and they called them the best budget winch you can buy.
 
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