Winch HELP!!

Jake Wilson

Jake Wilson

New member
Hey Guys,

Ok I am looking to purchase a winch to go with my Smittybilt SRC Stinger. I know I want synthetic rope but what I can't figure out is how much power I need. I feel like 10,000 LBS is overkill considering my jeep isn't even half that loaded up. However, I am new to the off-road game so what do I know, haha. :rolleyes2: Any and all help would be grateful.

Mahalo,
Jake
 
Seems most people go 1.5 times gross vehicle weight. I went 8000lbs on my JKU. I have not had to use it yet however between that and a snatch block that should be more than enough.

I went made in USA Warn M8000 with synthetic rope. Great price on Amazon.
 
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I think 8000lbs.would be ok for a 2 door. 9K-10K + for a four door.like said 11/2 times the weight
Of your Rig.Also take into consideration if you do a lot of straight pulls or use a snatch block.
 
Save your money for a good winch. The smittybilt probably won't last and the last thing you want is for your winch not to work when you need it.
 
I have had a Smitty built 8000lbs winch for three years with no problems yet. With that said I would feel more secure with a Warn winch. I have seen the one winches go through a lot of abuse and stand up to it time and time again. The power plant (9500lbs) is on my upgrade list.
 
Generally you shoot for 1-1/2 times your weight. I run an 8,000 pound winch, and have for 13 years. I use it a lot (well over 100 times) and it has never let me down.

If you often play in super deep, gooey mud, that is the only reason I would recommend a bigger winch. Otherwise, if you only occasionally get buried in mud, you could just use a snatch block to double your pulling power. I have been in deep mud, and still haven't needed to snatch block it.

Another thing to consider when doing a heavy pull, is that the winch is rated for its full capacity on the first wrap of cable- not the top layer.. The top layer is often only like half the capacity of the winch. so I you're going to need a lot of force, be sure to get down to that first layer of cable/rope, but still leave at least 3 full wraps on the drum.
 
Four years on my smittybilt and hasn't stopped working yet, except when a ground bolt came loose that I forgot to tighten. It's a 10000lb with synthetic line.
 
On average maybe three to four times a year. Pulling out everything form TJ to my biggest being a ford Super Duty stuck bumper deep in snow.
 
Ok thanks to all of you guys! Awesome advice. So the winch I was looking at getting is the Smittybilt (98510) X2O Waterproof Synthetic Rope Winch - 10000 lb. Load Capacity. I would definitely prefer a Warn winch just because I know they are the best... however, are they really worth spending $600 on?
 
I have the new version of the xrc 9500 waterproof. Not the X20.

The winch works great but I've only used it for 3-4 pulls so far. The only thing is I wish I went synthetic because it is lighter and spools easier during pulls.
 
Jake Wilson said:
Ok thanks to all of you guys! Awesome advice. So the winch I was looking at getting is the Smittybilt (98510) X2O Waterproof Synthetic Rope Winch - 10000 lb. Load Capacity. I would definitely prefer a Warn winch just because I know they are the best... however, are they really worth spending $600 on?
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The one thing I know about winches. When you need it it MUST work! I say it's worth ever penny however my two year old son is usually with me.
 
i love my X20 8k smittybilt w synthetic rope. I've done some nasty deep pulls with it and its never failed. I have a JKU and have yanked out Other bigger JKUs and its always done great. Warn winches are great but I don't wheel enough to need that grade of a winch. If i wheeled every weekend Id have a warn but i don't so I'm good with smittybilt.
 
Jake Wilson said:
Ok thanks to all of you guys! Awesome advice. So the winch I was looking at getting is the Smittybilt (98510) X2O Waterproof Synthetic Rope Winch - 10000 lb. Load Capacity. I would definitely prefer a Warn winch just because I know they are the best... however, are they really worth spending $600 on?
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Is it safe to assume you have NOT watched Part 3 of our Pacific Northwest JKX series? This is the part where we play in really deep mud out in the Elbe Hills and of all the JK's out there, only ONE had a winch failure. Care to take a guess as to who the make of that winch was?


Honestly, I can't make this stuff up and I see it happen all the time. Yeah, you'll have guys come on here who'll swear by their Smittybilt winches and tell you how much they use them and blah blah blah. And really, maybe they've actually got one that does in fact work for them. But really, the issue here is about "quality control" or should I say, the lack there of. Is it 1 in 10 that have issues? Maybe it's more like 1 in 100? Are you really willing to take a chance when it comes to a critical recovery of your Jeep or someone else's Jeep?

Of course, all this is just my opinion as you all know, I'm just a mall crawler with zero experience.
 
wayoflife said:
Is it safe to assume you have NOT watched Part 3 of our Pacific Northwest JKX series? This is the part where we play in really deep mud out in the Elbe Hills and of all the JK's out there, only ONE had a winch failure. Care to take a guess as to who the make of that winch was?


Honestly, I can't make this stuff up and I see it happen all the time. Yeah, you'll have guys come on here who'll swear by their Smittybilt winches and tell you how much they use them and blah blah blah. And really, maybe they've actually got one that does in fact work for them but the issue really is about quality control or the lack there of. Is it 1 in 10 that have issues? Maybe it's more like 1 in 100? Are you really willing to take a chance when it comes to a critical recovery of your Jeep or someone else's Jeep?

Of course, all this is just my opinion as you all know, I'm just a mall crawler with zero experience.
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Like we say in skydiving "there are things you "price shop" and things you don't". :cheesy: sometimes there is a reason things cost more.
 
crippledpetey said:
Like we say in skydiving "there are things you "price shop" and things you don't". :cheesy: sometimes there is a reason things cost more.
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LOL!! Well said.

What I don't get is how people will spend serious coin on Poison Spyder bumpers or Rigid Industry light bars - nice things to have but really, are for the most part totally cosmetic but then, when it comes to something as important as a winch, they'll try to justify getting something cheap that's made in China.
 
wayoflife said:
LOL!! Well said.

What I don't get is how people will spend serious coin on Poison Spyder bumpers or Rigid Industry light bars - nice things to have but really, are for the most part totally cosmetic but then, when it comes to something as important as a winch, they'll try to justify getting something cheap that's made in China.
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I've learned the hard way many times. It cost more to try and save money on some things than just researching and buying what you should have to begin with. Just like you've said a million times, and I do it myself too, people want to justify in their heads why they got something and it's a good decision.
 
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