4th gen appropriate winch

[gimlithepirate]

I've got my bumper on order (woo!) so now I'm trying to pick out a winch. I think this is pretty critical personally, because I don't have a rear locker, so the odds I get stuck somewhere are significantly higher.

Size wise, I'm guessing I need at least an 8k, probably a 9.5k, though bigger isn't a bad thing.

The obvious answer is a Warn m8000, as that's what my bumper was designed around. However, they aren't cheap, and I'm not 100% sure they are worth the premium given my use case.

Weirdly enough, around here all the wreckers recommend Harbor Freight Badlands. Slow, and they always run badly, but they run when nothing else does apparently :noidea:

Other options I've looked at are Quadratech, Engo, and Mile Marker. As best I can tell, with the exception of Warn, everyone is more or less selling basically the same rebadged Chinese winches. It's just a matter of how hard it is to find parts, and what the warranty is like. Smittybilt would have been my go to, but they just came out with a new gen which is more expensive.

Anybody have a winch they love (or hate)?

 

[aemravan]

I'm running a rough country 9.5k winch in my victory 4x4 blitz bumper..

Its no warm with an integrated control box and a wireless remote for operation... but also isn't a cheap knock-off from harbor freight with a crappy steel line.. It's fully recessed behind the bumper obviously, so unlike the jeeps, the looks didn't bother me all too much.

I can't speak much for its realibility since I haven't had to really use it much, but from overall quality for sub$400 I think its a really nice synthetic line winch with a decent load capability.. a simple snatch block take its close to 20K ability which should be more than plenty for whatever I would need.

I thought the price point was half decent for what I was getting, though someone might chime in and say its a crap winch, nevertheless, thats what I'm running.. I'm a baller on a budget

 

[phatcheeks]

I saw yesterday there was some online price error on the Badlands Apex winch and people were getting it for like $300. For a 12k synthetic rope winch that's pretty good. its usually like $500-$600.

I have the Harbor Freight 12k zxr. The one with the steel cable. Ive used it couple times with no issues. It has mixed reviews, some say they used it 100s of times no issues, some say they used it once and it broke. Its a hit or miss.

Or you could spend a little more ang get a brand name 9k winch or look used market.

 

[gimlithepirate]

I saw yesterday there was some online price error on the Badlands Apex winch and people were getting it for like $300. For a 12k synthetic rope winch that's pretty good. its usually like $500-$600.

I have the Harbor Freight 12k zxr. The one with the steel cable. Ive used it couple times with no issues. It has mixed reviews, some say they used it 100s of times no issues, some say they used it once and it broke. Its a hit or miss.

Or you could spend a little more ang get a brand name 9k winch or look used market.

...Where did you see that? Best I'd seen was 480 using a 25% off coupon. Still not bad, but not quite as compelling as the other badlands options.

 

[phatcheeks]

It was on one of the 4th gen facebook groups. I checked it right now the guy said it was $300 but the link is showing full price now. I guess they fixed it.

4th Gen 4Runners

 

[Bassturd]

For what it’s worth I’m kinda cheap when it comes to certain things. I went with the Badlands 12000 lb winch and it works great so far. I paid $300 for it and am super happy with it. I’ve used it a couple times in the field now and it hasn’t let me down yet. I also pulled a dead Jeep onto a lower trailer with no ramps and it also performed flawlessly. If I were to do anything differently I would get the badlands apex. After buying the synthetic rope the hawse fairlead and front hook I’m about into it what an apex costs with the %25 discount coupon. As far as I can tell they are rebuildable. If you go to harbor freights websites there’s a parts list with an 800 number to call.

 

[gimlithepirate]

It was on one of the 4th gen facebook groups. I checked it right now the guy said it was $300 but the link is showing full price now. I guess they fixed it.

4th Gen 4Runners

Too bad. At least I have a new 4runner group to join :clap2:

But yeah, right now I'm thinking the Badlands ZXR 12k might be the way to go. The Apex is cool, but its rapidly getting into territory reserved for better winch brands than HF. The Mile Marker Maverick 12 caught my eye as it's only 67 lbs with steel line... And its 450.

 

[phatcheeks]

Too bad. At least I have a new 4runner group to join :clap2:

Haha careful. Im part of like 3 4th gen groups on FB and its a lot of people asking the same questions over and over again.

But yeah, right now I'm thinking the Badlands ZXR 12k might be the way to go. The Apex is cool, but its rapidly getting into territory reserved for better winch brands than HF. The Mile Marker Maverick 12 caught my eye as it's only 67 lbs with steel line... And its 450.

Fosho. For 600 im sure there may be better options like smittybuilt or warn. Ironman4x4 makes some budget friendly options too. Not sure how they compare to badlands or others.

 

[Fern]

I found a Smittybilt 9.5k cable on Ebay for under $300. Haven't had a chance to use it yet, but the price was right.

 

[hinmo24t]

MuddybeardJeep on yt and ig knows his siht and said the badlabds apex has been great long term. Ripping him thru boulders every weekend in the pnw

I have a warn vr8s Evo that I researched to death w Tacoma forums etc. I made a point not to go too heavy as a general theme of my ride. 59lb winch. Getting installed soon.

 

[gimlithepirate]

MuddybeardJeep on yt and ig knows his siht and said the badlabds apex has been great long term. Ripping him thru boulders every weekend in the pnw

I have a warn vr8s Evo that I researched to death w Tacoma forums etc. I made a point not to go too heavy as a general theme of my ride. 59lb winch. Getting installed soon.

Right there with you on light weight. If I get a Badlands, I'll be putting synth line on it to get it under 70 lbs.

This is why I like the Mile Marker Maverick, at 66lbs with metal line.

My main concern with getting a Warn Evo is that they are made in China. Not sure the Warn logo is worth the extra money xD

 

[Direwolf82]

Has anyone ever considered a hydraulic winch? My uncle's is pretty light with no electric motor and stupidly strong. Mile marker. Just has a t at the power steering pump. Since most people run the motors when winching for electrical charge no real difference in running the motor for the pump.
I grew up with hydraulic and pto winches, my electric hasn't failed on me but for some reason I feel much more confident in the other two. I think it's because my winch sounds like a rock tumbler and the others are quiet and smooth.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[duffdog]

Smittybilt X2O 10k with synthetic line mounted on the front for me. I also have one of their cheap winches for the rear with steel cable. The 10k is probably what you want, though the 2nd time I used it, I blew the alternator and had to replace it. Winches can draw over 600amps when you are stuck and I would hate to have one that simply did not have enough power to get me out and just fried itself. That's a harbor freight winch reference as most of the harbor freight models seem to catch fire and then the store will try everything they can think of to not honor the warranty by saying anything in the world they can dream up: Winches cannot be used off-road, winches cannot be installed in bumpers, or used on Tuesdays, etc...

Harbor Freight is good for some things, but not winches or drills.

 

[gimlithepirate]

Has anyone ever considered a hydraulic winch? My uncle's is pretty light with no electric motor and stupidly strong. Mile marker. Just has a t at the power steering pump. Since most people run the motors when winching for electrical charge no real difference in running the motor for the pump.
I grew up with hydraulic and pto winches, my electric hasn't failed on me but for some reason I feel much more confident in the other two. I think it's because my winch sounds like a rock tumbler and the others are quiet and smooth.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Hydraulic winches are high dollar items. That said, I hadn't looked at them mainly because I didn't know you could run one using the power steering pump.

My main concern with that arrangement would be if something went wrong in the winch you would lose power steering, which would be pretty catastrophic.

 

[Direwolf82]

Hydraulic winches are high dollar items. That said, I hadn't looked at them mainly because I didn't know you could run one using the power steering pump.



My main concern with that arrangement would be if something went wrong in the winch you would lose power steering, which would be pretty catastrophic.

I haven't heard of a winch killing a power steering system but I'm sure it's happened. If you did go that route would probably be good to keep a couple of plugs for the fittings I guess.
I'm assuming it'll still turn with no fluid? It'll just be really crappy and tough to drive right? I wouldn't term that catastrophic personally but that's me. Rolled it? Caught fire? I would consider that catastrophic.
As far as cost goes, yeah. That's why I don't have one but the people I know who use winches for work and need to rely on them typically use hydraulics.
I'm looking for a pto winch for my Jeep but other than that I'll be going with electric winches.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[Zero0575]

I found a Smittybilt 9.5k cable on Ebay for under $300. Haven't had a chance to use it yet, but the price was right.

I have this one - got it for like $270 on ebay. I've only used it once, but it pulled effortlessly. It was the absolutely best deal I could find and has great reviews. If you watch Trail Recon on Youtube, that guy even recommends it as a great bargain winch in one of his episodes.

 

[cwilliams563]

Smittybilt X20

I just ordered a Smittybilt X20 12,000 w/ synthetic rope and wireless capable winch for $627 Amazon.com: Smittybilt X2O COMP - Waterproof Synthetic Rope Winch - 12,000 lb. Load Capacity: Smittybilt Products: Automotive

Was going to go with the 10,000lb but was only $30 more for the 12,000 on Prime. Supposed to be the same weight. They have a “used” 12,000 one for $594 and that usually means new just damaged box or package (very basic).

Guess we’ll see how I like it once I get my front suspension redone, my Victory 4x4 Blitz bumper installed with winch. Now off to get a larger AGM winch capable battery to seal the deal.

 

[ryanking61]

I've had an Engo SR12S 12,000lb synthetic rope winch for years now with countless hard pulls and it has held up to all of the abuse. About $480. I highly recommend!