Winch recommendations? (1 Viewer)

[AK Troutbum]

I just put an ARB Deluxe bumper on the front of my 80 series and I was wondering what winch would be best recommended. I’m thinking at least a 10,000 lb Warn, or maybe 12,000, but I don’t know if I need to go that big. I have a 2” lift and I’ll be running 33x12.50 tires. Appreciate any and all recommendations and the reasoning behind them.

 

[voodu3]

I have the original version of this one VR EVO 10-S Winch - 103253 - https://www.warn.com/vr-evo-10-s-103253
I’ve had it for about 6 years and have used it 3 times for recovery. It still works great but it doesn’t get as much use as I thought it would.

 

[Rusty Marlin]

Badlands APEX 12K.

 

[CharlieS]

The rough guideline I was taught (by a I4WDTA instructor) is to size the winch at 1.5x the vehicle weight.

I run a ComeUp Seal 9.5 on my 80. They are very well made, and came recommend by Slee.

 

[JoeCova]

ARB Deluxe bumper was designed originally around the M10 (discontinued) and thus will work with the M12/15. All other winches are suspect to fit and may require modification. This disclaimer came with your bumper.

 

[LongDuck]

Whatever you get, order it with synthetic line or buy synthetic and respool it; synthetic is arguably safer for occasional users who aren't doing recovery regularly or as a routine where you build knowledge and skill (*I'm describing myself here). Additionally, a snatch block doubles your winch rating with a little bit of planning, and besides, that rating is only for the first spool on the reel. As you play it in, your outside line circumference gets bigger and your torque gets smaller.

I guess my point is; buy the best you can afford, and then back that up with some research into recovery techniques and safety. I've used my Slee Shortbus mounted 12k for many things around the house, and only once for a recovery. A long snatch strap is more useful, and would probably get used more than a winch...

 

[greentruck]

The rough guideline I was taught (by a I4WDTA instructor) is to size the winch at 1.5x the vehicle weight.

That's a good formula. Considering that a typical 80 is around 6000 when loaded, that tends to leave out the 8k winches. The exception would be the Warn 8274, which requires either modding your standard ARB or getting the Commercial ARB with the bumped out center bar to accommodate the upright form factor of the 8274.

So you're probably looking for a 10k or 12k model. The Warn VR 10k fits the ARB, but most other 10k and larger capacity winches will require spacers to set the winch back a little bit. Why? They are wide enough that the ends of their cases will contact the angled area on both sides before your mounting bolts can be fully tightened. If you continue cranking 'em down, it may break the winch case. The XRC12 I ran on my old 80 was like this.

Also, to utilize that lip just above the fairlead mount, you need a Warn fairlead as it matches that so you can remove the clips holding the vertical roller pins, find some longer bolts to sub for them. then tighten all. This makes the bumper more resistant to off-center pulls.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

The rough guideline I was taught (by a I4WDTA instructor) is to size the winch at 1.5x the vehicle weight.

I run a ComeUp Seal 9.5 on my 80. They are very well made, and came recommend by Slee.

I too was taught this. And I had a boss who was an avid "I know more about_____, than anyone else" that's one of those insert thing here statements. He mud raced his Chevy and bought an 8k badlands. I told him he was way underpowered for winch and explained to him how the pull power was rated and he called me an idiot. Not long after he got his junk stuck up wheeling and didn't come into work because he spent all night walking back to cell service to get some friends to help him out. So, Yah 1.5x loaded weight is a good rule of thumb.

 

[Haggis]

X2 on going with synthetic line, safer and saves weight.