Winch vs. Tires & Wheels (1 Viewer)

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bonestock

bonestock

Transportation Specialist
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Limited room left in the budget this round. My 97 LX450 is getting WKOR sliders and and ARB winch bumper. The plan is the start wheeling more aggressive trails. The question is whether tis nobler in the mind’s eye to get a Smittybilt winch or tires and wheels that I can swap out for my highway tires when it’s time get get in the dirt.

This is and will continue to be my daily driver. I’m torn because my OEM LX wheels are in great shape and the Michelin LTS MS tires still have at least 40k miles life left.

I figured someone else had been in this boat before and I wanted to get feedback from the brain trust.

Thanks for the read!
 
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Or learn to use a flip-flop winch.
 
You'll get more instant trail capability out of bigger/more aggressive tires than out of the winch.
You'll get more 'get out of a bad stuck' capability with the winch. You may need that with the stock tires.
 
Locked? what kind of wheeling? rutted and muddy trails or climbing over rocks?
If it's mud you really need both but if you're triple locked you can gun your way out of some hairy situations with good tires and no winch.
Also the price of a badlands winch is like 250$. Tires and wheels is 1k+. perhaps you could swing both.
 
Facebook market place has lots of tire wheel sets that work on toyotas. No need to buy new with the number of people who change tires and wheels out so much. IF you are willing to have a set that you swap in and out based on use, that is what i would recommend and can save you money.
 
Buy tires and wheels, then hit the trail with friends. They can yank you out with a kinetic rope from most places. The winch can wait.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Tires and wheels it is!

Anyone got a set near Chattanooga, TN they’d be willing to part with.
 
Njck22 said:
Locked? what kind of wheeling? rutted and muddy trails or climbing over rocks?
If it's mud you really need both but if you're triple locked you can gun your way out of some hairy situations with good tires and no winch.
Also the price of a badlands winch is like 250$. Tires and wheels is 1k+. perhaps you could swing both.
Click to expand...
Open diffs. I’d say a mix of rutted and muddy as well as rocks. I’m in Tennessee and would like to get into more of the Black trails at Windrock.
 
Tires all the way. It doesn't matter what you have, HP, lockers, etc, if you don't have proper tires it's all pointless.
 
bonestock said:
Open diffs...in Tennessee...
Click to expand...
My 2c ... CO-transplant-GA'ian ... know what you're trailing.
You need wheel speed, so either a V8 swap or diff locks. Off the trot.

Otherwise, winch before wheels/tires imo.
Strictly between the two, going first with a (presumably taller) wheel/tire package will at best dial you in to the viscous coupling at medium+ articulation. Be sure to go with a friend sporting a (functional) winch on the "more aggressive" trails in this configuration.

edit:congruity
 
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Agree with the 'tires' group. Not only will it instantly improve off-road capability, without good tires you'd be USING the winch far too often. Tires first, then see what you can (and can't do) with your rig.

Auto Locker in rear (not expensive, can be installed by most DIYers) will also help improve off-road capability for the price of cheap winch.
 
flintknapper said:
Agree with the 'tires' group. Not only will it instantly improve off-road capability, without good tires you'd be USING the winch far too often. Tires first, then see what you can (and can't do) with your rig.

Auto Locker in rear (not expensive, can be installed by most DIYers) will also help improve off-road capability for the price of cheap winch.
Click to expand...
Agreed. It is the classic open-diff budget challenge.
Do you first seal your ability to get home? (winch/recovery gear, regardless of tires)
Or instead first seal your ability to get stuck? (tires on open diffs and no winch)
There should be a show about this. 🤔

edit:clarity
 
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on the rocks said:
I’m a little hung up in the swap tires and wheels to go off-road thing…. Get it all installed and take it off-road before you jump on any more wrong decisions.
Click to expand...
Lol. Historically she’s been road queen and mall cruiser. Baby steps sir, baby steps.
 
Tires if you're still on those Michelins. They're actually pretty good on snow and ice. We went to Canada in December while ours were still on the Michelins and were really happy with that. None of that really matters in TN, though, and you'll find those tires to be, ahem, less than optimal for trail use there.

As for winch and lockers, my experience in Colorado as a visitor has been completely different since that makes a good example. My trucks have usually sported a winch. Never had to use it there except to help a local who'd managed to get stuck due to inattention. Had a LSD in the rear on the only non-winched vehicle, but generally couldn't say I needed any help in that department and I've done all the majors except Black Bear. YMMV

Keep in mind that the 80 is an extraordinarily capable vehicle compared to most others. It will acquit itself well if you get the rubber right. Here in the forum, there's a tendency to build to out do other 80s. If you're a trail newbie, you'll be scaring yourself on what you can possibly get over if you drop the big $$. Go with a buddy and get some experience and you'll gain some more confidence in these decisions pretty quickly.
 
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