Warn VR or M Series and Mean Mother Winches

I am completely new when it comes to winching/recovery and everything "I know" (or think I know) is from watching videos and reading the internet. So, if anything is wrong below, please let me know. I might ask some dumb questions, but I would rather ask and get a good answer then not and find myself in the middle of nowhere wishing I had asked from the comfort of my desk. Here we go, I'm looking into getting a good quality winch in the price range below and am looking at one of these:

• Mean Mother (MM) Edge 9500: $790
• Mean Mother (MM) Edge 1200: $850
• Warn VR 10-S: $785
• Warn VR 12-S: $885
• ***Warn M8000-S: $860*** (Update, see bottom of post)

From what I have read, you should have a winch that can pull 1.5 times the weight of your vehicle. The weight breakdown I have is:

• Stock Tacoma: 4,445 lbs
• Camper Shell: 250 lbs
• Drawer System: 220 lbs
• Additional Accessories: 250 lbs
• Myself: 160 lbs
• Miscellaneous: 400 lbs

Taking all of the above and adding it together and multiplying by 1.5, I'm around 8,500 lbs. So, all of the winches above should do the job just fine (please correct me if I'm wrong here). For an extra $60 (Mean Mother) or extra $100 (Warn) I would have over 2x the pull capacity needed. Worth it?

Information I've been able to gather about both winches:

• Warn is 10 lbs lighter then the MM (58 lbs vs 68 lbs)
• MM has 5 year warranty on electrical and mechanical parts
• Warn has a 7 year warranty on electrical and lifetime on mechanical
• Warn is made in China
• MM is made in Australia
• Both come with synthetic line and are equally priced
• Both Control packs are removable (necessary for the bumper I'm buying)
• Warn, I lose 10 ft going from 10 to 12 model. MM I don't lose any length.
• Warn uses Spydura synthetic line
• MM uses Dyneema synthetic line
• MM control cord is 16' long
• Warn control cord is 12' long
• Warn 10-S has a 502 amp draw and 12-S has a 457 amp draw
• MM has a 340 amp draw on both models
• Both Controllers are weaterproof
• Warn Gear Ratios 10S - 261:1 and the 12S - 216:1
• MM Gear Ratios 9500 - 212:1 and the 1200 - 296:1

That about it. There are other details like line speed, which I didn't list. Anyhow, I apologize for the lengthy post but hope to get some insight on these 2 seemingly capable winches. Both have pros and cons and any advice is much appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

***Update, Was just reading about the M8000-S for $860. Has less pull strength then the ones above, but is in the same price range, with synthetic line and built in the U.S. I would like to add this one to the list as well.

 

MM might be assembled in Australia, but most of the parts are from China. 12k is more winch than you need.

 

Okay, stick to the 9500 or 10k pull. What about 8k? Thought the M series from warn was out of my range, but the M8-S is going for $860 (see update above) which is built in America and comes with the same warranty as the VR. Thanks!

 

8k is a little on the light side for pulling power. The real benefit is it’s weight, Tacomas don’t have a lot of extra payload, so every pound counts. As long as you understand the limitations and carry a block for a double line pull when necessary it’s a viable option.

I would also suggest Come Up winches. They’re made in Taiwan and manufacture winches for many other brands. Like Warn, they have an office in Oregon so the support is there if you need anything.

 

8k of American pull vs 10k of Chinese pull. Which one is stronger? J/K. There is a big jump in price between the M8 and M12 (no M10 offering) so I could only go with the M8 model if I was going that route. I'll look into the come up winches as well. Thank you for the information.

 

I have an M8000S on my truck, has worked out great every time I've needed it. Has pulled me over some stuff that my truck never would have made.

My biggest selling point was that it's got a small footprint, which is another concern you haven't listed here. Depending on where you put it the size matters greatly. Make sure you know length, width and depth of the winch and where you plan to stuff it.

 

I'd gladly buy my m8000s again.

 

Not going to lie, this made me laugh a little bit. haha And that's definitely a concern. The bumper that it's going in requires you to relocate the control box but says it should fit an M series and VR series winch.

 

So, I’ve been looking into the comeup winches a lot and like what I’m seeing. Their 9s model is in the same price area as the ones above with synthetic line. Great warranty. Made in Taiwan and ya e been around for a good while.

 

I've owned 4 winches. That starts about 1974. Funny thing about a winch...90% of the time they're being used It's on someone else that's stuck.

And I don't believe I've ever heard anyone complain about "a winch that's too powerful".

ie As big as you can afford.

I'm currently using a Warn VR10S. Not one complaint.

(All 4 were/are Warn)

 

Buy the us made warn

 

That would be the M8000 from what I can tell. In my price range anyhow.

 

Yes, 1.5x your vehicle weight is the MINIMUM standard. But, don't use the actual (curb) weight of your rig plus a few things and add up that weight. Just use the GVWR. That the MAX your truck should weigh, no matter what.

It'd be kinda lame to add up all your weights, buy a winch accordingly, then end up adding a rack, RTT, bumpers and skids and now your winch is too small...

Get the biggest winch you can afford, really. No one has EVER said "my winch is too powerful". If all your wallet can stomach is an 8k winch, so be it, but recognize that is the minimum. The bigger the winch, the less work it has to do to pull you out, the longer it can run continuously without overheating, etc...

I've actually never heard of mean mother, so I can't tell you anything about them. Come-up went out of business. They got bought out by someone else, but that hasn't materialized yet AFAIK, and who knows what their winches will be like under new ownership...

I got my VR10 on sale from 4Wheelparts for under $600. Just be patient and look around, Warns go on sale a couple times a year.

 

Thank you for the information. I tried to find info about come-up being purchased by another company but am coming up short. To be honest, I had my choice narrowed down to these 2:

• Comeup Seal Gen 2 9.5s
• Warn M8000-s

And I was actually leaning towards the Comeup out of the 2 above. Can you point me to any information regarding the buy out of Comeup? I'm with you and there is a big question mark on what the company will be like post purchase. Really depending on who bought them and their performance history. Want to check into all of it before making a $1k purchase. Thanks again!

 

Not sure where the rumor started that we went out of business or had been bought out by another company. that is DEFINITELY NOT the case. COMEUP is alive and well and growing. Let us know if you have any questions, we'd be happy to help with your winch choice.

 

We are still here. No buy out, not out of business Let us know how we can help.
The Seal Gen2 9.5rs is an excellent choice for the Tacoma.

 

Another vote for COMEUP. Excellent winches. I've used Warn in the past on a few vehicles. I've had a COMEUP on my last two and they have been as good or better than the Warn winches I've had. My next winch will also be a COMEUP. I've had a Warn M8000 on a previous truck. Without question I would choose the Comeup if those are your two choices.
Awesome warranty (although they are very reliable so probably won't be needed), very high waterproof rating, and overheating warning (moisture and overheating is what kills winches). Best brake system on the market. Their cone-brake is outside the drum so the drum doesn't get hot under braking and damage the winch or rope, and the more force is applied the more braking power. Those are some of the things the helped me choose COMEUP. Besides that they are used almost exclusively on Arctic Trucks. If the Arctic Trucks guys trust COMEUP to drive across Greenland, and Antarctica where winching could be a life or death situation I feel pretty confident that it will do everything I need it to.

Here's the 9.5rs that I had on my 2003 Tacoma
IMG_6825 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_6829 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

I have an identical winch on my 80 Series Land Cruiser. It has been used a lot. Little hard to see but it's tucked in there behind my lights.
IMG_3161 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

Edited because I'm a moron and can't read...

nevermind... I don't know the difference between superwinch and comeup, lol...

 

I posted the thread on ExPo. Totally unrelated to COMEUP. Superwinch isn't Comeup.

 

ahh holly crap. I'm such a moron.

I can haz good reading skilz.