Show us your winches (not your wives)

Oh jeez, didnt realize the pricing, I jus stuck with wat came with the winch n never really looked in to any others, thinner ones at the least, but if you were to go thinner then wat is avaliable I'd say mill away....... If worthwhile, I like my big blingy fawse lol but if I get bored at work one day it will meet one of the mills

 

Nobody has posted here in a while so here is a little thread revival action. Just got my Superwinch Tigershark 9500 with synthetic line and Aluminum Hawse fairlead. Pretty excited about it. Now just gotta build a new front bumper for it to go into haha

 

Got my Southeast Overland fairlead. Love it

 

Ben at ComeUp contacted me a couple weeks back and asked if I'd write a review of their winch I'm using on my cruiser to post to their blog and include a brief writeup of my cruiser. Ben posted it yesterday to the ComeUp blog in case anyone is interested. Review Spoiler: I've been really happy with the winch.
COMEUP USA – A Land Cruiser Built for Exploration

 

Dynamic Immersion Wateproof Test of the ComeUp Seal Gen2 9.5rsi
https://youtu.be/gBs0h2FBmtM

 

Just in the process of getting a winch set up , any advice welcome , General off roading and a bit of work use , may be needed to pull my RIB onto trailer now and again thinking of a comeup but open to your thoughts BNT

 

I know some sellers and the odd person might disagree here, but as long as you go with a winch built for synthetic line and stick to a major manufacturer you will be happy with your winch. Size it right of course too. A general rule of thumb is to buy a winch rated for double the weight of your vehicle or 1.5x the vehicle and payload weight combined (depends who you ask, you'll get both of these answers.)

Some of the extreme lines from ComeUp, Superwinch, and Warn are really build for the daily abuse and Ice/Water immersion. If you aren't doing that than those +$1K winches are a bit overkill for your needs.

 

I agree with the suggestions of getting one that will work with synthetic rope. To me that's just a no brainer in terms of safety. No reason at all that I can think of to use wire rope. Same goes for weight rating. 1.5x or 2x the weight of the vehicle is a good rule of thumb. I also agree with choosing a trusted brand and not some "off-brand" since the off-brands are likely budget versions and the likelihood of corners being cut are higher.

As for some winches being "overkill" for someone who isn't using their winch all the time....maybe I'm the "odd person" you mentioned but I disagree with the idea of choosing a "budget" winch if you don't need to use the winch often. I don't think "overkill" is even possible when it comes to winches. The problem with a lot of "budget" winches is that the quality of materials used in the components just isn't as good as those used in Premium brands like ComeUp or Warn. For someone that only occasionally needs a winch I think it's even more important to have a quality winch since sitting unused can cause lower quality winches to corrode, especially the contacts, if not sealed well. I wouldn't want to find that out the hard way when I need to use it and it doesn't work. For me it's "buy once-cry once". I'll gladly pay a bit more for the piece of mind that comes from having a high quality winch when it comes to getting me out of a bad situation. The first use will more than pay for itself.

 

Many thanks , id rarther go for the over kill as its for work use it seems to be a mine field , ive been to my local dealer who sells comeup but thought id ask around for advise . The comeup name is new to me and i was leaning to a warn on a ARB but after speaking to the dealer there is a similar brand made in portugal thats a better deal . He has told me i will need a lift to take the extra weight i can feel a £££££ sink hole coming on BnT

 

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. I meant for the OP to stick to the quality name brands, like Warn, Superwinch, or Comeup, but to go with their mainstream sub ~$1K winches instead of their premium offerings. For the average casual user the mainstream lineup is a perfect balance of never fail reliability and capacity. Usually the top end winches are designed for long hard continuous pulls and/or daily use which the poster will likely not need.

I've seen many a Warn Zeon bought and rarely used. In those situations, and M series winch would of saved the person a few hundred bucks and either or will pull just fine in 5 years with the proper maintenance.

 

Can you share the name of the brand made in Portugal? A "better deal" makes me nervous and sounds like it could be someone trying to sell the house brand he sells. As for a lift being needed, it's possible you will need something, but not an absolute requirement. There are other options like replacement springs with a higher spring rate to handle the extra weight instead of a lift.

 

You can get up to 12K capacity in the mainline winches from most companies. Don't let your dealer talk you into the winch he makes the most money on based on capacity because that's likely dealer BS.

 

Gotcha

 

Also, some winches have a gearing change that differentiates some of the different weight ratings, so don't always assume more capacity means more pulling speed AND power. Sometimes it's a trade off of losing a bit of speed for more power with better gearing. Warn is notorious for doing that lol. So are most of the cheap companies.

 

Thanks for the your advise ,the dealer has Recomended AFN winch bar and a comeup , my Isuzu dealer recomended ARB and warn. Westcoast 4x4 England Take a look i would be gratefull for your further advise BnT

 

Are these for use on the Land Rover in your avatar or some other vehicle?

 

No for my Isuzu Dmax

 

I looked at West Coast 4x4 and looked at AFN also since that's not a brand we get here in the US. The AFN looks to be a nice bulbar with a lot of similar features to the ARB. I think you'll have a great setup with either the AFN or ARB, so I'd just take a look at cost between the two and whichever one you think looks best on your truck.

Just for sake of comparison between the ComeUp and Warn. Here's the spec sheets I found when researching them on my own. First here's the specs for the ComeUp Seal Gen2 9.5rs
Specifications:
Rated Line Pull 9,500 lbs (4,309 kg) single line
Motor 5.0 hp / 3,730 w 12V Series Wound
Gear Ratio 3-Stage Planetary 159:1
Clutch (freespooling) Rotating Ring Gear
Brake (outside the drum) Automatic, full load CBS (Cone Brake Structure)
Winch Construction Aluminum Die Cast Housing with Steel Drum
Drum Size 2.5" x 9" (63.5 x 228 mm)
Control Both built-in digital two way signal wireless remote control and waterproof remote with thermometric indicator LED w/17' (5 m) cord
Rope Type Synthetic Rope SK-75
Rope Size 3/8" x 100' (10 mm x 30.5 m)
Mounting Bolt Pattern 10" x 4.5" (254 x 114 mm)
Winch Weight 61.7 lb (28 kg)
Gross Weigh 89.1 lb (40.5 kg)
Warranty Limited lifetime warranty for mechanical components, three (3) year warranty for electrical components
Box Dimensions 26.9" x 8.2" x 16.9" (682 x 209 x 430 mm )



Here's what I found for the Warn Zeon 10.
Rated line pull: 10,000 lbs. (4536 kg) single-line
Motor: series wound, 12V DC, 24V DC
Electrical controls: Contactor
Remote Control: Remote switch, 12' (3.7m) lead
Geartrain: 3-stage planetary
Gear ratio: 216:1
Clutch (freespooling): Rotating ring gear
Brake: Automatic mechanical cone
Drum diameter/Length: 3.15"/9.0" (80mm/229mm)
Weight (kit shipping): 98 lbs. (44 kg)
Rope: 3/8" x 80' (9.52mm x 24.38m) steel
Fairlead: Roller
Recommended Battery: 650 CCA minimum for winching
Battery leads: 2 gauge, 72" (1.83m)
Finish: Satin-black powder coat
Warranty: Limited lifetime



For me the ComeUp was the better choice. It was lighter, but nearly equal power. The ComeUp has slightly higher gear ratio but nearly double the line speed. I did a side by side pull with a Jeep buddy who lives near me that has a Zeon. It was a single line pull up a moderate incline. It was a little difficult to judge the power output but my Cruiser is MUCH heavier than his jeep and the ComeUp pulled the cruiser up the hill dramatically faster than the Warn. Also, from my recent experience of being stuck in a muddy riverbed I have no hesitation about the power of the ComeUp. We couldn't even move my cruiser an inch trying to snatch it from the mud with a strap but the ComeUp had no problem breaking the suction and pulling the cruiser out. The other things that were a plus with the ComeUp were the wireless remote and synthetic rope (20' longer than the wire rope on the Warn) that were included. Those were both extra upgrades with the Warn. Even with the wireless remote and synthetic rope the ComeUp was less expensive than the Warn. So very similar winches with similar ratings but better price, better performance and from looking at them side by side I'd say equal quality to the naked eye, but from everything I've seen and read the waterproofing of the ComeUp is superior so that gives the quality edge to the ComeUp in my eyes.

 

Iam awaiting a qoute from westcoast ive got one for the ARB /warn set up but west coast say i need a upgrade on my shocks/spring set up as ive asked for the rear bumper with wheel carrier and jerrycan holder aswell look at west coat gallery thats his toyota vigo with the iron man decals looks good again thanks for the infor you have opened my eyes BnT

 

This is the AFN bumper am thinking of