Winch size for CJ5?

Travis, 6000 lbs. may be a little light, especially if you will be mudding. It takes a *lot* of strength to pull a Jeep out of the mud. You will probably want a rating of at least twice your vehicle weight. Most people I know have 8-9000 lb. winches. Warn seems to be preferred here due to a combination of reliability and customer service. Many people are very happy with their Ramsey and Superwinch units, too. It's a mix of wants, needs, and budget.

On Tue, 28 Oct 2003 09:51:25 -0500, "TJim" shared the following:

How about this one?

Warn winch for $400 sounds really good to me...

-- Travis

meek shall inherit the earth. After I'm finished with it.:wq!

8000# Warn winch for $400 sounds really good to me, too, but you won't find one new for that price. That's a Ramsey you're looking at. I've seen them in the catalogs and the price seems hard to beat. Notice it says "for casual intermittent use". You probably couldn't use it to winch yourself up a series of rock "waterfalls" out west, but it might work well if you get stuck in some mud or something maybe once or twice a day. Chances are, heat build-up is the issue. With winches, you may not get what you pay for, but you certainly do *not* get what you *don't* pay for. :-)

What are you guys running for a winch? I don't want to under-buy but> I don't want to get something way too big, either. Any tips on buying> a winch? Thank you.>

DO NOT get a 6000# winch, it is not large enough. You need at least an 8000# unit, and for another $100 you can get the 9000# unit that will perform even better. The 9000# unit will offer a higher line speed, and the extra 1000# capacity can come in handy if you are REALLY stuck.

Your winch capacity souuld be a MINIMUM of double the weight of your vehicle. Your CJ weighs in at about 3500#, so you need at least 7000# capacity. They don't make as 7000# winch, so the next up is 8000#. This is a marginal winch, and there will be occasions when it will not be adequate. There are many 8000# winches on the trails, and I have even been hanging off of some of them, but it is possible that you will exceed its capacity, and the 9000# unit is what you would be wishing for if this happens. It is possible that you will never exceed the capacity of an 8000# winch, but what are you going to do if you do exceed its capacity? You will continue being stuck, that's what you will do. If you get the 9000# unit, it will only cost a little more than the 8000# unit, but you will have the assurance of not exceeding its capacity with your own vehicle.

Remember, the winch's job is to bering the winch and its end closer together, this might mean that your Jeep will be moving before the object of your recovery efforts. When this happens, you wil need to anchor your Jeep to at least one other vehicle ...

Another thing, all recovery efforts will not require a winch, most of them simply demand a strap. You need to get rid of the strap you have and replace it with one that has sewn loops on each end.

What are you guys running for a winch? I don't want to under-buy but> I don't want to get something way too big, either. Any tips on buying> a winch? Thank you.>