Winches?

I'm late to one of my favorite topics.

I have seen many left stranded by off brand winches, and have had a Warn on every trail rig I have had.

Many times I have wished for more winch, and never less.

The current Warn winches are the best yet, and while the Evo series is competent, and for a foreign made winch, as good as it gets, they lag behind the Zeon.

Last August, in Moab the solenoids on the Evo 10 would overheat, and after a short pull, not reengage until they cooled for a few minutes. After I came back from that trip, I started searching for a deal on a Zeon 10.

Well, I found a Zeon 12, new in the box, for way less. It is physically the same size as the 10, but with a stronger motor. I live the extra capacity, and soon put it to the test. With only about 15 feet of cable spoiled out, I was able to pull up off if a rock that had all 4 wheels dangling, zero traction to be had. A lesser winch would have likely needed a snatch block to get enough pull that close to the top of the drum.

My thought is buy the best you can afford, and don't settle for something that may let you down.

The other thing I will say is don't just put it on and ignore it. Test your winch out before every trip.

Electrical contacts and solenoids left unused can corrode and fail, no matter how well made they are.

Plug it in, run some cable out and back in at least every few months, and for sure before each trip to make sure it will work when you need it.
 
Bierpower said:
As a side note to this topic, the heavier the winch rating the slower the pull. I think I remember seeing somewhere that the gearing in the 12k zeon makes it almost half the speed of the 8k.
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I will have to check that out. My Zeon 12 seems plenty fast, but I haven't used it nearly as much as all of my others.

The Zeon is also much faster than the Evo.
 
jdofmemi said:
I will have to check that out. My Zeon 12 seems plenty fast, but I haven't used it nearly as much as all of my others.

The Zeon is also much faster than the Evo.
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That was all wrong. I changed the post. The 12k is slower at full load than the 8k at full load but they are about the same at equal load. Less amps required for the 12k at 8k lbs.
 
Bierpower said:
That was all wrong. I changed the post. The 12k is slower at full load than the 8k at full load but they are about the same at equal load. Less amps required for the 12k at 8k lbs.
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Yeah, there’s a lot more to it than just max rating and max speed. How much length of what line you to spool on are just as important. Friction pulleys have been a game changer and for anyone who has or is looking at a synthetic line setup, should definitely be part of the solution.
 
JT@623 said:
Zeon 10S has been ordered should be here next week . Now just got to break the news to the wifey AKA the accountant she’s gonna ban me from coming here 🤣
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Just install it when she's not around. And if she eventually notices it, tell her it's always been there.

Seriously though, the first time we had to use ours, we went wheeling by ourselves and our kids were toddlers. We got into a rocky spot where both differentials ended up hanging up on rocks and I couldn't go anywhere. It quickly became apparent that we had to winch. In just a minute or so, we were back on the trail moving again and my wife said to me 'Sure glad you bought that winch.'
 
WJCO said:
Just install it when she's not around. And if she eventually notices it, tell her it's always been there.

Seriously though, the first time we had to use ours, we went wheeling by ourselves and our kids were toddlers. We got into a rocky spot where both differentials ended up hanging up on rocks and I couldn't go anywhere. It quickly became apparent that we had to winch. In just a minute or so, we were back on the trail moving again and my wife said to me 'Sure glad you bought that winch.'
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She’s on to that trick . And I’m out alone a lot well me and the dogs but now I’ll be taking the grandkids so not wanting to leave anything to chance . A few hundred dollars more is worth it for peace of mind if nothing else.
 
JT@623 said:
She’s on to that trick . And I’m out alone a lot well me and the dogs but now I’ll be taking the grandkids so not wanting to leave anything to chance . A few hundred dollars more is worth it for peace of mind if nothing else.
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Make sure and get a tree strap too so you have an anchor point.
 
WJCO said:
Make sure and get a tree strap too so you have an anchor point.
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I’ve got all the recovery gear went ahead and ordered the factor 55 ultra hook as well.
I should probably go back and update the thread on how much you plan on spending on your Jeep this year .
 
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