How to get top quality winch?

[DKG]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

PLEASE USE ONLY RAMSEY WINCH RATED @ MINIMUM 8000 LBS. Believe me, I know. We have pulled around 25 vehicles up a 15 degree or so of slope at > 30 ft long range out of knee deep mud in pouring rain in a span of about 6 hours by using one winch only (with additional chains).

Thanks for the feedback. Do we have dealers for the brand in India? Any idea as to how much the 8000 lb unit costs?

[iceman91]

Prices of that in India if available through parallel imports

[pdev29]

we bought one warn 8000 lbs for some 65k. if anyone wanna buy i can get the exact information on it.

[iceman91]

65k is a good price for a warn in India, is that afetr customs, transportation etc. etc.?

[DKG]

Originally Posted by pdev29

we bought one warn 8000 lbs for some 65k. if anyone wanna buy i can get the exact information on it.

Would really appreciate any details you can share. Kindly mention the model you picked up

[pdev29]

it was sourced from banglore costed around 65k, its 30mts long. dont know the model number will have to get it from my friend.

[GTO]

Was just curious about the security of the winch? Do you weld it on to the Jeep chassis? In a city like Bombay, there is almost a 100% chance of it getting flicked.

Considering that good winches are so expensive, how do we prevent theft?

[iceman91]

As far as I know GTO you can weld if you want to but other wise they come with standard bolts.

i do know friends in OZ who used one time bolts, they have to be cut if you want to remove the winch. Sort of like rivets

[pdev29]

winch is bolted on chassis, i have not seen anyone welding it so far but its tough to remove it.

[ex670c]

Hi Guys,

The first Criteria is the rated pull of the winch i.e 8000lbs, 12000lbs etc.

1) The rated pull is on the first layer of the drum (total 4 layer)e.g on the 4th layer a 12000lbs winch will have a pull of 8500lbs.

2) Calculate the max rated pull for a vehicle
a) MG410/413--1000kgsX2.2 =2200lbsX2.5/3.5(winching factor)=5500/7700lbs

b) CJ3B/CJ340 1100kgsX2.2=2420lbsX2.5/3.5(winching factor)=6050/8470lbs

c)MM540/MM550--1400kgsX2.2=3080lbsX2.5/3.5(winching factor)=7700/10780lbs

3) The Winching Factor multiplies the pull required in OTR conditions.
muddy inclines and vehicle stuck upto the axles.

From the above information you can decide (keeping #1 rated pull in mind)
what capacity winch can pull what vehicle.

Regards,

Arka

[ex670c]

Hi Guys,

1) 12000lbs
2) 6.6Hp motor

I have deliberately abused my winch to see it durabilty and was quite pleased.

1) exposed it to seawater/brackish water and rains.

2) smashed it against a truck

The Winch Motor was clogged with salt and other deposits which I have cleaned and re-lubricated. The motor is quite well built and the winch is very uncomplicated.


Regards,

Arka

Pics#1 - My MM540XD at TPC2007
Pics#2-4 - Patrick's CJ3B (with the same winch) at Kelambakkam.

[indianrunner]

Hi,

Adventure One in Bangalore behind India Garage (ST Mark's Road) has a whole bunch of Warn winches, driving lights, Old Man Emu suspension setups, ARB Bull bars (with built in winch points), extraction kits etc for off roading. The rates seem high but if you take the customs and freight etc and the fact that all these are premium products it's not too bad.

Rgds

[RedMM340]

Originally Posted by DKG

Pls excuse my going but interestingly I too am researching winches and am presently zeroed in to a Warn 8274-50 8000 lb winch. Sadly the India dealer in Bangalore is a ripoff quoting 1.1 lacs. Its available for 1100 USD. Even with shipping, taxes, and VAT it shouldn't cost that much. Will get someone to buy it there and send it. Would you know if the Warn winches are available in Bombay? I guess Ramsey should be of similar quality?

The Warn 8274-50 is one of the best winches made, with a very fast pull speed. It is very popular with hard core off roaders that need to do frequent pulls. It is also one of the most expensive winches on the market, and unless you really can use and need that type of performance, there are much lower cost alternatives that will work very well.

For most Jeeps, an 8k winch is totally sufficient. A Gypsy can do with a 6k winch. There is a tendancy to go for a higher pull rating for safety factor, but often this is just overkill and the net effect is that you are just carrying extra weight on you front bumper. Keep in mind that the motor for a 6k winch is typically the same as a 9.5k winch, and the only difference is the gearing. This means that if you get a Warn 6k winch, it will have a faster pull speed than the 9.5k. 12k winches are even slower.

Warn, and Ramsey are probably the 2 best winches on the market today. There is also Tmax from Australia. Milemarker is lower cost than Warn/Ramsey and has decent quality, which gives you the best value for money. You can get a milemarker PE8000 from costco.com for $340. This unit will work for 99.9% of winch requirements with a typical Jeep, etc.

I have a Ramsey 9500 on my CJ340, and have used it some really difficult situations, and it has worked great. I bought this winch in the U.S., disassembled it into the drum, motor, gearbox, electricals, and brought the pieces over in different suitcases. Then proceeded to reassemble in Delhi. Worked great, and paid no duty.

Most winches have a standard 10x4.5 bolt pattern, and all manufacturers sell standard winch mounting plates. This is highly recommended for safety. I tack welded the mounting plate to my vehicle frame for added strength and security from theft. I then put a security cable lock around the winch drum and front bumper.

[DKG]

Originally Posted by iceman91

i do know friends in OZ who used one time bolts, they have to be cut if you want to remove the winch

Perhaps we could use security nuts like those used for expensive alloy wheels?

Originally Posted by ex670c

Hi Guys,

The first Criteria is the rated pull of the winch i.e 8000lbs, 12000lbs etc.

1) The rated pull...

Thanks Arka, was hoping someone would throw more light on the subject. I gather with each wind on the drum the rated load strength decreases by 10%

The winching factor some winch sites claim as 1.5, I noticed you mentioned 2.5 or 3.5.

Nice to know the chinese brand you bought has fared well.

Originally Posted by indianrunner

Hi,

Adventure One in Bangalore behind India Garage (ST Mark's Road) has a whole bunch of Warn winches

I had a colleague check it out today. I believe the 8274-50 is Rs 107800 lowest. He's working on a margin of atleast 30k which is ridiculous. You don't make that kind of money selling Honda City's!

Originally Posted by RedMM340

The Warn 8274-50 is one of the best winches made, with a very fast pull speed.

I then put a security cable lock around the winch drum and front bumper.

Despite the higher cost I'd be more comfortable with something that has a worldwide reputation for reliability so a Warn it will be for me. I think like you I'll pick it up in the US and have it sent down someway.

The idea of the cable lock is good for securing the winch

One last point on winch installation is apparently it should be ideally anchored to the chassis (in line with it too to prevent the frame from bending) So unless the bumper is heavyduty like the old Jeeps it might be dicey to fix it onto a flimsy metal bumper as it might just rip the whole bumper off.

Also the electicals is something that is very critical. The 8000lb winches require anywhere from 450+ amp of juice to crank. You need 2 guage wire and preferably earthed to the engine directly. Also it is recommended to run a parallel setup with a dual battery rated for atleast 600 amps. You would need to upgrade the alternater to handle charging two batteries.

[VJ_MAVRICK]

Deepak,
One of my friend Kishan had got his winch from Bangkok. I aint sure about the dealers and prices here. However, the info for the Bangkok dealer is as below
VVP 4X4 Center co Ltd . You can send a mail to (sales@vvp4x4.com)
According to my friend Kishan, you can get the winch as a personal luggage as he has done it and could save on logistics (for transfer).