Good Value Winch?? Rough Country 9500

Heading out to garage to start on the installation. This winch was just what I was looking for. Should be plenty of power and came with synthetic line. For $399 and the reviews were mostly excellent.

 

I really wanna pull the house down!!

 

I hope after you have a chance to try the new winch you give us a review when you can. I like the looks of it.

 

Was that some sort of sale or is it always that price?

 

A winch is always a good addition to a Jeep. And it looks good to boot.

Before you go out into the woods, take it out, unwind the rope and hook it to either a tree or another vehicle then reel it back in with a good load on it. You need to stretch the synthetic line or the first time you use it, the rope will dive down between the wraps and can be a pain to get back out. I usually use the Jeep with the winch as the load and pull it up a hill with the parking brakes on lightly.

I vastly prefer synthetic rope for most uses. I carry a 6ft length of chain for if I need to drag a tree trunk or rock or hook it to a vehicle with sharp edges.

Mike

 

X2 on stretching and winding that rope tight. Set your parking brake or have someone ride the brakes while you guide the rope.

 

it is still 399 here...


9500lb Pro Series Electric Winch | Synthetic Rope

 

Looks like a good winch for the price.

 

I'd like to replace my cable with rope...less weight and less dangerous!

 

Couple weeks back we got into a spot. I say “lost traction” never “stuck”.
Because of the angle the jeep wouldn’t start but the new winch pulled us up and out no problem. Very easy to operate. I have zero prior experience with winches so that’s my detailed review.

Picture says a thousand words.

 

Taking the hard line though these washouts we lost traction here the same day.

 

what are the pros and cons of synthethic rope . I have experience with cable on heavy equipment from 1/4 to 1 1/8 but never been around synthetic.

 

Definitely lighter. No splinters / broken strands to poke hands. Supposedly not as dangerous if it breaks.

 

Upsides: light, strong, safer, easily tie it back together for a field fix

Downsides: Typically more expensive. It abrades easily then loses strength quickly. Also, like any fabric, it can weaken with age and/or a lot of UV exposure.

I’ve been winch shopping, and I’m on the fence about synthetic rope. I think I’m going to stick with traditional cable due to the nastiness of the terrain around here. 98% of my pulls will likely be over rocks and dirt and around trees. I can’t afford to replace winch line every season.

 

An additional upside for synthetic is the ease of splicing it in the field. I've used everything from 2k pound ATV winches to twin 45k pound hydraulic winches for loading M1 Abrams tanks onto a low-boy trailer.

I vastly prefer synthetic to steel. It's not as fragile as most think. I also carry a 6ft length of chain with me for those rare cases where I have to drag a tree or the only attachment points have sharp edges. Most don't realize, but both cable and synthetic winch lines require regular inspection and maintenance. We had to grease our heavy duty cables about twice a year. I wash my synthetic rope at least yearly, or more often if it gets pulled through the mud. The marine industry has been using synthetic lines for over 30 years, so UV exposure also isn't as damaging as most think.

Mike

 

thanks for replies. when i was an apprentice operator , an old iron worker who learned rigging in the navy taught me to splice wire rope and gave me a cool rigging handbook . the drinking stories were even better. while working on an atlantic city casino he told me about getting lost at the corner of walk and dont walk