proper winch, how many lbs?
Other then the weight of moving it around unless you keep it in the hitch 24/7, i dont see any cons. I put a 2" Receiver adaptor in both front and back of my home brew bumpers. Plan to fab me up a winch plate and use welder leads to run to the front and back with quick disconnects.
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,756
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From: Salem Nh
Year: 1998
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
Other then the weight of moving it around unless you keep it in the hitch 24/7, i dont see any cons. I put a 2" Receiver adaptor in both front and back of my home brew bumpers. Plan to fab me up a winch plate and use welder leads to run to the front and back with quick disconnects.
CF Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,992
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From: West Bloomfield,MI
Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L, CAI, Edelbrock Breather, Optima Yellowtop
A couple months ago, I was at a scrap yard because they called me and said they got a new XJ in and I got first dibs on parts. The guy who owns the place is really cool so I asked him if I could just drive back to the Jeep and he said it was fine. To get to the salvage cars, you need to drive over a bridge scale. I stopped on it out of curiosity to see how much my XJ weighed and I came in at 3700lbs, keep in mind I'm running a 3 inch lift, 31s, and I have subs in the trunk lol. So using the guide of how much my jeep weighs, it's safe to say you should be fine with the 4500 lb winch as long as you aren't going to get too stuck. Personally I'd find a 5000 lb winch and get that just for the extra assurance that if can handle any mess you put it in.
CF Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,761
Likes: 3
From: Cleveland, OH
Year: 91 Limited
Model: Cherokee
A couple months ago, I was at a scrap yard because they called me and said they got a new XJ in and I got first dibs on parts. The guy who owns the place is really cool so I asked him if I could just drive back to the Jeep and he said it was fine. To get to the salvage cars, you need to drive over a bridge scale. I stopped on it out of curiosity to see how much my XJ weighed and I came in at 3700lbs, keep in mind I'm running a 3 inch lift, 31s, and I have subs in the trunk lol. So using the guide of how much my jeep weighs, it's safe to say you should be fine with the 4500 lb winch as long as you aren't going to get too stuck. Personally I'd find a 5000 lb winch and get that just for the extra assurance that if can handle any mess you put it in.
CF Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,992
Likes: 0
From: West Bloomfield,MI
Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L, CAI, Edelbrock Breather, Optima Yellowtop
Never thought about how much resistance/drag mud would create. Yeah i'd go with a 6,000 or 7500 then
A winch should be 2x your vehicle weight. So if you're tipping the scales at 3700 lbs, you need a minimum of a 7500lb winch. I'd much rather play it safe and go with a 8,000-9,000lb winch so there's not as much strain on it - the more strain, the shorter the winch's life span.
CF Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,992
Likes: 0
From: West Bloomfield,MI
Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L, CAI, Edelbrock Breather, Optima Yellowtop
A winch should be 2x your vehicle weight. So if you're tipping the scales at 3700 lbs, you need a minimum of a 7500lb winch. I'd much rather play it safe and go with a 8,000-9,000lb winch so there's not as much strain on it - the more strain, the shorter the winch's life span.

I'll look into a 9000lb winch and see what kind of ungodly prices i can come up with lmao.
CF Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,761
Likes: 3
From: Cleveland, OH
Year: 91 Limited
Model: Cherokee


