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Winches

5K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  Wbeamer20 
#1 ·
Thinking about installing a good quality winch on my 06 Commander,

Mount in rear or front? What brand are good and pull strength, mounting kit etc....
 
#2 ·
Warn and Smittybilt are good.
 
#3 ·
Both are good brands, but of the two I'd get a Warn because parts for rebuilding are easy to find.

First, find out how much pull you need. Take the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and multiply it by 1.5. The Commander GVWR is right around 6200. Multiplied by 1.5 you get 9300 lbs. That's your minimum pull capacity. Only consider winches that can handle that capacity.

Moving on to winch line. Cable or synthetic? Depends on your environment. Mostly mud or dirt, either would do, but you could get away with using the lighter synthetic which is also safer in the event it snaps during a pull. I live in the desert and wheel in the mountains. Synthetic may abrade on the rocks, so I would need to be very careful.

Hitch or bumper? Commanders have plenty of internal space. I'd go for a hitch mount and store it in the garage when not in use. You may want to mount it to your bumper. I live in Vegas where people steal anything, so I tend to hide things.

From there, you can start looking into options. That should get you started though. Hope that helps.
 
#4 ·
Mine fits in a storage compartment where the third row seat used to be. I have front and rear receivers and an extension cord for using it on the rear. Having the winch hidden paid off when even a Jeep dealer that bought it fraudulently from my Ex did not now it was there. Otherwise it would have disappeared.
 
#6 ·
I have an 8,000 lb winch on my XK right now and it works good enough.
 
#8 ·
Here is what I use on my rig. Same concept as HueyPilotVN's > Winch
 
#12 ·
Is there a safe way to use a couple chains to attach the winch to the front tow hooks at all or is a front hitch mount the only way to go.

Theoretically yes. BUT NO this would not be advisable. Would hate to have your winch slingshot at someone if it lets go. Besides trying to rig it up in the mud will not be fun which is also the reason a lot of people prefer permanent mounted winches.
 
#11 ·
8000lb isn't recommended but will work for most situations. Pick up a snatch block, winch line extension and you can double the pull. BUT if you will be stuck in mud often get a larger winch. The suction mud can make pulling VERY hard. I am working on mounting an 8000# in mine but it is what I had left over from my old XJ. If I had to purchase new I would go with at least a 9000#. Maybe keep an eye out for a good used winch.
Mounting front or rear...depends which way you want to go :) You could go with a receiver mount then you could move it to where you would like.
I would also recommend adding a second battery.
 
#14 ·
Would love a more inexpensive option for mounting a winch. Do not want to go the receiver mount option. Would love a winch bumper so I do not have to mess with putting it on and off in the event I need it. Cannot believe there are not more options for winch bumpers. Found only a couple suitable options but they are expensive. You can throw a winch plate and winch on a TJ in two hours but the Commander winch bumper is a whole different animal.

Recently hydrolocked my 5.7 hemi in some shallow water because I gave it to much go juice afraid of getting stuck with no winch option to get out. If I had a winch I would have eased her through the crossing a little more not worrying about getting stuck. By my calculations a winch bumper and good 9k winch would run me in the $1500 range if I do everything my self.

Good news is the guys at Outer Banks Jeep in NC found me a new motor and slung it in there in only 2 weeks. Great service if you ever get down there and need some work.
 
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