Dave's Jeep JT Gladiator: The 'Gator

Dave, if I was you I woud get a Mile Marker hydrauic winch for your new truck. It will never let you down like an electric winch.

Actually, no. When DoD (and I4WDTA) did winch testing to destruction, Mile Marker was not the winner.

It was Warn. Electric.

And for the record, I've personally never had a winch let me down. I've owned several Warns and Superwinches now and they've all worked every time I needed them.

I’ve never owned a Smittybilt or Harbor Freight winch so I can’t speak to their reliability.
 
Same here with Warn, never let me down or should I say never used it for SELF RECOVERY of myself just others.
 
Ever since a Warn let me down by melting the brake and destroying all drive from powering out one length of rope I will never have another electric winch!
Tow trucks use hydraulic winches for a reason.
 
Tow trucks use hydraulic winches for a reason.

Logging equipment uses hydraulic winches as well. That said, there are trade offs that many are not comfortable with. Number one is weight, number two is tying that winch in to your power steering pump and the inherent risk of complexity added there. It's all fun and games until you lose a hose and now you're back to armstrong steering, and no winch.

Glad you like yours, but I'll keep my electric winch ;)
 
I’ve never owned a Smittybilt or Harbor Freight winch so I can’t speak to their reliability.

Used to sell Smittybilt winches. Roughly a 40% defect rate. 0/10 wouldn't recommend even to my worse enemy. In contrast, the entire time I worked there never once had a Warn brought back. I've seen S/B winches not work and/or break right out of the box. Friends don't let friends buy chinesium.
 
Let’s see how the ‘Gator likes some bigger claws!

Falken Wildpeak A/T3W 315/70R17

10A21B39-D596-494E-AF2E-E54289BAA125.jpeg
 
Same size tires as on my almost 8,000# dodge diesel truck. What air pressure are y ou planning on running them at? 25psi? I run mine 35 front 30 rear which is what the tire load charts recomend.
20200619_083011.jpg
 
I run my Falkens at 40 psi on the road. Aired down depends on terrain and how long before I air up again.
 
Must be a rough ride on the road, they don't wear out in the center at that pressure?

Not at all. Max is 65 psi (cold).

Running them at say, 30 or 35 psi degrades my fuel efficiency on the super slab. So I run 40.

I’ll reach out to Falken and see what they say.

35A3C6F3-2023-4F40-9DFA-0D548160EC5A.jpeg
 
Contacted Falken, they said follow the OEM recommendation.

Since this truck came with the same Falken A/T3W tires as OEM equipment, I’d say I’m right on target with what I’ve been doing.

DF4AA34D-7A9D-41D4-987B-8EEFB33AA5E9.jpeg
 
Maximun pressure is for maximum load, you truck is nowhere near the max load for your 315 70 17 tires, but do what you think best.

Nuh-uh!
Yes you will get less rolling resistance with higher pressure but ride quality and tire wear will suffer.

Again, OEM pressure is 37 psi for a 33. My preference is 40. And I’ll run 40 on my 35’s as well.
 
One of my favorite mods on my old Tacoma was a set of Hella triple air horns. Sometimes, you really need to let someone know you’re sharing the road with them. Or maybe you have a 4 legged visitor in camp who needs to vamoose.

5 horns total now should do the trick :D

3979FAFB-A0F5-46A7-BE86-3A077F086313.jpeg
 
Back
Top Bottom