Richard, here in Colorado and Utah expect to exceed your four wheeling intentions constantly! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> In regards to your e-mail, which BTW is very welcomed, I must warn you of a serious concern in our sport. Four wheelers commonly expound on the virtues and capabilities of the products they themselves purchased without a full knowledge and long time experience of their product or similar products in the marketplace.

Truly, I suspect that any winch you select will do well enough. You'll note that both Bob and I only state that our REP8000's have provided adequate service for an extended period of time. We both know (I say this based on Bob's obvious knowledge) that most winches will most likely provide the same good service.

I simply went with the REP8000 because it was an inexpensive alternative to the Warn winches everyone else seemed to use back when I truly was new-to-the-sport (so much to constantly learn, I always feel like a beginner). Honestly, I learned about Ramsey mostly after buying the REP8000. Now, only in hindsight, I caution new-to-the-sport four wheelers to do the due diligence purchasing any aftermrket Jeep gear. And, again, in hindsight, I recommend not only a winch rated for frequent use, but an integrated solenoid for our climate.

I read with interest the supportive statements you referenced; they do appear to fall into the catagory of inexperienced winch users promoting the product they purchased. There are many safety concerns for properly using any winch; one good way to wreck/destroy your Jeep is to winch a much heavier vehicle. Double or triple line winching might be acceptable if the recovery Jeep is properly anchored to retrieve a Jeep deeply stuck in sticky mud. Our winches we commonly use are rated for offroad small vehicle recovery, they're not industrial/commercial duty rated. It always comes down to the Jeep owner making the decision on his own; everyone only means well and hopes his/her suggestions helped the Jeep owner make their decision.

Again, have fun with your Jeep and I hope to meet you down the road. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />