10k vs 12k winch

seen a few threads on this so I’ll keep it short and sweet…

my buddy is selling his modded tundra and is willing to swap winches with me before the sale

my winch: warn vr evo 12k steel cable ($700)

his winch: warn zeon 10-S platinum ($2700 and extremely nice winch with lots of remote control features to include clutch engage/disengage from the remote, 20% faster line speed, etc)

I know I can increase the winches effectiveness with snatch blocks and different line pulls, but my concern is I still lose 2,000 lbs of pulling capacity.

GVWR of my truck: 7200 lbs
2018 SR5 CM 4x4

I read warn recommends to multiply your gvwr by 1.5 to get your ideal winch lb rating. 7200 x 1.5 = 10,800 lbs which means I’m already over the 10k lb rating of the winch out of the gate before my current mods that are on my truck (bumper, skids, sliders etc)

what would you do?

 

I was in the same boat winch capacity wise when looking to buy a winch this summer. I honestly ended up with the 10k Smittybilt X20 Synthetic. I couldn't pass up on the deal that I got. I deeply/secretly wanted the 12k but life is such. In this situation when you're comparing two totally different class of winches I'd give up the 2k lbs for the convenience and quality of the Zeon.

Now if we were on a Cummins or Duramax forum I'd have a different answer.

 

Is he cool with an even swap? If so, that's a generous friend of yours.

 

Thanks for the input. I feel the same way. He knows the swap is uneven lol he’s a very close friend.

 

Id jump on it, better unit and you an use a snatch if you need extra pull power. But I bet you won't need the extra pull.

 

Sounds like a good deal from a good friend. Go for it.

 

Get the Zeon. Those are still US made from what i recall, much nicer unit. Lots of people on here run 10k winches. Knowledge of proper winching technique and snatch blocks are important though.