Warn’s New VR Winches Meet Today’s Demands

By reading the title, you’ve now been forced to wonder, what are “today’s demands?” Glad you asked! Today’s off-roaders are a finicky bunch: We want the best quality, but we don’t want to pay anymore than what the worst quality costs. And while there are still a great deal of off-roaders who want the bar-none, best made-in-the-USA items, there are also a good number of enthusiasts who want to support U.S.-made products but just can’t afford it all the time in today’s economy.

Warn recognized all of this as new ultra-cheap overseas winches flooded the market. While there was still a large demographic buying high-end winches, there was definitely a new demand for cheaper units. But the company did not want to sacrifice quality control, nor did it want to ship potential American jobs offshore if they were to build a less expensive line. Enter the VR winch line, assembled in the USA but made with foreign parts and domestic parts, and at a price affordable to every off-roader.

When we wanted to add a new VR winch to an old Suburban that’s used for mild dirt roads and snow driving in the winter, we didn’t want to put on something permanent. The winch would really only be used for off-the-highway recoveries and chores around the house like stump pulling. That’s why we got Warn’s Multi-Mount and Quick Connector kit from Off-Road Power Products who works with Hazzard Fabworx in Spokane, Washington, to handle any of the install jobs that OPP needs. The crew at Hazzard had the entire Warn kit on the old SUV in just hours.

Line Performance (First Layer of Cable)
Line Pull (LBS)	Line Speed (FPM)	AMP Draw
0	29.0	69
2,000	14.2	179
4,000	9.9	281
6,000	7.3	381
8,000	4.8	457

Warn VR 8000 Winch Specs

Model:	Warn VR8000-S (synthetic rope), VR8000 (steel cable)
Price:	$729.99 (VR8000-S), $479.99 (VR8000)
Max rated line pull:	8,000 pounds
Motor:	Series-wound motor (12VDC)
Duty cycle rating:	5 percent (45 seconds at max-rated load)
Geartrain:	Three-stage planetary
Gear Ratio:	216:1
Brake:	Automatic direct drive cone
Cable/Rope:	100 feet Spydura synthetic rope (VR8000-S), 94-feet-5/16-inch steel cable (VR8000)
Dimensions:	20.8L x 6.3D x 6.97H inches
Mounting Pattern:	10.0 x 4.5 inches
Weight:	62 pounds with Spydura synthetic cable, 80 pounds with steel cable
Fairlead:	Polished aluminum hawse (VR8000-S), roller fairlead (VR8000)
Remote:	12-foot wired remote lead

01. The crew at Hazzard Fabworx laid everything out first and unbolted the tow hooks off the front end, as that is where the front receiver hitch goes.
01. The crew at Hazzard Fabworx laid everything out first and unbolted the tow hooks off
02. Cooper Rasmussen set the VR8000 winch into the Multi-Mount cradle and bolted it down in its 10x4.5-inch mounting pattern.
02. Cooper Rasmussen set the VR8000 winch into the Multi-Mount cradle and bolted it down
03.0 Warn updated their solenoid boxes on all its winch models, including the VR line. We used a Warn Power Lead Cable kit to get a heavy-duty connector back to the rear of the Suburban for powering the winch when it is in back of the vehicle. Warn’s giant two-wire connectors for the power cable kit are really nice and easy to use.
03.0 Warn updated their solenoid boxes on all its winch models, including the VR line. We

03.5 Warn updated their solenoid boxes on all its winch models, including the VR line. We used a Warn Power Lead Cable kit to get a heavy-duty connector back to the rear of the Suburban for powering the winch when it is in back of the vehicle. Warn’s giant two-wire connectors for the power cable kit are really nice and easy to use.
03.5 Warn updated their solenoid boxes on all its winch models, including the VR line. We
04. With the two hooks off, Luke Shuman and Rocky Dorame fitted the front receiver into place. The factory bolts are not long enough to reinstall the tow hooks with the receiver hitch sandwiched in between, but it is safe to do that if you get longer bolts.
04. With the two hooks off, Luke Shuman and Rocky Dorame fitted the front receiver into
05. Rocky routed the Warn cable kit along the frame rail. The kit does not come with any sheathing so we used old rubber hose taped in place around the cables in places where we thought the frame might rub on the cable.
05. Rocky routed the Warn cable kit along the frame rail. The kit does not come with any

06. With VR8000-S winch wired up and mounted properly on the vehicle in the new Multi-Mount, we attached the Spydura synthetic line and began to wind it in with a load on the line to keep the rope tight.
06. With VR8000-S winch wired up and mounted properly on the vehicle in the new Multi-Mou
07. No sooner did we get the winch installed than a call came through—a GMC Tahoe had slipped off the dirt road near our house. We were immediately able to put the Warn VR8000 into action. With the Sypdura synthetic rope, we did not need a winch cable blanket for safety since a synthetic line will just drop limp if it ever snaps.
07. No sooner did we get the winch installed than a call came through—a GMC Tahoe had sli
08. By using a synthetic rope, we were able to keep the whole package around 70 pounds—light enough to lift in and out of either a front or rear hitch receiver. The Multi-Mount has a limit of 9,500 pounds, thus why we decided to go with a VR8000 and not a VR10000. With only 31-inch tires and the knowledge of how we were going to be using the winch, we decided that the 8,000-pound winch would be more than adequate, and be easier to lift on and off the truck for storage in the garage.
08. By using a synthetic rope, we were able to keep the whole package around 70 pounds—li

Sources
Warn Industries 12900 S.E. Capps Road Clackamas OR 97015 800-910-1122 www.warn.com	Off-Road Power Products 866-379-8685 http://www.offroadpowerproducts. com
Hazzard Fabworx 509-995-1176