If you’re a wild child who likes the thrill of offroading, you need a winch that can save your behind in times of need.
So, when you’re looking for a dirt makeover we understand and getting the right winch as your sidekick can be a bit overwhelming, but one brand stands above the rest.
The ideal winch is one that is safe, durable, and easy to use. Warn winches have roped in a reputation over decades of tried and true mud pulling, life saving, “thank god” gasping work.
If you’d like to jump to the section of winches for trucks and jeeps, click here
Let’s take a look at our Warn winches review:
Atv Winches
Warn Provantage 4500
The Provantage 4500 is made for heavier ATVs or side by sides. With it’s largest in class capacity, it’s capable of pulling some heavy suckers out of trouble. In addition to it’s pull strength, it can do it at the furthest distance coming in with a rope length of 55 feet.
Do you get in water frequently? If you do it’s got a well-built housing that will help keep it dry.
It does weigh a bit for something that’s gonna be on an ATV, 35 lbs. This series of winches include a wired clutch remote and a dash mounted control switch. The fairlead has a larger diameter roller on the bottom, instead of a standard size.
The Provantage Series: ranging in capacity from 2,500-4,500 lbs this series has ATV and side by side users covered.
Warn is the best in the business for a reason and the ProVantage are no exception, they’re made from solid metal parts and heavy duty construction.
All are powder coated, have planetary gears, are fully sealed and corrosion-resistant. It includes 6 designs, the Provantage 2500, 2500-s, 3500, 3500-s, 4500, and 4500-s.
Warranty information: for the entire Provantage line is Lifetime for all mechanical components, and 3 years for electrical.
Warn Vantage 4000
The highest rated pull capacity in the Warn Vantage series is the Vantage 4000 and it’s brother, the 4000-s. This line is nearly half the price of the ProVantage series and at the top end model, it’s a difference in pulling capacity of only 500 lbs. This comes with a standard fairlead and a solid metal housing. More features include a dash-mounted control switch, corded remote and a mini-rocker switch. This comes in six models with the differences being line capacity and rope type.
The Vantage series is a “if it aint broke don’t fix it” flagship. Although newer models from Warn have hit the marketplace, this is consistently rated as one of the top ATV winches by the offroading community.
Warranty Information: The Vantage line offers a 5-year mechanical warranty and a 1 year electrical.
Warn Axon 45
The Axon 45 is an innovative design with one goal in mind, to keep water and debris out of your winch housing. The electrical components are sealed away, protected from water seeping in.
It’s a newer design that we love and IPA 68 rated as waterproof. This winch has a 4500 lb pull capacity and comes with 50 feet of steel rope. The new innovation involves combining the motor and contactor together as one device. Included in your purchase is a dash-mounted control switch and a corded remote.
Made with side by sides and ATVs in mind, attach this to your Polaris and you’ll be fine. Along with the VRX this is the newest line to hit the marketplace in 2018. Out of all models for our Warn winch reviews, this is definitely the best for people who will need it in wet environments.
The Axon Series has six models with ratings of 3500-5500lbs with synthetic and steel cable options.
Warranty Information: The Axon series is covered by a limited lifetime warranty on mechanical components and a three-year warranty on electrical parts.
Warn VRX 45
The latest line of UTV winches from Warn is looking beefy and perfect for people who need their winch for a wet environment. The VRX 45 is an all metal construction housing that includes 50 feet of steel rope. As usual from Warn, you get a dash control switch and a corded remote control. No rocker switch is included with this series though. This model has an IP68 rating in terms of how waterproof it is. That is the highest rating a component can have and is defined as “complete continuous submersion in water”. When we said beefy we weren’t joking, as it’s one of the heaviest ATV winches we’ve ever reviewed at 29 lbs.
The VRX series comes in six models ranging from 2500-4500 lbs and is Warn’s latest offering, first arriving in June of 2018.
Warranty Information: A limited lifetime warranty for mechanical and a 3 year electrical warranty.
For Trucks and Jeeps
Warn Zeon Platinum 12k
Every company has what we call “the big kahuna”. This is the monster of the fleet, and Warn Zeon fits that bill. Their top of the line winch packs a punch with a pull rating of 12000 lbs.
A fully enclosed solid metal housing has it looking like Fort Knox and weighing 106 lbs. If you are prone to getting your offroad vehicle submerged or into muddy situations you can rest assured that this model meets the IP68 waterproof rating which means it should work while fully submerged.
The wireless remote gives you the freedom to operate at a safe distance and since this is a top of the line model it includes some extra perks. It has a usb charging cable, reads the motor temperature and a car charger adapter included.
This winch has a fast tow speed and is best for someone who will be using theirs regularly.
Definitely.. no, absolutely get a momentum dampener for this if you plan on purchasing the steel winch, if your vehicle weighs enough that you need this – the damage of a snapped steel line could be enormous.
The Zeon Platinum series includes 4 models ranging from 10,000 – 12,000 lbs of pull capacity and synthetic or wire. They all include the digital remote.
Warranty Information: The Zeon Platinum comes with a limited lifetime warranty for mechanical and a one-year warranty on electrical. For something costing this much, we were surprised to find the electrical warranty is only a year.
Warn VR12
The VR12 is a midline offering from Warn that is suitable for nearly everybody. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles of the Platinum series, but if you have a heavy vehicle and you are looking for a reliable product it’s still something to count on. This includes a wired remote with a connection that is waterproof, get it stuck in the water or have it out in the sun.We like the low profile compact look despite this weighing 76 lbs.
If you’re in need of a heavy duty winch with the historic reliability of Warn, do yourself a favor and pick something up from the VR line. Where cheaper Chinese products might look appealing at first, Warn comes through in the clutch.
The Warn VR series features six models ranging from 8000-12000lbs pull rating with the usual synthetic and steel cable choices.
Warranty Information: Limited lifetime warranty on mechanical problems and a 7 year electrical warranty.
Warn M8000
The Warn M8000 and M8000-s have a low profile design, but don’t let it’s compactness fool you. This unit is very well made with a full metal construction and comes with 100 feet of steel cable. It is a great, reliable unit that does have one clear flaw compared to others we reviewed. You don’t want to submerge this thing in water as it’s not waterproof and is electric. But, if you tend not to use your jeep as an imitation submarine then you will be very pleased with this unit. It even includes a remote control.
Warranty Information: Limited lifetime warranty for mechanical problems and a 7 year electrical warranty.
Warranty Information for Warn Products
All Warranty information was taken directly from Warn’s website which you can view here: https://www.warn.com/warranties
How to find and replace Warn Winch Parts
When you buy your Warn winch, there is a part number associated with your product. You can enter your product number into Amazon or ebay and find repair parts there, or you can go to the source itself, warn has a replacement parts website at https://www.warn.com/replacement-parts
Conclusion
When you’re looking for a winch and ask the off roading community what brand you should get, almost unanimously the answer is “Warn”. Hopefully you can get a feel for the quality of this brand.
With some of the best material sourcing and strongest warranties among winches, it’s a clear winner if it’s in your price range. You do pay a lot more for their winches compared to other products, but you’ll be much less likely to encounter an inferior product or things that don’t perform how they were puffed up to be.
Whatever you choose, let us know and if there’s a model of winch that has saved you a time or too – we’d like to hear that also! Good luck and hopefully you find the winch that suits you the best.