Warn #62858 Medium-Duty Winch Accessory Kit

Once You Have Your Winch, You Need A Few Things To Get The Most Out Of It

If you plan to do any serious off-road adventuring, you will find that a winch - a good, quality winch - is a powerful friend. They can help you recover yourself from bad spots, allow you to help someone else, and even be used to clear certain obstructions if necessary. Used properly, they are great tools.

We have always recommended Warn winches. They are built to last, they are trail-proven, and they just plain work. We have an HS-9500i on our current project Jeep, and have had no need to replace it thus far.

But just having a winch - even a really good one - is not enough. You will find that if you want to safely and correctly use that winch you need a few extra items to facilitate doing do. These are things like a tree trunk protector, some good gloves, and other items that allow you to use all of the capabilities of the winch. The Warn #62858 Medium-Duty Winch Kit is just about the best way to get all of these things in one shot. It is designed for winches up to 9500 pounds of capacity using steel winch lines.

To start with, you need something to carry your supplies in. A hard case would work, but in the confines of a Jeep you will find that you can pack more soft-sided cases in. The Warn #62858 Medium-Duty Winch Accessory Kit includes a soft-sided camoflage bag (Part Number 37881). This worked well for us since most of our gear is either camo or OD green.

Inside of the Warn #62858 Accessory Kit you will find the following items:

Warn Winching Guide (Part Number 62885):

This valuable guide tells you most of what you need to know to start using your winch. I feel that everyone should at least try to memorize the contents of this document prior to going out on the trail. Warn even makes this freely available as an Adobe Acrobat file which you can download by clicking here.

Always follow the safety recommendations that are contained in this manual. YOU are accountable for knowing how to safely use any and all products you have. Accept responsibility and make sure that you are always acting in a safe and appropriate manner.

Warn Gloves (Part Number 14042):

It doesn't matter if you are using steel or synthetic winchline, you need a good set of gloves. Steel line can develop tiny barbs that can really mess up your hands. You can also get little pieces of wood or other debris caught up in your winch line. You need to protect your hands at all times when handling it. For that matter, the winch line can get really dirty. The gloves included in this kit are heavy and are made of leather and cotton.

Warn Snatch Block (Part Number 61560):

Snatch blocks are great. They can allow you to pull at right-angles, and can multiply the winch power when used to double-back a winch line. This particular model is rated at 19,000 pounds and is good for winches up to 9500-pound capacity using 5/16" steel winch line. That means it will work with anything up to the HS-9500i and the 9.5ti. More detailed directions for using this are provided in the Winching Guide. I do want to point out one very important safety feature...

Do you see the three lines on the side where you hook up the D-shackle?

You need to make sure these lines are always straight.

If you EVER see any waves or bending in these lines, it means that the snatch block has been over-stressed and must be replaced immediately. If you don't replace it, someone could die.

Warn 3/4" D-Shackles (Part Number 13047):

This kit includes two of these. These are what you need to correctly use the snatch block and tree-trunk protector. They are also used to attach winch lines to D-shackle points on various vehicle bumpers - including those from Warn. I have seen some pretty crappy ones that guys have bought at some of the "import discount" places that I would not trust to pull a moped. The units in this kit are not the best in appearance - some kits from other manufacturers have them painted or coated, but these are strong and durable. That's what really counts.

Warn 4" x 8' Tree Trunk Protector (Part Number 61415)

Whatever you do - DO NOT JUST WRAP YOUR WINCH LINE AROUND A TREE AND PUT THE HOOK BACK ON TO THE LINE. This can work, but it will damage or destroy the tree and can mess up your winch line. You do NOT want to give the enviro-nazis any reason to keep you off of the trails, so don't risk it.

This tree trunk protector is 4 inches wide and is well padded. It spreads the force out over a very large area which prevents any damage to the tree. It is 8 feet long, allowing you to get it around some really big trees. The correct way to use it is to put it around the tree, and secure the ends in a D-shackle. Then you hook your winch line onto the D-shackle. It looks like this.

This particular unit is rated to 30,000 pounds. Warn tree trunk protectors and recovery straps have some red threads in the center. If you get to the point where you can see these, it means that the unit is damaged and it is time to replace the unit. That's a safety feature - recognize it.

Warn 3" x 30' Standard Recovery Strap (Part Number 11392):

These are not really used with the winch. They are designed to allow you to pull a stuck vehicle out of a bad spot. You will find that this is very useful and is why we recommended this kit over the other Warn Medium Duty Accessory Kit.

Whatever you do - DO NOT USE A RECOVERY STRAP WITH METAL HOOKS ATTACHED TO THE ENDS. These are commonly available at Wal-Mart and other stores. Those metal hooks can become deadly projectiles if something goes wrong. Spend the extra few dollars and get a real, quality strap like this one. These can be attached with the D-shackles which offer greater safety.

Hook this up between two vehicles, and the one that is not stuck can pull or jerk the other free. These straps are stong (rated for 21,600 pounds) yet have some elasticity (stretch) to them. When you put tension on it, it stretches. Things that stretch generally have a tendency to want to un-stretch. This tendency adds to the pulling power and can help you jerk the other vehicle free. You don't want to confuse this with the tree trunk protector. This is thinner and is not designed for the same purpose.

That covers the contents of this kit. Now for the important part - How Does It Perform?

The first rule is Avoid Trouble In The First Place. That way you won't have the chance to use any of these items. We follow this rule, but we also setup scenarios so that we can practice our skills and work the kinks out of our gear.

The good news is that in the times we have used this gear, we have had great luck with it. The day this came in there was a fire on a mountain nearby that appeared to be threatening some public safety and emergency radio towers. We got involved in spotting the fire, and on the way out the door I grabbed the kit and put it in the back.

We didn't have to use it on that trip, but we setup some scenarios in AF Canyon where we had to use a winch. Everything worked as you would expect from a Warn product - when used correctly it all works fine.

Warn makes quality gear, and it shows. Just keep the gear clean, look for warning thread indicators showing on the recovery strap and tree trunk protector, and keep the snatch block lubricated and check the stress lines on it, and you won't have any problems.

Warn also has another Medium Duty Accessory Kit (Part Number 37880). It includes the same snatch block, but has only one D-Shackle. It substitutes 10-feet of grade 7 Choker Chain (Part Number 26083) instead of the recovery strap. It also includes a 2" Tree Trunk Protector rather than the 4" which comes with the 62858 Kit.

We elected to recommend the 62858 Kit as it is more versatile and more fully fits the needs we have seen in our adventures. Your mileage may vary - and the 37880 Kit may be more of what you need.

You can get more information by visiting www.warn.com or by contacting Warn:

Warn Industries

12900 SE Capps Road

Clackamas, OR 97015

800-543-9276 (Voice)

503-722-3000 (FAX)

-- James Bell Jr.