Warn VR Evo

Beowulf

Expedition Leader
What are the general thoughts on the new Warn VR Evo? The price point is nice. Is this basically an overseas assembled Warn Zeon?



Warn VR EVO winch
 

Warn Industries

Supporting Vendor
I'm happy to field any questions you might have about the winch.

In short, VR EVO is our Standard Duty line of winches. This is the entry point to the WARN brand. It is made in China with premium parts in order to compete in the less expensive market segment. (All of our other winches leave our Clackamas, OR facility.) But as with previous VR, we wouldn't put a red W on it if we didn't believe it was a great product. Same limited lifetime warranty on mechanical parts, seven year standard warranty on electrical components. Parts are replaceable (it's not a throw-away product). Lots of new features on this guy.

Here's some more info about it along with a comparison of our other winches:
Finally, here's how VR EVO stacks up against our other winches: https://www.warn.com/compare-truck-suv-winches

- Andy
 

jadmt

ignore button user
I'm happy to field any questions you might have about the winch.

In short, VR EVO is our Standard Duty line of winches. This is the entry point to the WARN brand. It is made in China with premium parts in order to compete in the less expensive market segment. (All of our other winches leave our Clackamas, OR facility.) But as with previous VR, we wouldn't put a red W on it if we didn't believe it was a great product. Same limited lifetime warranty on mechanical parts, seven year standard warranty on electrical components. Parts are replaceable (it's not a throw-away product). Lots of new features on this guy.

Here's some more info about it along with a comparison of our other winches:
Finally, here's how VR EVO stacks up against our other winches: https://www.warn.com/compare-truck-suv-winches

- Andy
what is the difference between the VR evo and the VR series from before? I have had 2 VR's the VR10000S and VR10 both have been great.
 

aardvarcus

Adventurer
I ordered a Warn EVO VR 8 last week. I had intended to order a second gen VR (non EVO) which appear to be on sale right now to make room for the new EVO line, however after running some figures the new EVO VR winches appear to be significantly more efficient than the Gen 2 VRs. That means less load on the electrical system and less waste heat generated by the winch. The efficiency gains on the 8000 pounders seemed to be from 30% at moderate loads up to 90% at high loads.
 
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Warn Industries

Supporting Vendor
what is the difference between the VR evo and the VR series from before? I have had 2 VR's the VR10000S and VR10 both have been great.

The VR EVO is fully IP68 waterproof. The previous VR only had a waterproof contactor.
The VR EVO has a different motor and geartrain that allow it to be more efficient.
The VR EVO has a two-in-one remote that allows for wired or wireless operation. The previous VR only had a wired remote.
The VR EVO has different styling including a motor and gear end housing with aluminum armor which also helps to dissipate heat.
The VR EVO now comes with a roller fairlead for wire rope (this allows us to meet global compliance, and the winch will be sold internationally).

Hope this helps!

- Andy
 

aardvarcus

Adventurer
Haven't gotten a chance to "really" use it, but in testing/ tensioning the line it pulled my 4runner up a hill no problem. (Note I am using a different line and fairlead than it came with.) I am using it with a curt receiver mount and APP quick connects. I am happy with the weight of this setup, I wanted something that I could lift by myself without issue.

I was surprised when I was making up the APP ends the leads were actually copper wire, not CCA. I would have assumed that would have been "value engineered" out by now. Everything about this winch definitely seems more of a premium winch than I was expecting at this price point.
 

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Blue Baby Sound

A guy with a Jeep
We ordered a VR EVO 10s for the wife's Jeep (2018 JK) yesterday, hopefully have it in about a week.
The first trail use will be at the Rendezvous in the Ozarks Overland Rally in October.

Look forward to giving it workout.
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
I m not impressed in the current Warn line up, In a multi Winch test the warn was the first and Only winch to start smoking even though it had a 1000 Lbs pulling power advantage over the rest of the field.

Being made in China is not a bad thing at all, In fact the Winch that Won the Winch Shoot out was made in China also, Lets hope these ones are up to the task.
 

jadmt

ignore button user
I m not impressed in the current Warn line up, In a multi Winch test the warn was the first and Only winch to start smoking even though it had a 1000 Lbs pulling power advantage over the rest of the field.

Being made in China is not a bad thing at all, In fact the Winch that Won the Winch Shoot out was made in China also, Lets hope these ones are up to the task.
which test was that? Funny thing is the regional warn warranty repair shop said they have had less warranty claims on the VR series than any other Warn. I have a buddy that has a badlands winch and he has made many many pulls and it sounds like it is going to blow up but keeps on going. My brother has been thru 2 Engos and he won't get another and a buddy also had one and fought with warranty so long he finally just gave up and tossed it. My VR10000S and VR10S have been stellar both making many hard pulls (we snow wheel so winch a lot). I suppose it is luck of the draw like anything else.
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
which test was that? Funny thing is the regional warn warranty repair shop said they have had less warranty claims on the VR series than any other Warn. I have a buddy that has a badlands winch and he has made many many pulls and it sounds like it is going to blow up but keeps on going. My brother has been thru 2 Engos and he won't get another and a buddy also had one and fought with warranty so long he finally just gave up and tossed it. My VR10000S and VR10S have been stellar both making many hard pulls (we snow wheel so winch a lot). I suppose it is luck of the draw like anything else.
The Winch Test was posted here on the forum a while back by the Member who performed the Test, Click on the top picture and you will see it smoking.

The Winch that started smoking was the Warn Magnum 10K-S

 
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jadmt

ignore button user
The Winch Test was posted here on the forum a while back by the Member who performed the Test,

seems like the VR did pretty well so the VRO should indeed be a real winner.
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
Yeah I think it will be a Winner, The original 9.5Ti was a mighty Winch too and they are similar but with new Tech.
 

gatorgrizz27

Well-known member
Nice. Glad to hear the winch seems well made, I was about to buy the original VR-8 but this one looked to be worth waiting for with the waterproofing and wireless remote, as long as they didn’t lessen the build quality somewhere else. I plan to use mine as a multi mount also, so it won’t be sitting out in the weather.

One thing to keep in mind when talking about reliability ratings is that guys who buy economy winches probably rarely or never use them, and the guys that use them hard understand that they need to be treated reasonably. The guys buying premium winches are likely to use them all the time, and show them no mercy.
 

aardvarcus

Adventurer
I don't particularly understand the relevance of a winch test that doesn't include the winch line that is the subject of this thread nor its predecessors, however I would be very interested if they updated that several year old test and included this line of winches. One thing the test does make clear is that the "winning" winches drew significant amounts of current, apparently maxing out the instrument at 400 amps on the second pull. There is no way to know the actual amount of current those were drawing. It is unlikely that a stock vehicle electrical system would have allowed for that amount of power draw. Meanwhile the winch line that is the subject of this thread is significantly more efficient, and therefore significantly easier on the electrical system of a vehicle, which does matter to some people.

Looking at the temperatures from the test, it should be rather obvious that something went amiss with more than one of the winches seeing as how the temperature spikes right in the middle of some of the tests. I don't think continuing to pull with a winch motor that is so hot the outside casing can literally boil water is good middle of nowhere recovery advice nor should represent reliability under typical use cases.

The "winning" winch was the first to not pull, and the runner up winch was the second to not pull. Yes they pulled greater distance initially. Success means different things to different people. I am glad the people who bought the winches that "won" the test are happy with their purchases. I was well aware of that test when I purchased the VR EVO winch.
 

Blue Baby Sound

A guy with a Jeep
Got the EVO 10s installed this past weekend, took it out but didn't have the chance to test it. Seems solid.
Next week we're heading into the forest for a few days, then to the Rendezvous in the Ozarks Overland Rally. Maybe it will see some use then.

r8nsLJ.jpg


enhance
 

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