Winch me out........

[Made in America]

So Im researching winches and did a search, it looks as though many people have different tastes but I could not find a solid review. I was looking to buy a smittybuilt XRC-8 or 10.

so my question is is Smittybuilt a good winch?
is a warn that much better to justify the price?
would the 8 be good or should I cough up for the 10?

Cheers Nohl

 

[CJim7]

I believe you get what you pay for with winches...
That being said, I've seen many offbrand winches do their job as advertised.

I run a Warn 8274 on the front of my CJ (8000lb) and I find it more then adequate. If it isn't (which is very rare), I double line it.

 

[BusaDave9]

Smittybilt is much cheeper than Warn but you get what you pay for. If you don't winch often a Smittybilt should get you out when you're stuck.
Get a winch that can pull 1.5 times the weight of your 4x4. That means 8000 should be enough for a CJ.

 

[Old Dog]

I had a smittybuilt for about a dozen pulls before it craped out, I have a Warn now.
I don't do mud so when I need a winch it's usually because I'm about to
roll down some hill I really need it to work when needed.

 

[coldair]

I have a Ramsey winch on my CJ5 its patriot 9500# it pulls like crazy.

 

[hole]

I've had the XRC10 for a couple years now, and used it a half dozen times with no issues. Knock on wood, I've not had to use it to get myself out yet, only others. For the type of offroading I do, it suits me just fine.If I did a bunch of hairy wheeling I would've looked into a Warn, but for what I do the XRC has been my friend(actually others to be exact)

 

[CJ007]

Milemarker seems to be reasonably priced also, although I have no experience with them.

 

[CJ007]

oops?

 

[Darren9975]

I have a warn m-8000, got it used about 5 years ago. I've never had any problems other than they are slow. I've been around and installed several smittybuilts, I've seen some of them have to have the controller box replaced but the customer service is great. You call tell them you have a problem and they just send you out new parts.
All that being said, you do get what you pay for... Warn is definitely a better winch

 

[kickitandholdit]

with winches you get what you pay for that being said

if you dont really rely on a winch honestly you could get by with a cheaper one but if you plan on getting yourself into alot of situations and often assuming your winch is still working i would get a nicer one.

my dad got a superwinch at a good price and he likes it so far and hasnt had any problems but he keeps a come a long handy just in case lol

I heard milemarker was a good one, if you plan on using it once and throwing it away.

everybody has their own experiences.

ONE THING I DO NOTICE IS: you can always find used warn winches in great working order on the internet and local places.. but no other brands. I always wonder why you cant find any other brands used in working order???

Another way to look at it is. if your going to spend a few thousand on a jeep to get suck in why not spend a few more hundred to get a nice winch to get it out?

Hope this input helps.

8000 is enough unless your doing really crazy things

 

[coldair]

What are you guys paying for your warns?

 

[Old Dog]

Made in America, I think the bottom line is stay away from the ones made in china.(as your screen name applies) If you want one that will work for years to come, I'd look at Warn, Ramsey, or superwinch but watch out they have cheap models made in china also.

 

[CJim7]

What are you guys paying for your warns?

I traded an old broken down boat for mine...which I got free anyways

Edit> but you can find 8274's in the classifieds for anywhere between $200 and $400

 

[fishinfool98]

I run 2 of the smittybuilt 8000 lb x2o's and like them alot
have used them alot pulling other people out. knock on wood never used it on my self
I also run the 4k on my trailer

 

[BajaEdition]

Ramseys are now made in China

THE value of a winch to you may be 400 dollars today, but stuck in the back of the outback and facing a expensive recovery the difference between a chap winch and an expensive winch is nothing. as is the cost difference when that Smitty built gives out mid pull, which I have seen many Smitty's do. It is just the cheap metals and plastics used by Chinese manufacturers.
Sorry guys but that is the truth
a 1000 dollar warn Xdi 9000 may seem expensive, till your Smitty gives out.
I run a Warn Powerplant 9000 on my 67, it is a solid piece of equipment and has an air compressor on it. I get to the paved road and I just pull out an air hose and I am up to pressure in minutes. I have a xdi 9000 on my other jeep and it is on it;s second jeep, it has done recoveries, got me across places I could not have gone without a winch, has done some serious straining moving huge boulders during AAT work in the SBNF and has never complained once. One day while we were clearing some several tone boulders from a slide in a trail with multiple winches hooked up to some of those rocks I saw 2 Smittys and a MileMarker bite the dust, but the 3 of us running warns had no issues at all.
Yes I am a Warn fanatic, but then from my first warn on my 65 to the current PowerPlant I run now, I have never had an issue in performance with a warn rated at 8000 pounds or more.

Like I said, buying a cheap winch to save money is throwing money down a chithouse hole.

 

[kickitandholdit]

Ramseys are now made in China

THE value of a winch to you may be 400 dollars today, but stuck in the back of the outback and facing a expensive recovery the difference between a cheap winch and an expensive winch is nothing.

Like I said, buying a cheap winch to save money is throwing money down a chithouse hole.