[kmcoop7]

There was an article in one of the off road/4 wheeling magazines about 3 months (maybe 4) ago that reviewed budget/cheap winches. It sounded like there were some very good alternatives to a Warn at half the price. Does anyone have a link to this article or recall what magazine it was in? I have done several google searches and can't seem to dig it up.

thanks for any help

[BirfMark]

Is this the article you're looking for?

Jeep Articles / General (Winches In Hell) - MoabJeeper Magazine

[kmcoop7]

Good review and test. Not the article I saw, but definately helpful. Thanks.

[Adam R]

IMHO "Cheap" and "Winch" should not be used in the same sentence. Winches are one of the most important pieces of safety equipment you can buy. I've seen dozens of crap winches on the trail and none of them have the name Warn on them.

Risking your vehicle and your safety and/or the safety of others for a few hundred dollars is not worth it.

I'd take a 5000 lb Warn any day of the week over any other brand offering on the market.

Adam

[kmcoop7]

Good point cheap is not the best word. My original post should have just used the word "Budget" instead of budget/cheap. I would probably not use it much, and would definately add a synthetic line to improve the safety factor.

I don't consider having my truck in the woods and not being able to get it out unsafe though. I think you should always be able to walk/run to civilization, no matter how far. Reliance on any mechanical equipment for safety (even a Toyota) is inherently unsafe. Good physical fitness is much more reliable. Although any and all current wisdom disagrees with me. They usually say the more crap you take with you the better off you are. Just the minmalist in me talking.

[badmuthatrucka]

The difference is semantic, and a matter of personal opinion. I would say that one could purchase an inexpensive winch. Cheap also refers to quality, as does budget, IMO.

I think a Warn, with the warranties and extensive track record, is an inexpensive winch in the long run. It's like buying tools at Harbor Freight instead of from Matco, Snap-On, etc. You will keep buying the same tool at HF, but only once from the (initially) more expensive companies.

It could quite reasonably be a major safety problem to buy a cheap/budget winch. If one was using a winch to assist in gaining traction to get up a particularly steep and tall obstacle and the winch was to fail (cable, load brake, whatever), the vehicle could do a back flip in the pike position. This would make the vehicle, and whatever else is inside, land with more than the full weight of the vehicle just through centripital acceleration. I don't care how physically fit you think you are, you are not likely to be able to walk, let alone run, back to civilization.

Proper use of a well maintained and built piece of equipment is not the same, necessarily, as reliance upon it.

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by badmuthatrucka

I think a Warn, with the warranties and extensive track record, is an inexpensive winch in the long run. It's like buying tools at Harbor Freight instead of from Matco, Snap-On, etc. You will keep buying the same tool at HF, but only once from the (initially) more expensive companies.

There's something to be said about what you say, but the fact is that sometimes buying cheap makes sense.

If I'm buying a tool that I will only use a handful of times, why would I spend 4-5 times the price for something I'm not going to use that often?

Additionally there's the consideration that even if you buy the same tool 4 times over compared to once for the more expensive one, you still might come out money ahead.

I have a grinder that's in pieces because it fell apart after heavy use (I got a fair amount of use out of it, so no complaints). But IIRC it was something like $35 or $40 for it.

I recently picked up a $10 Harbor Freight grinder, and it's still going strong. Looks like it'll last as long if not longer than the more expensive name brand one.


The point is that inexpensive does not always equal poorly made. The article linked to above is a perfect example of that, the Chicago Electric winch never gave up, never failed, and despite being used and abused outlasted a lot of those other (more expensive) name brands.

That's where your research comes in. Consumer Reports is a great resource, articles like the one linked above is, MUD is, and of course the internet in general.

When I'm shopping for something the first thing I'll do is Google for the item and look at reviews. I'm quite surprised at how often I find items that are 2-3 times the price that get poorer reviews than the cheaper item.

So the moral of the story is, do your homework.

[1973Guppie]

I just purchased a warn M8000 for $540 shipped, no tax, thought that was fairly cheap, I like their name and have a warn on my 40 series, owned it for 15+ years with no problems, rarely used but works great each time....

[Ihasfip]

I bought a Smittybilt XRC10 or whatever it is for around 300$ and so far so good. Have only used it a few times, but for the price, if it gets me out a few more times it will have paid for itself. I was going to buy the Warn M8000 but thought I needed more cajones with the 80 and the Smittybilt had excellent reviews all over the interweb. Only time will tell I guess.

Oh but like Ebag said about his Harbor Frieght grinder, I too have had much success with some of those cheaper tools. Namely a big electric drill that I have had for about 8 years now and is still working. I don't even know what brand it is!

D

[Tapage]

5 years back in my history I found a great deal in a MM E-12000 electric winch .. was cheap ! ( less than 450 bucks ) and after all of those years .. still thinking its a great deal .. plenty of nasty trails and aren't the same as Warn winch .. but for the price it do and do it well ..

[kmcoop7]

I glad to see some positive comments on budget winches. I agree that sometimes one needs to spend to get a good quality product. But there are also items that can often be purchased for half the price or better than the expensive "quality" product, for which you are often paying for a name. I have always thought the big red W is one of the over priced brands that you are paying for the big red W on the front of your rig. I have read several owner and publication review of good quality winches at a budget price.

A winch is a piece of equipment that I might use once a year and just can see paying triple the price for something that I wouldn't get much use out of. Dragging a 6k lbs vehicle around with a little steel cable be it up, down, sideways or any other dimension is dangerous. So is trying to drive that truck up something you end up needing to drag it up. Wheeling a vehicle in challenging terrain is dangerous. If the big red W were the only winch that could provide a reasonably safe winching experience, I don't think I would be able to find any positive feedback on one of the budget winches. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong, as I have admittedly never winched a vehicle. I have used a come-a-long and that is dangerous!

Back to the original question..........anyone know where I can get that article, or have any other feedback on a good winch in the 300-500 price range?

thanks

[luk4mud]

For kicks and giggles, jump onto jeepforum.com and search for warn winch. Your mind will go numb reading the "go warn or stay home" threads. I own a warn, but there are PLENTY of other good winches out there. Superwinch makes a great winch- pretty fast line speed, lower power draw than the Warn, good warranty, US made and alot cheaper than an equivalent Warn. Lots of good user reports on those Smittybilts as well.

At least as important as the winch is the line. If you have ever seen a winch cable break under stress, its like a guillotine whipping through the air. Synthetic line is not an option but a necessity in my mind.

[NLXTACY]

You may be thinking of the Overland Journal Winch Showdown. Really good article in an excellent issue in the perfect off roading magazine... IMVHO

[Adam R]

Like the man above said, you can get an M8000 for $540. 4wheel parts and eBay both have them for that price. It will out perform any other 8000lb winch. I'll be putting one of these on my 80 series very soon due to it's smaller size and where I'm stuffing it. If I need more power, that is what snatch blocks and line extenders are for. I have a 9.5ti on my Jeep TJ and it rocks. It's been used hard, and a lot and will pull my 5000 lb jeep all over the place. Many times I have to anchor off to something more solid because I have way more winch than vehicle. I never have to worry if it will get the job done and the line speed is fast.

Lastly I see a lot of people worried about amp draw. If you want to get work done faster, it's going to take more energy. Warn has the fastest line speed out there when comparing apples to apples. Besides, if you've ever watched the painfully slow progress of a Ramsey REP 8000, you'd think it was waiting for a written invitation to do something. It probably has low amp draw, but I like to get off the trail before dark.

Adam

[McDowra]

Got my 12k Smittybilt for 519.00 from 4wd.com shipped to my door and that includes the lifetime warranty. Its not a warn but so far i have no complaints.

[Bad80]

I don't get why WARN is considered to be the only top of the line QUALITY winch manufacturer. There are new companies making quality products and are backing them up with great warranty and costumer service.
When I was looking for a winch I wanted a warn 8274 but it was too expensive for me so I considered the M8000. By that time 3 of my friends already owned the M8000 and all of them had problems in less than 4 months; dead solenoid, free spool lever stuck, and a burn motor. So I started looking for other alternatives and that is when I found the XRC8 for $249 at 4wheelparts and bought it. Same day a friend bought a M8000 for $549. It have being almost 2 years since then and I still have the XRC8, the only problem I had with it was a burn motor just after 1 year of owning it and pulled a lot with it during that period (at least 25 times and 6 times in only one day with full line pulls every time). The day the motor died I was pulling a Blazer K5 with 40" tires and they were almost completely covered in mud. We used 2 winches, a MM 8K winch and my XRC8 at same time but the MM broke the cable and all the weight was put on my winch and that's when the motor died. I called Smittybilt to order a new motor and the tech told me to send him the reciept of the winch. After a few hours he called me back and told me that the motor was covered by the warranty and that he was going to send me a new motor free of charge (not even shipping). About 8 days I got my new motor and the winch is still running strong today, free spool lever is working like new also.
The M8000 that my friend bought is sitting in his garage, he got the soleniods replaced the first time by warranty but the other 3 times after that, he had to pay for them every time and he only have about 5 pulls total in the same places I used my winch. Total of repairs on the M8000 was about $250. After the motor burned, he bought an XP and the first time he used it the solenoids died, got warranty on that, but he is having problems again.

I'm really impress about smittybilt winch quality and service and I would recommend them to any one looking for a good quality winch. I'm in need for a winch for my new 80 series and It will be an XRC10 or 12 without a doubt.

[addicted56]

I purchased an 8000 lb HF winch about 3 years ago. I got stuck in the mud at a buddies house picking up firewood and a Jeep and a fullsize bronco tried pulling me out an they didn't even budge me (F-250 diesel filled to the brim with wood and 80 gallons of fuel). I was up to my doors all around. It pulled the truck partially sideways and then all the way out as I had it chained to a tree and ran the jeeps battery that pulled up next to it. So that was an 8K winch pulling a probably close to 10K truck sideways thru the mud on a straight line pull. The jeep guy liked it so much I sold it to him minus 20 bucks and then went and paid the exact same amount for the 10K..like 300 bucks.

The reason I did it is a tow truck was going to cost me the same. 3 years later I've pulled quite a few people out of the sand, broke down cars on trailers, and myself out one other time. Love the thing.

Given there is a 12K warn on the 80 and just the feel of it is far superior and stronger feeling. But your talking close to a grand on that one.