Which winch for an ARB Deluxe? (1 Viewer)

[cbbr]

2000 Land Cruiser with an ARB Deluxe. It's winch time. My very strong preference is a non Chinese. And something with a solid warranty (think Warn).

I didn't find much when I searched, but there must be a number of you that have the ARB bumper and a 12K winch - please tell me what fits!

 

[hoser]

The 98-02 ARB Deluxe uses a feet down winch and the '03+ uses a feet forward winch.

Although made in Taiwan, I would suggest Come-Up winches. And if you are in the swamp a lot, I would give heavy consideration to waterproof ratings.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I bought a Come-up Seal 2.0 12k, to replace a warn with old solenoids, it's been fantastic. Bought it through Cruiser Outfitters.

 

[Mike NXP]

Harbor freight winch thread

I say go cheap and dont worry about where it was manufactured. Don't get the bottom of the barrel Amazon winch but there is no reason why the $500 12k harbor freight option wont work just fine
+ another $150 ish I think and you can get the 2 year warranty extension so if it fails just swap it for another, no box no receipt no questions asked.

 

[Exiled]

Another option is to buy a used older US-made winch and then doing a refurb before installing. In my experience, a lot of winches out there sat on bumpers with very minimal use and if the vehicle was garage kept there's a chance they're in pretty good shape. Take it apart, inspect and clean solenoids, connectors and controls, replace the steel cable with modern rope, maybe do a little painting if needed. Not hard and a lot of the established winch manufacturers (Warn, Superwinch, Ramsey) still offer excellent parts support. I refurbished a Warn M12000 and a Superwinch Ox and helped a friend refurbish a Warn M8274 with great results.

 

[Live to Ski]

Make sure to factor in the following w/r go cheap:
1) cost to r & r winch
2) mental cost

Old new England adage: buy the best. Wear it out. Fix it up. Do with out.

Me/myself/I would buy middle of the min/max price points while looking at the most reviewed units.

 

[kevgentile]

Another option is to buy a used older US-made winch and then doing a refurb before installing. In my experience, a lot of winches out there sat on bumpers with very minimal use and if the vehicle was garage kept there's a chance they're in pretty good shape. Take it apart, inspect and clean solenoids, connectors and controls, replace the steel cable with modern rope, maybe do a little painting if needed. Not hard and a lot of the established winch manufacturers (Warn, Superwinch, Ramsey) still offer excellent parts support. I refurbished a Warn M12000 and a Superwinch Ox and helped a friend refurbish a Warn M8274 with great results.

Agree with exiled. Look for a quality "pre-owned" unit.

I say pre-owned instead of used because if you scour some of the jeep forums/classy's, FBM, and CL, you'll probably come across a unit that was installed and never used. I see so many newer jeep builds that have $20k in accessories and part them out a couple years latter for trade-in.

 

[cbbr]

Just to get it out of the way, I have had too many HF things fail to trust one in a critical circumstance. Warn has a 7 year/lifetime warranty which makes me believe that they believe that the winch will work. HF has a 90 day warranty which does not scream self-confidence... If it was a trailer, HF would be my go-to. But for something that can be the difference between getting home or not I am a little leery.

And I have been looking for an older Warn to refurbish, but haven't seen anything that was priced realistically. I wouldn't mind that at all.

 

[213374U]

Went Come-Up on an 03+ Deluxe bumper because it mounted feet first and allowed me to clock the housings and get the free-wheel lever exactly where I wanted it.

 

[Mike NXP]

Just to get it out of the way, I have had too many HF things fail to trust one in a critical circumstance. Warn has a 7 year/lifetime warranty which makes me believe that they believe that the winch will work. HF has a 90 day warranty which does not scream self-confidence... If it was a trailer, HF would be my go-to. But for something that can be the difference between getting home or not I am a little leery.

And I have been looking for an older Warn to refurbish, but haven't seen anything that was priced realistically. I wouldn't mind that at all.

I totally get that line of thinking, and I go back and forth on it a lot. For me it was strictly a budget move.

 

[cbbr]

I totally get that line of thinking, and I go back and forth on it a lot. For me it was strictly a budget move.

There is no question that an HF winch is generally much better than no winch and I suspect that hey work fine most of the time, I'm the rare individual who has had several of their electrical things break so I don't trust them anymore. Their jacks and hand tools have always worked great for me.

 

[Rednexus]

I've had lots of HF stuff break and have started really avoiding HF. What really pushed me over the edge with a Bauer impact that worked for a month (got me to switch to Milwaukee - $$$ but worth every penny) and a Titanium welder (bought for $200 in a emergency-mode to remove a stripped exhaust stud - I've since bought a Hobart) that lasted just over a year.

That being said I'll likely go to HF for a Badland 12K winch when it is time. They are probably the most sold winch in the USA right now. However I'd suggest doing some more research and verify that their reputation (which is good) is being maintained and that HF isn't letting quality drop off.

 

[excessive]

I have a Warn M9000 in my ARB bumper (which is NLA) USA made, but went to use it after several years, and found out the hard way that the gears had rusted inside. I had to completely take it apart and rebuild/ replace the rusted internals. cost about 1/2 the cost of the Winch. Maybe i should have replaced it, but i guess the good thing I will say is all the parts are available from Warn to rebuild it. I have pulled down trees in my yard with the Warn Winch, it's extremely strong. But they are susceptible to rust

 

[cbbr]

We have had Warn's in the past (my dad has one now) and am really considering a Zeon 12.5K, but I can't tell if it will fit.

 

[Rednexus]

Any context on Smittybilt XRC Gen 3 winches? Looks like they have decent reviews and are around 15-20#s lighter for a 9,500# synthetic winch relative to the Badland Apex 12,000# synthetic winch. Reducing rig weight is important to me and I'll already be going with a lightweight/more skeletonized steel front bumper.

I will likely use mine very infrequently (i.e., a few times a year max - I have a tractor for around-the-yard stuff and a winch on the rig would just be for recoveries) and don't want to spend $$$ for bumper bling. I'm ok with a cheaper/slower winch with a lower duty cycle as long as it's not total junk. I do like my Smittybilt 2781 air compressor, but it ain't an ARB either (but it's only 1/3 of the cost).

 

[Lazarus556]

If I remember correctly some Warn winches are now made in China, the VR ones, so make sure you check the origin of the one you're looking at.

I like Smittybilt. I have a Smittybilt X20 gen 2 10k winch that was made in China. Ive used it quite a bit and its worked fantastic. Ive pulled my 6600lb 100 series around and had to pull my buddies new Tundra out of Choccolocco Mountain park when he blew a cv axle. I have the 03+ ARB bumper on my 99 and I was able to clock both ends of the winch to get it to sit the way I wanted. I still have to clock the clutch side though so I can access the lever better. My buddy has a 9 or 9.5k Smittybilt thats older than mine and still runs

Is it possible the winch could die tomorrow? Sure but thats a possibility with anything.

 

[Lazarus556]

Any context on Smittybilt XRC Gen 3 winches? Looks like they have decent reviews and are around 15-20#s lighter for a 9,500# synthetic winch relative to the Badland Apex 12,000# synthetic winch. Reducing rig weight is important to me and I'll already be going with a lightweight/more skeletonized steel front bumper.

I will likely use mine very infrequently (i.e., a few times a year max - I have a tractor for around-the-yard stuff and a winch on the rig would just be for recoveries) and don't want to spend $$$ for bumper bling. I'm ok with a cheaper/slower winch with a lower duty cycle as long as it's not total junk. I do like my Smittybilt 2781 air compressor, but it ain't an ARB either (but it's only 1/3 of the cost).

I dont think the XRC gen 3 was out when I got mine but I looked at the X2O line because they came with the synthetic line, wireless remote and I believe had better waterproof rating. My buddy has a XRC gen 2 though, I think, and its a good winch.

 

[cbbr]

If I remember correctly some Warn winches are now made in China, the VR ones, so make sure you check the origin of the one you're looking at.

I like Smittybilt. I have a Smittybilt X20 gen 2 10k winch that was made in China. Ive used it quite a bit and its worked fantastic. Ive pulled my 6600lb 100 series around and had to pull my buddies new Tundra out of Choccolocco Mountain park when he blew a cv axle. I have the 03+ ARB bumper on my 99 and I was able to clock both ends of the winch to get it to sit the way I wanted. I still have to clock the clutch side though so I can access the lever better. My buddy has a 9 or 9.5k Smittybilt thats older than mine and still runs

Is it possible the winch could die tomorrow? Sure but thats a possibility with anything.

I was really talking about the HF & super cheap Amazon winches. And yes, I was aware of the VR. My worry is not the possibility that the winch will die, its the probability. And things like actual waterproof - my Stedi lights have the same IP rating as my (cheap) rear light bar - guess which one has condensation issues? Both make light, some are just better at everything else.

There is a local Smittybuilt dealer, so I am going to go look at those. It would be great if I could find a site that compared winches directly so that things like the duty cycle weren't hard to find.

 

[Lazarus556]

I was really talking about the HF & super cheap Amazon winches. And yes, I was aware of the VR. My worry is not the possibility that the winch will die, its the probability. And things like actual waterproof - my Stedi lights have the same IP rating as my (cheap) rear light bar - guess which one has condensation issues? Both make light, some are just better at everything else.

There is a local Smittybuilt dealer, so I am going to go look at those. It would be great if I could find a site that compared winches directly so that things like the duty cycle weren't hard to find.

Not sure if youve seen this but could be a good reference point for you in your such

 

[Rednexus]

Glad to hear the Smittybilts are generally OK. A winch is a bit further down my priorities (re-gear and lockers are first). With a Ascend skeletonized bumper and a Smittybilt winch, I might be able to get the total added weight to my rig down to ~100#, which would be awesome.

China has significantly upped their manufacturing game, but quality is always going to be highly variable from China. IMO, a winch is a "simple" product without complex machining and with the use of typical mechanical/electrical components. The Chinese should be able to make just as good of a winch as we can here in the USA. The difference is always going to be in the quality control - both in the raw materials leading into the various plants in the supply chain - then during the manufacturing/assembly process - and then the level of quality assurance that Smittybilt/Harbor Freight/Warn is actually doing to both observe/test the winches and verify that the supplier is implementing their quality control plan.