How do they compare to Warn? They keep em in stock down here at westshore spring and 4x4. Would save a fair bit of money compared to the Warn but I was wondering if anyone has experience with em? I plan to mount one on a receiver so I can swap it front and rear
My 8000 lb SB been working fine for 4 years there a little slower than a warn
My buddy and I have installed one years ago on his jeep, seemed like a really decent winch, good price, and he still has it today, works good!
I chose an x20 vs a warn vr series. No real use, but I did a fair bit of research to make me feel comfortable enough to justify it.
Smitty's and Warns are about the only two recovery winches people always say they trust. Anyone who had problems with them are usually neglecting to respool properly and getting the drum all tangled up which is not the winches fault but the operator. I'm curious about this synthetic winch line myself. It might be good for lighter rigs like mine and be less finicky..? If you are looking for a good deal on a new winch Costco sometimes has disco'd Warns on cheap but Princess Auto usually has at least two Warn models in stock, just watch out for those "keepers". ;-)
yea how are the keepers? pretty crappy?
I have never used one but when it comes to having to rely on a piece of recovery equipment when you are in the middle of nowhere, I'll pay a bit more for Warn reliability.
true you wouldnt want it to be shitty at the wrong time...figure warn might be overkill too though, depending on how you wheel
Exposure to the elements is what worries me the most. I have seen the cheaper crap just corrode to uselessness in a few years. Even if you never use it the electronics or the motor can crap out on 'em. Having worked in consumer tech myself I can confidently say a lot of products out there are crap because they compete on the basis of being able to claim similar features of another product for cheaper, which is done with cheaper materials, cheaper labor, cheaper design and cheaper parts. There are places selling Chinese knockoff vehicle hoist kits that claim to be able to lift 5 tons but actually buckle under less than 4. People buy them because they are about half the price of a high quality hoist. Anyone who has purchased power tools from Harbor Freight knows what I'm talking about. I'm not saying don't buy cheap products, I'm just saying don't buy them thinking you're going to get the same quality or performance you would from the higher priced specialty brands. Warn actually does rigorous product R&D and Q.C. testing and continually refines it's designs, the Hengseng consumer product megafactory in Guangdong China most likely doesn't.
These are my exact concerns. An extra hundred or two for a solid warn winch and I would consider it money well spent. Some stuff I'm ok with being cheap on, but things that need to be 100% I will splurge a bit for
All though I'm a Warn guy, finances put me into a Costco Champion 10,000 pounder. Going on year 4 of use and abuse and still pulling strong.
I always wondered about those (too cheap to be trusted) Costco winches.
I wasn't driving a 4x4 last time I saw those on sale but I was tempted to get one myself.
Glad to hear it's been reliable, sometimes a really good deal is just a really good deal. ;-)
It really comes down to how much it gets used, my experience tells me a winch that never gets used will not work when you need it.
I know people who have cheaped out on winches but they get used all the time and always seem to perform.
I know people who have spent a full buck on top notch Warn industry winches and they fail because they never get used.
Don't kid yourself Warn winches fail, they just have a really good warranty.
Most winch failures are either electrical (failed solenoids), seized planetary gears from not being maintained, or failed motor, again from lack of maintenance, if you dip your winch into water its a good practice to disassemble it clean it, water does nasty things to grease and the planetary gears do not like that, same as the motor, its metal inside and if it takes a big drink of water and then sits for months not being used, it will rust, and we all know what rust does.
If you purchase a winch and don't use it, you should at least unspool and run it maybe once a month.
I take my 8000 lb Smittybuilt apart every year and give it a lube and general clean and as was already said if it goes under the water its a tear down and clean up always work fine on my tracker
B&M you nailed it. Seems the more we use this stuff it doesn't have a chance to corrode or seize. Launching also has it right when it comes to preventative maintenance. After over 3 years of service it's time for a tear down and clean and service. Thanks folks.
just wanna say... his name's Lauchlin.
not Launching. but thx for the laugh.
Well been called far worse LOL ......
Stupid spell check.....
It gets us all at Times.