Winches

Hey all, I just had a quick question about what winch to get. I’m currently fabricating a bumper in my welding class that will have a winch plate built in. I’ve never bought a winch before, so I wanted to ask you guys which ones you think are the best bang for your buck since I’m working with a limited budget.

Thanks!

 

Budget, Harbor Freight

 

Ditto; Harbor Freight

 

I'm going with Harbor Freight and I'm not really even on a budget. It's just the best bang for the buck.

 

Superwinch or Apex Badlands from Harbor Freight are both good.

 

This guy does unbiased comprehensive reviews that consider price in the ratings. He buys all his own stuff, so he isn't influenced. Best Winch? Is BADLAND Better Than WARN, Smittybuilt, Milemarker? Let's Settle This! (youtube.com)

 

Project Farm ftw

 

I just bought the 5500 Bandland for my SXS....Haven't had time to install it yet.

 

This is a false economy... Badlands winch(s) have a 5% duty cycle with a 15 minute cool down period. If you are in the position to need an winch you NEED a winch.

 

I got a Smittybuilt XRC 8500 like 6 years ago and its been great.
Barely ever gets used though, usually just use a tow strap instead.

Not sure if Smittybuilt is any better than the HF options, but I have no regrets with mine.

Getting a Warn would probably be worth it if it gets used on a daily/weekly basis, otherwise stick with the more budget options.

 

I was kind of struck by that number when you posted it there; I went down a little bit of a rabbit hole and you are correct they are 5% or 45 seconds of pull at max load, with a 14 minute and change cool down.

that sounds terrible, but how much of a hindrance is that actually? I have never used a winch before, but if I bought one it would be 12,000 pound rated, which on a vehicle that is 4500 pounds fully loaded would put my hypothetical pull at just a fraction of max load. Based on the project farm videos, it doesn’t seem like you would really get all that close to max load on a pull even with a much heavier vehicle, so I would expect your duty cycle to be much better.

 

45 seconds of dead pulling 12k lbs is pretty crazy. Most times I'm using my winch, Badlands Apex 12k winch, its 20 seconds max of pulling and usually a 6k lbs vehicle. The Harbor freight winches seem to last. You'll notice Matts's offroad recovery seems to use them on everything and they use them professionally.

 

I watch Matt’s videos all the time and when I buy a winch I’ll get a Badlands just based off his use of them.

 

It would be interesting to know if they use them as consumables ie (the lower price justifies a shorter replacement schedule).

 

Harbor Freight is also a sponsor of Matt's, so there's that to consider.

Warn for the win.

 

Badlands winches are some of the best price effective winches on the market, I personally like superwinch or the VR series for Warn if youre going to go with a name brand.

I have a badlands on my trailer and it is a workhorse thats for sure and hasnt failed yet, even being left in the rain/sun, dirt and mud caked on it constantly and is over 5 years old.