Winch questions

So I've never owned one before. Yet I hear it's one of the best self-recovery tools. I tend to go wheeling alone or with inexperienced people, like my wife. So I've been looking at a winch and ramps. I recently ordered a Mobtown front hitch. So I keep coming back to the Smittybult vs Warn. Is it more of buying quality once and cry once? I'm willing to buy quality and put out the money but I'm also interested in bang for the buck. Mostly waterproof is also important to me, as it seems to be the prudent thing to buy. Tell me more about what you bought and why. Thanks for the help

 

Ive had a Smittybilt XRC 9.5 w/ synthetic line on my truck for about 2 years now. No issues so far. The user manual recommends that you spool out a bunch of line, then re-spool it under a small load every month and Ive followed that schedule give or take a little. Keep the rope clean and spooled tight to prevent chafing. Inspect and wash after use. Use a snatch block if you are really stuck and getting towards the working limit of the winch. Basic common sense stuff that will go a long way.

There are people who say buy once cry once and then recommend Warn. Personally I think Warn is one of those companies where you pay for the name as much as the quality. Just my opinion. The only issue I have heard of regarding the XRC line is when they were first released people were blowing the small 2A fuse inside the control box. Since then I believe they started installing 5A fuses to solve that problem.

And if by ramps you mean traction boards, then yes those are also a great tool to have on hand. But if you do a lot of solo wheeling in remote areas beyond cell service or other forms of comms, then you might want to consider both. They each have their advantages and scenarios where one would work better.

Case in point, one of my solo trips last year. After a lot of digging and MaxTrax I just wasnt able to get the angle I needed. Luckily there was a small tree just in reach on the other side of the rd.

 

I would look into a gas powered portable winch. That way you don’t need to worry about mounting it and can pull in either direction.

 

How often have you needed a winch or boards? I too do a lot a single vehicle exploring. I went cheap with boards (xbull) because I didn't need to be that much on something you may use once or twice a year. Also went cheap with harbor freight 12000 winch with a front hitch cradle. One or two times in my life a winch would have been handy but I got out alive without one.

 

I've owned five winches over the years:
First one was a Warn M9000. It was on a truck that turned into a rock buggy. After 6-7 years and dozens of pulls it blew one of the solenoids and the drum cracked at one of the welds on the end. A friend bought it for $200, welded the drum, replaced the solenoid, and last I heard it's still going.
Second one was a Ramsey REP 9000, used a handful of times, but not enough to test it. Seemed slower than the WARN 9000.
Next I bought a Warn M8000 for my Tacoma. Worked great for a few years, then it got sold with that truck.
Currently there is a 12000lb Badlands Harbor Freight winch on my 2008 Land Cruiser. The few times I have used it, it seemed slow, and maybe a little weak. It struggles to pull heavy loads, but has never stalled out.
On my FJ40 I just got a 1987 WARN 8274 that I rebuilt this past spring. It spent the first 25 years of it's life being used daily in the timber industry, then sat a few years. I took it all the way apart, replaced the brake hardware, the motor, and a few small parts. This is by far the fastest winch I have ever had, it's almost too fast. It is way overbuilt, and parts were easy to find, even though it's 33 years old.

My opinion is that in general if you want a winch that is well built, reliable, and serviceable, and supported, get a Warn. It's possible that these $300 winches will still have parts available 30 years from now, but I doubt it. If having a winch is a passing fad, or you think you'll sell it when you sell your truck next year, they'll be fine. Smittybilt seems perhaps a little better supported than the Harbor Freight winches. If you think you'll move your winch to the next truck or will keep your truck for many years, you'll probably be better off buying a Warn. The M8000 is a good winch and not too expensive, with great parts availability, and a great fit for the Tacoma.

I'm sure there are lots of folks that have used lots of the cheaper winches with good success, and some that have not. But it's hard to argue the longevity and parts availability for Warn's winches.

 

Sounds like we're in similar boats. I just installed my Mobtown front hitch and have a winch mounted on a cradle that I can use at either the front or the back hitch. I also wheel by myself often. I've been recovered off of mountains by tow trucks twice before and know how much each of those cost me. It's not cheap. Using my winch twice will already offset the cost of the two recoveries by tow truck.

I'm usually of the mindset to get the best of the best available at the time but purposely didn't do that for my winch selection. I ended up getting the Badlands Apex 12k winch from Harbor Freight for 25% off and got the extended warranty. That winch is waterproof, has a synthetic rope, and a wireless controller as well and came in significantly cheaper than most Warn winches and rated very high in reviews and videos. My thought was this was an item I would rarely or seldomly use but cannot go without in certain situations. I don't care for faster line speeds or any of the nicer specs Warn can provide. I just need this to get me out the few times I will use it and for that reason I can't justify a winch that cost twice as much. If I were using my winch often like a few times a week for work and other tasks, I would maybe then consider a "higher end" winch.

 

I've been driving off road since the 1970's and didn't own a winch until 2 years ago. Back in my youth I spent a lot of time just trying to see how far I could push the limits and ended up stuck several times. But was always with others and with tow straps and other tools was always able to get out.

I'm older now and don't do any hard core off road stuff and if there is an easier way I take it. But I very nearly got stuck twice in the same week in 2018 elk hunting in Colorado and decided buying one would be a good idea. The 1st time I was probably 20 miles off pavement on a forest service road and when turning around in a foot of snow almost ended up in the ditch. A week later the snow melted into serious mud. I met another truck who only wanted 1/2 the road. Unfortunately for me he wanted the middle half and I slid into the ditch. It took several tries, but I did manage to drive out. This was on my F150 BTW. The Tacoma is my wife's daily driver.

When I got back home I installed a Smittybilt. Based on my research unless you're buying something in the $1000 range they are all made in China. At that price point I don't believe there is that much difference. I know several guys who are perfectly happy with the Harbor Freight winches. In fact that is what I put on my ATV.

I don't ever plan to bury my truck up to the frame in mud like I did playing around when I was younger. I figure that at most I might need a little help at some time after sliding into a ditch like in Colorado or on a muddy farm road while hunting. I'm more likely to use it to pull someone else out than myself. For what I do the $500 winches are plenty IMO.

I considered several mounting options, but went with a hidden mount behind the bumper. The ones that mount in a receiver hitch sound good at first but they mount the winch too low and are in the way. I didn't want the added weight or expense of a special bumper.

 

Just installed a used and rebuilt Warn Zeon 10-S not long ago. Has worked perfect for me so far.

I never go anywhere with out my recovery boards, I am a strong believer in them. I know they work.

We used the winch and boards to get through this section of mud that the snow had kept from freezing all the way yet.



The heep with me spent id say 30 minutes or more in that mud section breaking trail. I winched it back to me at least 3 times when he could no longer move. Then the snow would not let him back up on top, so we used the boards and they got him up on top again and out.

I could just power through after the trail was defined and broken in.

 

+1 for the Smittybilt XRC. I initially bought with the steel cable which I was not personally a fan of due to fraying and kinking, although that was probably mostly my own fault. Put on a decent synthetic line and have pulled some pretty impressive loads with it, including a prerunnered Ranger with a lot of extra weight out of a rut and up a steep hill. Things that might not be recommended from a safety standpoint, but the winch has never let me down so far. I would personally recommend wireless control winches like the XRC because you can get to whatever angle you prefer or feel safer at instead of being tethered close to the danger zone. Quality definitely appears to be there, and it has seen some pretty rough use in water without issue. The only thing I don't like is the provided option for mounting the solenoid on top of the unit seems cheap and wobbly. Mine is currently held on by zip ties because of it, but you could just as easily mount the solenoid remotely in a sturdy place. I just didn't want to put in the effort.

 

I will get an XRC SMitty one,,In Southern AZ not much to hook onto but small rocks. Ill buy a jack and a good shovel first, A GI folding shovel dug me out of a few sandy washes in my pre- runner

 

There's an excellent sand recovery anchor test by ronny dahl on YouTube. Lots of tools to help winch you out of trouble when no trees or heavy objects (diesels) are around. They all require digging, but what recovery doesn't?

 

Not digging holes that big in AZ rocky caliche though )