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Looking for a winch

I bought a rough country 9500lb from there eBay scratch and dent store. As far as I can tell it had never been out of the box, granted I paid more for a synthetic line then I did for the winch. Everytime I have had to use it works great, not the fastest that I have seen but it has never left me stranded or needing someone else to recover my Jeep.
 
bought an Engo about 5 years ago. the Four Wheeler Mag winch shootout had a lot to do with my decision. I've only used it a handful of times, but it's fast, power efficient and definitely pulls every bit of it's rating. works great for what I do with it. bought a 10k for under $400. would definitely buy it again.

skip the remote and hard wire a switch on your dash.
 
Do you guys see any value in being able to drive 10 minutes down the road to get a new winch, if needed? I see value in this by purchasing a HF winch with their warranty. I could spend 3-500 on a new or used winch and it takes a puke a month later. I'd be stuck shipping it back on my dime or repairing it myself. Being able to exchange at any HF is a consideration I feel some overlook? Just weighing the risks, I'm not partial to any brand.
 
IMO when you need your winch, there's no driving down the road. you're stuck. and your winch just crapped out. hopefully you're not alone, 5 miles from the trailhead with a broken axle or bent tie rod.

exchanging a winch never crossed my mind until you mentioned it
 
More than that! When you have to trust your life on one!
 
Do you guys see any value in being able to drive 10 minutes down the road to get a new winch, if needed? I see value in this by purchasing a HF winch with their warranty. I could spend 3-500 on a new or used winch and it takes a puke a month later. I'd be stuck shipping it back on my dime or repairing it myself. Being able to exchange at any HF is a consideration I feel some overlook? Just weighing the risks, I'm not partial to any brand.

That's similar to my situation, and exactly why I did that.

The HF winches- both old and new- have given me no trouble.
 
IMO when you need your winch, there's no driving down the road. you're stuck. and your winch just crapped out. hopefully you're not alone, 5 miles from the trailhead with a broken axle or bent tie rod.

exchanging a winch never crossed my mind until you mentioned it

Well, there are other ways to get a vehicle out. If you have a winch one can assume you have a hilift- it, too, is a winch.

for that matter, you have winches mounted on every vehicle. They're called tires.
Sometimes you have to be creative. Again I'll refer back to FM 20-22. It is quite literally, the Vehicle Recovery Bible. If you're this worried about getting stuck, there ought to be a copy of this in your glovebox, and you should have read it already.

EDIT: Because I'm a nice guy- here's a copy for $8.60, shipped to your door:
https://www.ebay.com/i/160942678178?chn=ps&dispItem=1

Disclaimer- not me, not my auction. I just bought one, myself, to put in my son's XJ.
 
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I all is going to depend upon usage and exactly how much your going to trust i cheap knock off winch.
I have a 8274 that i bought 30 years ago and have abused the living heck out and it still runs like a champ. Meanwhile i dont even remotely expect my T-Max/CSI to live that long or to tolertate that much abuse.
 
IMO when you need your winch, there's no driving down the road. you're stuck. and your winch just crapped out. hopefully you're not alone, 5 miles from the trailhead with a broken axle or bent tie rod.

exchanging a winch never crossed my mind until you mentioned it

I agree with you but this scenario can happen with any brand. I think I'm going to keep looking for a good used Warn.
 
I have a harbor freight 12k new in box -- bought it a few weeks ago on sale -- $279 I think -- I was intending it for my suburban but am really thinking it may work well on the XJ

It's a heavy beast though

Anyone know how the HF 12K compares weight wise to a warn 9K?
i bought the smittybuilt 9500 pound winch with rope for 350.

lighter, smaller, and faster line speed then a comparable warn or superwinch. i did a ton of researching comparing a lot of winches... motor size, gearing, construction, etc. and it just so happened that the one i felt fit my needs/usage best was also fairly cheap. has been problem free for 2 years now. the advantage of rope far outweighs the extra pulling power. its literally 70 pounds less hanging off the front of the vehicle compared to cable. these arent full size trucks either. if 9500# isnt enough, a snatch block picks up the slack very cheap and easily.

Do you guys see any value in being able to drive 10 minutes down the road to get a new winch, if needed? I see value in this by purchasing a HF winch with their warranty. I could spend 3-500 on a new or used winch and it takes a puke a month later. I'd be stuck shipping it back on my dime or repairing it myself. Being able to exchange at any HF is a consideration I feel some overlook? Just weighing the risks, I'm not partial to any brand.
no... i see an advantage in my stuff working if and when i need it. it should not fail. you should be checking and prepping your equipment routinely and before and after a significant trip. a warranty will not make up for ones lack of preparation in the event that they need the equipment.


More than that! When you have to trust your life on one!
this. ive done this.

even when you are confident in your equipment, its terrifying.
 
i bought the smittybuilt 9500 pound winch with rope for 350.

lighter, smaller, and faster line speed then a comparable warn or superwinch. i did a ton of researching comparing a lot of winches... motor size, gearing, construction, etc. and it just so happened that the one i felt fit my needs/usage best was also fairly cheap. has been problem free for 2 years now. the advantage of rope far outweighs the extra pulling power. its literally 70 pounds less hanging off the front of the vehicle compared to cable. these arent full size trucks either. if 9500# isnt enough, a snatch block picks up the slack very cheap and easily.


no... i see an advantage in my stuff working if and when i need it. it should not fail. you should be checking and prepping your equipment routinely and before and after a significant trip. a warranty will not make up for ones lack of preparation in the event that they need the equipment.



this. ive done this.

even when you are confident in your equipment, its terrifying.

I'll check out the Smittybilt line up too, thanks. I agree with you on prepping and maintaining the equipment pre and post trip, this prevents a lot of headache just like with most things. What experiences have you guys had that make it terrifying? btw it's Friday! :cheers:
 
I'll check out the Smittybilt line up too, thanks. I agree with you on prepping and maintaining the equipment pre and post trip, this prevents a lot of headache just like with most things. What experiences have you guys had that make it terrifying? btw it's Friday! :cheers:

broken an chromoly axle shaft on a ridge line wheeling royal blue... 2 feet on the side of each tire. 100ft down one way, 700 ft down the other. pulled the winch tight to a tree to steady the jeep while i worked on it. come to find out my spare shaft didnt fit properly so i had to roll out i 3wd. even after getting moving, my front diff got hung up, something that 4wd would have pushed through. the rear end was breaking traction and wanting to slide uncomfortably close to the edge. so out came the winch again to slowly work pull over what was hanging me up.

that was the day i found out i hate ridges.
 
What experiences have you guys had that make it terrifying?

How about hanging off the side of a mountain with about another 4-500' it could fall! I wouldn't even get out of my Jeep in fear of upsetting any weight transfer. I had someone else pull out my cable and hook it up so I could at least get a anchor point on so it wouldn't fall/slide any further!
 
Well, there are other ways to get a vehicle out. If you have a winch one can assume you have a hilift- it, too, is a winch.

for that matter, you have winches mounted on every vehicle. They're called tires.
Sometimes you have to be creative. Again I'll refer back to FM 20-22. It is quite literally, the Vehicle Recovery Bible. If you're this worried about getting stuck, there ought to be a copy of this in your glovebox, and you should have read it already.

EDIT: Because I'm a nice guy- here's a copy for $8.60, shipped to your door:
https://www.ebay.com/i/160942678178?chn=ps&dispItem=1

Disclaimer- not me, not my auction. I just bought one, myself, to put in my son's XJ.

cool! look forward to reading it. love learning new recovery methods.

But I still don't want a crappy winch!!
 
guy in local club has HF 10K I believe. sent him a message yesterday. his response:

Yes, I have probably made over 100 pull with it at this point. Other people say Harbor Freight winches are slow, but I have nothing to base it off of. I have never broken anything on it yet. The only issue I have ever had is the thermal overprotective will kick in and I have to let the winch cool down. I've only had that happen when pulling very heavy people (3/4 ton trucks) out of the mud. Since then, I started using a snatch block to double up and have not had any issues. I would have absolutely no problem whatsoever recommending the winch to anyone.

Maybe it's not a crappy winch....
 
guy in local club has HF 10K I believe. sent him a message yesterday. his response:

Yes, I have probably made over 100 pull with it at this point. Other people say Harbor Freight winches are slow, but I have nothing to base it off of. I have never broken anything on it yet. The only issue I have ever had is the thermal overprotective will kick in and I have to let the winch cool down. I've only had that happen when pulling very heavy people (3/4 ton trucks) out of the mud. Since then, I started using a snatch block to double up and have not had any issues. I would have absolutely no problem whatsoever recommending the winch to anyone.

Maybe it's not a crappy winch....

Hmm, this sounds familiar.. when have I heard this before?

;P
 
Hmm, this sounds familiar.. when have I heard this before?

;P

Not following you... verbatim response from a guy who's running the exact winch in question. Whats your point??
 
HF is slower with a shorter duty cycle (shorter pulls and longer cool down). I personally don't trust them to make a solid brake, but I have no evidence that its bad.

The Smittybilt X2O are waterproof. Used mine 20+ times last year, including holding the jeep on the side of a hill while I changed a tire (jeep slid off the jacks without the winch).
 
What do you guys think of the Smittybilt XRC-9.5K? Is jumping up to the X2O worth the extra reliability wise? Wireless seems neat but not sure how it holds up like a corded one.
 
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