Warn, Smittybilt or something else?

[bgenlvtex]

I need a winch for the front of the Gladiator, and will be mounting it in a factory steel winch capable bumper.

I have a predisposition to Warn, I've just never heard anything bad about them. At the same time, I haven't heard anything bad about Smittybilt winches and they come at a more attractive price point.

We will not be using the winch hard, and hopefully not at all, but I want a solid reliable 8-10-12k winch and I am leaning toward synthetic rope for weight reasons. I understand the pro's and con's of wire and synthetic rope.

I do plan to mount the solenoid pack under the hood if that matters.

So, if anyone has specific knowledge they would like to share, alternate brands of same or better quality, mount plates, etc. I welcome your input.

This is the Smittybilt I'm considering

 

[Mike harpe]

The power wagon comes factory with a warn. I like it. Just wish it could be upgraded to the bluetooth remote control that has the rechargeable battery and not the standard alkaline universal one they have.

But I go with a warm if it was me having to buy one.

 

[Jaytperry89]

I've been considering rough country 12,000 pound steel cable winch. Mostly cuz it's the best I can afford. And their hidden winch plate would work well with their own winch. I haven't pulled the trigger on it yet though.

 

[M Rose]

I have used Warn, Smitty Built, Badlands, and a few other winches throught the years and by far love my hydraulic Mile Marker the most. there is a reason the Army switched to Mile Marker.... they are one very tough winch.

 

[MOAK]

Warn is a natural choice , Come-up winches get a ton of great reviews and are used world wide. Smittys in my humble opinion, have come a long way since they were first introduced and I’ve heard they are now a tad bit bit better than the boat anchors they once were. I have a Superwinch, nothing fast or fancy, no gizmology, just good old fashioned dependability. It’s only been used in the field 4 or 5 times in 6 years and it pulls as it should every time. Every six months I wind it out and re-pull it as maintenance.

 

[Mike harpe]

I have used Warn, Smitty Built, Badlands, and a few other winches throught the years and by far love my hydraulic Mile Marker the most. there is a reason the Army switched to Mile Marker.... they are one very tough winch.

Let's not forget they also use the lowest bidder. Mile marker is also sold by harbor freight. And being as how I'm prior army, just because uncle Sam's approves doesn't mean it's always a good idea lol.

 

[M Rose]

Yes the army does go lowest bidder, but a lot of pressure was put onto the DoD to drop the warn winch in favor of MileMarker by a lot of us 63BH8's (the recovery specialists). also The harbor freight MileMarker winches are not actually made by MileMarker.

 

[MuckSavage]

Same conversation as Chevy/Ford/Dodge. Everyone will tell you their favorite. From personal experience, my Superwinch (S9000) has been doing everything I’ve asked of it for over 25 years.

 

[Boostpowered]

I use a 13k no name winch off ebay. Well actually it has a name just not as well known "costway". The kicker is it will accept the 6.5hp motor the ring gears and other parts off a warn winch. It hasnt failed me yet and i use it around twice a month i trust it to do what i need. Ive played with no name harbor freight winches and like everything else somtimes you get lucky and sometimes you get the one with bad qc but the beauty of buying at harbor freight is if there is a problem return and exchange it no questions.

 

[bgenlvtex]

Same conversation as Chevy/Ford/Dodge. Everyone will tell you their favorite. From personal experience, my Superwinch (S9000) has been doing everything I’ve asked of it for over 25 years.

I kind of expect that, and that's OK too. Honestly I expected to find a "big thread o'winches" stickied but I did not.

I'm not scared of spending money, nor am I averse to looking at details. But I also don't want to just pile up money and burn it either.

I think Warn is a known entity, and for the kind of use I'm looking at probably the gold standard.

I have friend who has spent more time on a winch line than I have who swears the Harbor Fraught Badlands is hot shit. Regrettably I have brought more than one Harbor Freight electric motor to critical mass and just can't get comfortable relying on one as a last ditch tool.

So that is sort of what is leading me to the Smittybilt I linked, seems a pretty solid middle ground. Maybe I'm just looking for validation, but I really am open to options.

Links are appreciated with any suggestions please.


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[MuckSavage]

The kicker with the HF winch is, and I didn’t know it till I installed one for a customer....after reading the manual, it has a Duty Cycle. I don’t recall what it is....something like 15 seconds run time, 10 minute cool down. Now, would I abide by that rule? Certainly not. When you need a winch, you NEED a winch. There’s no waiting. I checked the online O&M manuals for Warn & Superwinch & I see no mention of duty-cycles.

 

[Boostpowered]

Another thing alot of folks with any winch either dont know or forgot is you should pull out your line and respool atleast once a month not only does it keep your cables from pinching on the spool but it allows the motor to warm up and cook off condensation in the motor housing which is a major reason winches stop working both name brand and off brands have this problem. Also alot of folks buy a winch that under rated for their rig, example putting a 9000lb winch on a 6000lb rig but in mud or steep inclines or even if your rig is overloaded you gonna exceed or be on the verge of the winch rating and cause failure. My advise regardless if namebrand or offbrand is to go big as you can and learn how to properly maintain it.

 

[Boostpowered]

The kicker with the HF winch is, and I didn’t know it till I installed one for a customer....after reading the manual, it has a Duty Cycle. I don’t recall what it is....something like 15 seconds run time, 10 minute cool down. Now, would I abide by that rule? Certainly not. When you need a winch, you NEED a winch. There’s no waiting. I checked the online O&M manuals for Warn & Superwinch & I see no mention of duty-cycles.

Any electronic motor has a duty cycle some winch companys just dont tell you how long your supposed to do it. Bullet number 4

 

[bgenlvtex]

Another thing alot of folks with any winch either dont know or forgot is you should pull out your line and respool atleast once a month not only does it keep your cables from pinching on the spool but it allows the motor to warm up and cook off condensation in the motor housing which is a major reason winches stop working both name brand and off brands have this problem. Also alot of folks buy a winch that under rated for their rig, example putting a 9000lb winch on a 6000lb rig but in mud or steep inclines or even if your rig is overloaded you gonna exceed or be on the verge of the winch rating and cause failure. My advise regardless if namebrand or offbrand is to go big as you can and learn how to properly maintain it.

I've resigned myself to a 12k regardless the brand. Gladiator loaded up will be 6k and Opus loaded up will be 4k.

I'llnitely have a block and secondary line.

 

[Boostpowered]

I've resigned myself to a 12k regardless the brand. Gladiator loaded up will be 6k and Opus loaded up will be 4k.

I'llnitely have a block and secondary line.

With the 12k you can do a double line pull at 24k. Just have half the length of line 40 ft or so instead of 94ft

 

[Boostpowered]

For some more info on 12k this applys to pretty much all 12k electric winches.

 

[bgenlvtex]

With the 12k you can do a double line pull at 24k. Just have half the length of line 40 ft or so instead of 94ft

Correct, hence the secondary line in the event a suitable anchor is not in reach.

 

[bgenlvtex]

Any electronic motor has a duty cycle some winch companys just dont tell you how long your supposed to do it. Bullet number 4
View attachment 122130

Yeah, pixies have to come up for air, Chinese pixies probably more so.

 

[joshjunior]

Let's not forget they also use the lowest bidder. Mile marker is also sold by harbor freight. And being as how I'm prior army, just because uncle Sam's approves doesn't mean it's always a good idea lol.

I was in the military.. Just bc we used it doesn't mean it's the best lol.. my branch usually got hand me down army gear fwiw.
Lowest bidder is usually a large reason for getting the contact

 

[Mike harpe]

I was in the military.. Just bc we used it doesn't mean it's the best lol.. my branch usually got hand me down army gear fwiw.
Lowest bidder is usually a large reason for getting the contact

Aemy hand me downs... you must have been a marine..