Best winch for the money

[turboexplorer]

I am looking for a winch. Probably in the 8,000lb range. Plenty for snow and the rock wheelin I do. There are smittybuilt ones in the 3-5 hundred dollar range. Some with wire cheaper but heavy. Or synthetic line. Post your opinions! Thanks.

Update:
Baddecision93 posted a GREAT link for winch's and setting them up, getting the most out of them, proper procedures, the right equipment etc.

Here is the link
Warn Winching Guide

 

[Foxracin]

M Smittybilt 8k has paid for itself a few times already. I would definitely recommend one.

 

[corkey]

Warn Winch FTW<<

i bought a used 9k it is great, look on craigslist , might get one cheap there,

 

[turboexplorer]

Will keep my eye out. Currently living in WY so not much stuff rolls across craigslist. Haveing one would have made last night easier. Only took an hour and a half to dig it out. Having one up here would be awesome. Far as I can tell, yes not top of the line, but smitty built seams to have decent reviews and is half the cost.with no real complaints I can find. Seams to fit my needs for now. An 8,000lb should be plenty strong I think. Now since Im up here away from my contacts the biggest problem is mounting!

 

[lovebite]

My smittybilt has not failed me yet. You can't be the price for the thing. The synthetic line is nice but keep in mind that the UV light will over time cause damage to the line. If you get synthetic line just try to keep a cover on the thing when your not using it.

 

[Happy Jack]

Warn all the way. I used to have Ramsey (long before there were options beside Ramsey and Warn), but Warn has spoiled me. Friend of mine has the cheeper winch and we were side by side pulling a guy out of a mud hole. Truck was sunk in good. His winch helped just a little bit to start off but could not keep up with the Warn I was using. I recomend the 9000 and using a pully to double line. If you look at the charts with pulling load and amp draw you can see that a winch will pull faster, draw less amps double lined than single line. And remember the electirc motor is the same as a starter motor. If you ever burned up a starter motor cranking on a engine too long you will see the conection. As your battery looses power the winch has less to pull with. Like a starter it gets hot and will burn up. So winch for 45 seconds to a minute and then take a break for several minutes. Gives the winch some time to cool down and time to replace power in the battery. Does not give your alt. a lot of break but does ease up on it a bit.

 

[turboexplorer]

All good points. I did know that about the syn line. It would be covered either way. Its quite a price jump for the syn line over the wire. I know that the warn is a far better winch, but the price difference is huge. So for what i need unless I can find a used one don't think I can buy a new warn, or at least justify buying one. Rock crawling but anywhere I would go since it is a DD to it would only be ever needed as a help in some spots. And also used to pull through deep snow. So a cheaper winch will do both of those. Then when/if it gets to a toy I can upgrade then.

 

[n.gardner]

Smittybilt XRC8
way to go

 

[Kirby N.]

don't cheap out on something like a winch. A winch is something that needs to work for you when you need it. I wouldn't buy anything but warn. If you must go on the cheap, buy a used one. Leave the bargain basement parts for something you don't depend on to save your butt. There is a reason the "smitty" in smittybuilt is often replaced with another word.

 

[n.gardner]

don't cheap out on something like a winch. A winch is something that needs to work for you when you need it. I wouldn't buy anything but warn. If you must go on the cheap, buy a used one. Leave the bargain basement parts for something you don't depend on to save your butt. There is a reason the "smitty" in smittybuilt is often replaced with another word.

TRUE.
so above you see i liked smittybilt,
well i got effed today. luckily i was not stuck, but it froze up and burnt a selonoid, great
shoulda bought a warn.

 

[Kirby N.]

Thanks for saying that! I know it took some foot in the mouth, but it is valuable info!!

 

[Stic-o]

I have a T-max winch, and it done me well. only problem is I burned out a solenoid and could not get parts for a year while the company was changing hands I now carry a spear solenoid, but will probably never need it.

 

[section525]

Whatever winch you get/use, make sure you make it's life easier whenever possible by using a snatch block.

 

[Stic-o]

Whatever winch you get/use, make sure you make it's life easier whenever possible by using a snatch block.

I really need to get one of these. Keeping saying if I had one of these...

 

[Lacky01]

Whatever winch you get/use, make sure you make it's life easier whenever possible by using a snatch block.

what is a snatch block?

 

[lynchy wa]

A chastity belt.

Nah, check this out tho':http://www.arb.com.au/products/arb-recovery-equipment/snatch-block/

 

[Lacky01]

A chastity belt.

LOL
theres a reason I didn't type it into google...

 

[gmanpaint]

DWD has a group buy going for syn rope for savings, if you decide to buy a winch with a steel line. Something to think about while shopping for your winch.

Tid bit to add for others that may stumble upon this thread.....
Adding a solid tow point to your rig, hooking the snatch block to the object being pulled from (tree, rock, vehicle), and the line running from the winch thru the snatch block and back to your tow point will double the pulling power. This also reduces resistance forces. A vehicle stuck in deep mud can offer upwards of 20k lbs for a GVW of 5-6k. Snatch block will give that with a 10k winch.

I like the value of the Smittybuilts, they offer a warranty, and you can get an extended warranty for a few more bucks at some big chain stores. Warns are true & tested tough, but they can be out priced for a lot of people that need an occasional pull. You can get more life out of the winch like Section, and others mentioned by just being smart about it. Running it constantly, single line for extended periods of time, not covered, wrong length & gauge wires, sloppy spooling, over heating, etc... will kill any winch.

 

[reapereviltwin]

what is a snatch block?

A snatch block is a pulley used in a rigging set up, it gives you mechanical advantage in a winching operation, A snatch block will not double you winch pulling force, but will almost double it. There is resistance for each snatch block used. (10 % added resistance) So an 5k winch with one snatch block will give you around 9K pulling force. (some formulas use 9%, but 10% is easier to figure)

A change of direction line will not give you any mechanical advantage.

A 5,000 lb vehicle mired to it's fenders will triple your resistance.
Also, look at the pulling power depending on number of wraps on the winch drum, a winch has it's strongest pulling force when there is 4 or 5 wraps around the drum, as you pull in, pulling force decreases.

I've pulled a few M1 series tanks out of the mud, there we are taking about almost 190K lbs of resistance. I have even uprighted overturned tanks, and this has to be done without any extra damage. Those were fun times.

 

[section525]

Dang. I thought I was a BAMF for winching my 18k lb crew truck three times a month! :