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Help me pick a winch.

2K views 23 replies 10 participants last post by  Southern_Sierra 
#1 ·
Looking for a winch for farm use. I've heard of warn and smittybilt but don't know squat about winches.
 
#2 ·
i've used the Smitty built XRC winches with great success and they cost a HELL of a lot less then Warn or Ramsey...IMO that's the way to go.. you can buy 2 or 3 SmittyBilt winches for the price of 1 warn and SmittyBilt isn't junk...its no Warn, but i think then your paying mostly for the name. Ive never been about to justify $1200 for a winch when i can get one for $400

stay away from Badlands, Traveler, or other chinese knockoffs
 
#3 ·
i've used the Smitty built XRC winches with great success and they cost a HELL of a lot less then Warn or Ramsey...IMO that's the way to go.. you can buy 2 or 3 SmittyBilt winches for the price of 1 warn and SmittyBilt isn't junk...its no Warn, but i think then your paying mostly for the name. Ive never been about to justify $1200 for a winch when i can get one for $400

stay away from Badlands, Traveler, or other chinese knockoffs
Stay away from Badlands? The 12k Badland winch I had was amazing for the $300 I spent
 
#6 ·
I have a smitty xrc12. Its done well and hard to beat the price.
If i had more budget at the time, i would have went with a wireless remote and synthetic cable for safety. Dont go with less than 9500.
 
#8 ·
i only say stay away from badlands because of what ive seen and personal experience. ..i probably should have stated that. Harbor Freight has never been known for quality.. more like affordable/ bargain prices.. Could Badlands be a good winch..sure.. but again my experience with them has been less then spectacular, just like the traveler winches sold by Tractor supply...i have only seen few people with a Traveler winch, and the components failed..


with that said, all winches can be good, but the difference is the quality and the longevity..a lot of the more "bargain" winches tend not to have the long term lifespan. i also find that sometimes either the winch line is smaller or the reduction ratio or how they get the ratio is different....

just depends on budget or what your doing......for good price range i suggest SmittyBilt XRC line..
 
#9 ·
i only say stay away from badlands because of what ive seen and personal experience. ..i probably should have stated that. Harbor Freight has never been known for quality.. more like affordable/ bargain prices.. Could Badlands be a good winch..sure.. but again my experience with them has been less then spectacular, just like the traveler winches sold by Tractor supply...i have only seen few people with a Traveler winch, and the components failed..


with that said, all winches can be good, but the difference is the quality and the longevity..a lot of the more "bargain" winches tend not to have the long term lifespan. i also find that sometimes either the winch line is smaller or the reduction ratio or how they get the ratio is different....

just depends on budget or what your doing......for good price range i suggest SmittyBilt XRC line..
Okay, fair enough.

If you plan on constantly depending on the winch to pull you put of a sticky situation, go with a reputable brand.

i used my Badlands winch to pull out trees, rocks, etc while doing landscape work. It was amazing for that.
 
#10 ·
Ive heard the smittybilts are great for the price compared to some of the other brands and are reliable which is great...

Badlands wise, ive read so many reviews stating that they are decent if your willing to fix some of their cheap electrical problems and seal them up but if you want one that's good to go out of the box id stay away.
 
#16 ·
go heavier. Double the weight of the truck Minimum.
 
#18 ·
Because a 15k winch is practical all the time:insane2:
on a 9Klb Dually Yeah it is lol. a 12K winch will do it but whine like a whore lol

Actually looking at dodge specs. Im just using a 08 3500 as a base. thats 10Klbs. So 15k winch is minimum if you follow proper sizing
 
#21 ·
dude a half ton weights over 6K GVWR lol That 98 weighs in at 10.5K GVRW if its a dually. Plus your other shit. That 12K winch won't pull you on ice in Neutral lol.
 
#22 ·
on a 9Klb Dually Yeah it is lol. a 12K winch will do it but whine like a whore lol

Actually looking at dodge specs. Im just using a 08 3500 as a base. thats 10Klbs. So 15k winch is minimum if you follow proper sizing
GVWR isn't vehicle weight.

I own a Dodge 2500 3rd gen, SRW, but close enough. A 3500 DRW is not going to be more than ~8k empty.

'Proper size' is what it takes to get your vehicle moving again. It's going to take a lot to stick a stock tired truck where a 9k with a snatch block isn't going to get it out. The biggest issue is always an anchor anyways. If you end up in a ditch, you're going to need a wrecker for the truck damage if the stick is worse than 9k is going to fix too.

But hey, if you need to stick to the 2x your weight rule I guess he's going to need a Warn Olympus just to be safe:crazy:
 
#23 ·
I've used my harbor freight 12K winch at least 100 times in the last 2 years without issue. It's mounted on my car trailer to pull dead vehicles on. The heaviest was an E-250 Ford van that had 3/4 of a cut up minivan van stuffed in the back, gross weight of 8400 lbs. It never missed a lick. I can't see paying $1200 for a winch that will ride on a bumper and collect road grime 98% of the time when you can get one of the HF 12K winches for $300.

Guardrail
 
#24 ·
This won't really be used for pulling the dead weight of this truck. When I say farm use it could be for anything from pulling fence posts or a dead cow, downed tree or worst case a truck and trailer in a muddy pasture which still wouldn't be dead weight.

The winch is for convienience of having something there with you. If ish gets real we've got 6 8000 series John Deere tractors.
 
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