winch question

[medic76]

Ok, so I finly sold the Harley today and the wife told me that once I sold it I could buy a winch. my question is has anyone used the smitty built winch the price is right but I have not heard of any one using them and or how good they are
thanks
Bill

[metalcd]

it really depends on how much winching that you actually plan on doing. if it is going to be for emergency extractions of yourself then you should not have a problem, but if you plan on using it to pull you up and over obstacles all day long then you might want to consider something with a little better reputation and durability.

[cknx77]

I know that I can recommend the Warn 9000i.....Don't have experience with anything else. If I manage to burn up the Warn I'll go to one with the air compressor built into the winch!! Too bad about the Harley but that gives you more time to go 'wheelin!! Here is an 8000 lb Warn for sale and "on sale" on the Quadratec site for $569.99. Quadratec also has a military discount.....:D

[Hitechredneck]

If your looking for a good priced winch that has a GREAT rep. that many have done lots of long hard pulls on. look into the superwinch ep9.0i. great place to pic one up for a good price is www.rokmen.com (i think they have a military discount if you call) hope this helps. just trying to give you options. I have heard to many mixed reviews on the smitty built for to sink my money into one. Just remember one key point when buying a winch. They are not there to look cool or just to say you have one. You need one you KNOW 100% will work all the time. Cause when you are you are using it you have already done all you can to get yourself unstuck you sure dont wanna be stuck with a 80lbs paper weight hanging off the front of your rig. When it comes to winches and ALL safety and recovery gear. you get what you pay for.

[Truck]

Ok, so I finly sold the Harley today and the wife told me that once I sold it I could buy a wench. Bill

I thought you were supposed to have wench when you had a Harley...:p

Truck

[notarubicon]

I had a smtty built on my s10 back in highschool and it is good for emergency not for hardcore winchin over obstacles

[supr_fly03]

Yeah I will jump on the band wagon here, if you intend on hitting the hard trails or you wheel with friends that get hung up allot or stuck, then get something else, a good Warn is worth its weight in gold and Superwinch or T-Max is just as good. I got a T-max 9000 with wireless remote for the wifes Jeep on sale for $600. I know from experience that my Warn is good. (dont listen to the na sayers out there about the power plant) I once winched a stuck full size bronco with two broken axles out of a nasty mud hole with about 10 70ft back to back pulls. Never over heated and never quit pulling. Oh and I have a Sears Platinum gel cell battery and my volt meter never went below 10 volts. (I highly recommend one)

[korisu56]

Ok, so I finly sold the Harley today and the wife told me that once I sold it I could buy a winch. my question is has anyone used the smitty built winch the price is right but I have not heard of any one using them and or how good they are
thanks
Bill



Since you asked about the Smittybilt one, I'll be the only one to stand up for it :). Ask the guys on here that have had to wheel with me, when I need it it's usually for a good damn reason. Hasn't let me down yet. It's a slow winch, but the newer version is a lot faster. PM JeepJohn84 for some of the newer specs. If you're worried about failure, spend a little bit extra and get a snatch block. I've pulled out a grand wagoneer, jk's stuck to the frame, myself when I snapped my axle up a pretty decent grade hole. It was about a foot and a half straight up so we had to pull the jeep at an angle.

If you don't wanna break the bank on a winch and you're just a weekend wheeler, smittybilt could be for you. Works great for me and a few other guys on here.

[georgia]

4WheelDrive.com has the Smittybulit on sale for $299.
Yeti and I were lookin into gettin one.

[JeepinSoldier]

The Smittybuilt appears to be a good, low cost winch for occasional pulls. Your winch is a critical peice of safety gear. While the most expensive does not necessarily mean its the best, I would purchase a brand with a proven record.

I recommend either the Warn or the Superwinch. An 8,000 lb should be the minimum for a Wrangler. A 9,000 lb or higher rated winch will pull the same load with a lower amp draw on the electrical system - and allow you to recover heavier vehicles if you anchor the Jeep.

With any winch you buy, you should get a good acessory kit with gloves, tree strap, choker chain and snatchblock in order to use the winch to its full capability.

[theyeti1775]

The Smittybuilt appears to be a good, low cost winch for occasional pulls. Your winch is a critical peice of safety gear. While the most expensive does not necessarily mean its the best, I would purchase a brand with a proven record.


For us the Smittybuilt is a good buy. Neither Georgia or myself are running the High Blacks or Reds (not that I wouldn't want to with a properly built rig). Generally our winching would only be the occassional pull for each other.
Now like was said, if you are going to be doing obstacle pulling and recoveries regularly you will probably want more proven Winches. Weekend wheeling with a rig that sees pavement more than dirt you will be fine. Especially following the never wheel alone policy.
That and if you take care of your equipment and maintain it, you can make it last.

[notarubicon]

If you don't wanna break the bank on a winch and you're just a weekend wheeler, smittybilt could be for you. Works great for me and a few other guys on here.


It is good for weekend wheeling but for hard use like everyday wheeling no

[JeepinSoldier]

For us the Smittybuilt is a good buy. Neither Georgia or myself are running the High Blacks or Reds (not that I wouldn't want to with a properly built rig). Generally our winching would only be the occassional pull for each other.
Now like was said, if you are going to be doing obstacle pulling and recoveries regularly you will probably want more proven Winches. Weekend wheeling with a rig that sees pavement more than dirt you will be fine. Especially following the never wheel alone policy.
That and if you take care of your equipment and maintain it, you can make it last.

Several good points here!

I made the recommendation I did because my winch gets used hard sometimes. However I would say the first rule of winching is 'Have a winch.' :) If the difference is expensive winch only vs inexpensive winch and acessory bag, I change my recommendation to the less expensive winch and the acessory bag.

[Dragline]

You can read the whole article here - A timeless duel to the death http://www.moabjeeper.com/articles/general/listing.cfm?articleID=353

Superwinch: The Superwinch EPi9.0 comes with an automatic load-holding brake as is standard on most of the winches we tested. This winch is the only one that comes standard with a pulley block. The brake mechanism mounted at the end of the gearbox, rather than inside the drum, makes this winch ideal for use with synthetic rope. Each winch comes with sealed switching (control box) making it ideal for use in any weather condition.

http://www.moabjeeper.com/articles/general/articleImages/353/965t.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:openPhotoWindow(965, 353);) Rather than the usual 100’ rope, the EPi9.0 comes with 125’ of 21/64” wire rope (more on this later). In addition, the cable attaches to the drum internally and is secured by an allen wrench set screw. This allows for a quick field repair if the cable separates from the winch. Superwinch cables come standard with a red mark covering the first and last 10’. The mark at the winch end provides a quick visual reference for how much cable is left on the drum during a max-length pull. At the working end, the red section provides a warning to the user when spooling the cable in.
http://www.moabjeeper.com/articles/general/articleImages/353/966t.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:openPhotoWindow(966, 353);) Warn: The Warn 9.5xp is a fast, powerful winch designed to meet the needs of any serious off-roader. This winch has none of the “bling” of some of its competitors such as wireless controls, blinking LEDs, or sound effects. It is purpose built as the workhorse of the Warn stable. Under max load it has the longest duty cycle and fastest line speed of any winch in the test. It features an all new High Output Parallel Series Wound motor that pumps out 6 hp. The drum, motor, and end housing are sealed for water resistance. And for good looks, the finish is a high gloss, chip resistant powder coat.

And two warriors stood toe-to-toe trading punches blow-for-blow!
The ranking numbers are accurate and objective, but they don’t tell the whole story. By the numbers, the Warn was clearly the best winch on the trail, but we were surprised by how small of a margin. The line speed, current draw, and temperature ratings between the Warn and the Superwinch were almost dead even throughout the day. The Warn beat the Superwinch in line speed on three of the four pulls, but just barely. How close were they? Over the course of the day and all four pulls, the Warn was a total of 34 seconds faster. On the other hand, the Superwinch won the current draw category with a lower amp draw on three of the four pulls. In the temperature category the Warn ran coolest of the three all day except for the Mickey’s Hot Tub pull where it was 13 degrees warmer than the Superwinch.

[medic76]

Thanks for all the help I think the smitty built will be the one, Because it will be used very little (hopefully) and I can only go wheeling on the weekends, when I get a chance. and since $$ is a issue right now and I won't be doing any hard wheeling. and I still have some snatch blocks laying around I think that will be safe. thanks to all for the help. that is one thing I was glad the army sent me to, was the recovery school when I drove the M88 recovery vechicle when I was in.
thanks again :)
Bill
oh yea what kind of winch plate should I get?

[theyeti1775]

oh yea what kind of winch plate should I get?
There is a TJ one for $50 on Craigslist. Was posted on the DC area one about 2 or 3 days ago.:)

[robplumm]

If it makes you feel better, I used my smitty today pulling myself up and over a nice little rock. Worked flawlessly. Pulled strong, consistent and plenty fast enough...and it was doing it uphill. Worked it in intervals to keep down on the motor, but after being done (about 50ft) there was no heat. Great little winch...and for 300 you won't be disappointed.

Oh...and if you need instructions for Solenoid box mounting let me know. The instructions suck, but a guy from another forum sent some to me that he got from Smittybuilt. Install instructions are basically worthless...solenoid box mount instructions are great.

[medic76]

Thanks rob I will be ordering it this tues so I will let you know if I need them. thanks for the heads up
Bill