Smittybilt XRC8 Winch - $303 shipped @ 4wd.com

Erik

Erik

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Location
Wilmington, NC
Thought I'd be a guinneau pig since nobody has done a write-up on this thing yet....

nobody can tell me the current draw or first hand how it holds up to rust, dust, etc....

from searching i hear the controller is "weird" but no further description or pictures......

i don't plan on using the remote... i'll likely make an in-cab controller so that wasnt a big issue with me but i'm sure many would be curious.

Hopefully I'll have it at my doorstep next week and i'll do a bit of a small write-up to let you guys know just how crappy it is.... or how much better it is than expected.


-Erik <--- figures a cheap winch w/2 yr warranty is better than no winch!
 
definatly worth a try... and the 2 year warranty, from what i've researched on it, is either a replacement or a field repair... which sounds to me like no shipping hassles.

any pictures of it? i've seen the stock photo's but i'd be interested to see what the winch, control box, controller, and all that jazz actually looks like....

_Erik
 
when you get it, post up some pics and what you think of it. Ive been considering these ever since there was a long thread about it on another board. I figure if anything...it ends up on the rear of my rig or a trailer...$300 is worth it IMHO.
 
stockcar is sending me pictures of his and i'll be taking a ton of pictures and doing a small grtammatically incorrect write-up once i get it and install it.

-Erik
 
It's amazing to me how all winches look to be like 3 brands.

Warn, Ramsey, or Harbor Freight.


Matt - ( I ain't too sure about Ramsey )
 
thanks!

those pictures, though dark, look pretty good....

-Erik <--- can't wait to see how good or shitty this thing actually is
 
ive heard pretty decent things on the other board.

There are obviously still the people that say "if its not warn, its a piece of shit and you will immediately die when you use it"...but for $300 if it sucks, ill use it on the rear.
 
My $0.02
slravene said:
There are obviously still the people that say "if its not warn, its a piece of shit and you will immediately die when you use it"...but for $300 if it sucks, ill use it on the rear.
Click to expand...

Worst I have ever heard is the cheaper winches, (did I say Mile Marker?) have a tendency to heat up. Dont use em on long, heavy pulls without a break!
And I have a Superwinch that I love! Among other things, it has pulled a full size rig out of a pretty big hole and it hasn't ever stalled a bit.
Maybe they're the "best", but I think Warn winches are generally overpriced, unless you're using them all day, day in and day out
Budget guys can do better
 
well if i could afford a 9k integrated warn i'd have one... but i can't..

if i could afford the $600 +/- 9k lb tmax i'd have it, but i can't....

the $303 smittybilt, however, is in my drunk pricerange so i bought it... while drunk of course.... so since it's all i could afford i think i'm safe to say it's better than having nothing at all :)
 
I think they are worth a shot.
Be interesting to see if a $300 xrrc is much better than a $150 (on sale and 20%) HF winch.

Of course you do get the remote, but I dont see that as majorly useful on a vehicle, a trailer definitely, not so much a trail rig.
 
the xrc8 comes with a remote? i thought it had a 12' remote like any other, including harbor freight, winch.... ?
 
The ads I have seen indicate a wired and wireless remote as standard.
 
well that would be awesome... that would eliminte the need for me to make a wireless controller as i planned to do..

i'll update the thread when it comes in and let you guys know what comes in the box.

from what i can tell from 4wd.com it hasn't shipped yet but they tell me it should ship monday and be at my door wed-fri ?
 
I called 4wd on this

I was really interested in this winch until I called. It only has a 90 day warranty....Per 4wd.....
 
The NEW Smittybilt XRC8 8,000lb winch has a hand wound permanent magnetic motor which is the standard for the true off Roader. This is the most reliable motor on the market today. Two Year Limited Warranty, 4.1 hp motor, 3-stage planetary gear system, 265:1 reduction ratio for fast line speed, free spooling, automatic load-holding brake, power in and out and a roller fairlead. A 12 ft illuminated handheld remote control,. Comes with a 5/16" x 92’ galvanized aircraft cable with replaceable hook. Mounting bolt pattern: 10" x 4.5", OAL Dim. 21" x 6.22" x 7.283". This item incurs a $19.99 shipping surcharge.
Click to expand...

says 2 year on the site... doesn't show any fine print though..... that would be nice to have.... perhaps an email to 4wd is in order since smittybilt's site is apparently non-existant.
 
do you guys understand what a warranty is for ? It's probably not necessarily a life time no questions asked free replacement thing... 2 years is probably for mechanicals, defects etc.. the 90days is probably the no hassle time frame...

In other words don't abuse it and expect to get it replaced next year.. (or post up about how big a turd it is) A persons inexperience or lack of knowledge in proper use doesn't always mean the item was defective...

The biggest things I always see are people who fail to realize a winch is rated for intermittent use.. Most winches need to be stopped and allowed to be cooled on a long pull. They also fail to understand the rating and amp draw of any given winch vs # of wraps etc.. and how that relates to their charging system .

Just as a reference: http://www.ramsey.com/winches/rep8000.html

Read the 8k pull... over 400 amps... can your rig pump out that much continuously ? Just somthing to think about...

All that said, its probably a nice winch for the money and I will probably get one of these for a multi mount setup.. for the trailer/jeep/truck etc...
 
hmmmm..I think that I'm gonna try to sell some of my junk to to one of these
 
ai47.photobucket.com_albums_f175_efrancin_IMG_2751.jpg


ai47.photobucket.com_albums_f175_efrancin_IMG_2760.jpg


ai47.photobucket.com_albums_f175_efrancin_IMG_2762.jpg


ai47.photobucket.com_albums_f175_efrancin_IMG_2754.jpg



thanks stockcar! can't wait to get mine :)
 
would the remote be long enough to run inside the cab?
 
winch

yes , the remote was long enough and worked great inside my CJ7 . I think it is the standard 12 feet but I did not measure it . I can measure the remote cable , if you want the exact measurement .
 
Looks sharp... only real question is will the motor hold up and can it be "replaced"

Winch is really just a motor / gears, the gears would have to be really crappy metal to be an issue so that leaves the motor itself.

If it is a "made in china" piece of junk motor, it will fail quickly or lose its "grunt" and it will be a doorstop.

If the motor is actually "good" then you will be very happy...and maint your motor will help it regardless.

The "only" other part of the system is basically the solenoids. Again, I suppose there are lower end 'noids, but my guess is they are pretty much industry standard and unless they use some proprietary stuff, you can swap em out WHEN they go bad. (not if...when...even with good maint)

Integrated solenoids just mean they are that much harder to replace when they die (or to maintain)...BUT they are also sealed from grime, dust and water which are major reasons FOR failure.

The one major reason the 8274 was/is such a popular winch is the fact it is rebuildable, you can buy one and use it the rest of your life, pass it on to your grankids...now you may replace motors, brushes, etc over the years, but they do have the parts avail instead of junking the whole thing.

For a long time I would only recommend the Warn M8000, to save up the extra $100-200 and then you have a good quality unit.

Now, I would suspect that the newer winches will be "as quality" as that and maybe cheaper...but as we all know, time will tell, glad someone on here is buying them to try em!

[Sidenote...possible thread steal...I wonder how "hard" it is to build a winch, motor...gearing is probably biggest issue, electrics are industry spec stuff]
 
SHINTON said:
[Sidenote...possible thread steal...I wonder how "hard" it is to build a winch, motor...gearing is probably biggest issue, electrics are industry spec stuff]
Click to expand...
Ive wondered this myself. I think the hardest part would be the castings, as you could probably find gears that would work from somewhere like http://www.sdp-si.com/
 
Back
Top