winch feedback

jimisouljah

jimisouljah

Active Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Location
Kannapolis
I'm looking to buy an 8000lb winch to put on the front of my 88 4runner. I've been comparing prices and am trying to find the best bang for my buck. Of course Warn is a trusted name and cost a little more. Looking for some opinions on some of the cheaper winches like Chicago, Smittybuilt, Mile Marker, or Ramsey. This winch won't be used on a weekly basis, but if I need it I want to know it will do the job. Thanks in advance
 
When i was researching the smitty 8's had some good reviews. chicago/champion winches, while not the best quality seemed to liked pretty well by guys who only eeded to use it every few months. the good thing about champion is they are available at Sam's (who has a no questions ask lifetime return policy)

I found a used Ramsey 12,000. it's not mounted yet so i couldnt tell ya anything about it. Chuckwhut is right though, the more you spend, the better are in this case. Don't forget about Tabor and T-max.
 
BigRedB2 said:
... chicago/champion winches, while not the best quality seemed to liked pretty well by guys who only eeded to use it every few months. the good thing about champion is they are available at Sam's (who has a no questions ask lifetime return policy)
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you gotta be :poop: me
 
I have heard that also about the winch from Sam's Club.

I have a 8K Smittybuilt on my Jeep as of right now. Both my 10K Warn, and my 8274-50 both crapped out on me last year. So far, several pulls on the Smitty, and it pulls better than I thought it would. ONce was when I was at the farm on my side, and it pulled like a champ.
 
BigRedB2 said:
. the good thing about champion is they are available at Sam's (who has a no questions ask lifetime return policy)
.
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wow....anyone know how much they run at sams? and diff sizes? for a lifetime return policy it would be worth killin it once a month
 
redneckjeep87 said:
wow....anyone know how much they run at sams? and diff sizes? for a lifetime return policy it would be worth killin it once a month
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they are like 10k and are $500...problem is they do not have them all the time
 
I ran a Ramsey REP 8000 on my '85 Runner for many years, never had an issue with it.

STOCK 55amp alt and judicious power managment, I was able pull for almost 2hours extracting several stuck vehicles one day.

YES, it is SLOW, but if you are stuck, winning a race isn't the first thing on your mind. IT WORKED when I needed it, thats all that mattered.

It pulled 280 amps at full load ( verified ) which is about the same as climbing a hill on the starter in a Toyota ( also verified) many of the other bigger name winches pull TWICE the amperage, which will greatly reduce you working time when using the winch.

I'm not saying it was the best winch, I bought it cheap, it worked, and it was very useful when needed. YMMV
 
upnover said:
I have heard that also about the winch from Sam's Club.
I have a 8K Smittybuilt on my Jeep as of right now. Both my 10K Warn, and my 8274-50 both crapped out on me last year. So far, several pulls on the Smitty, and it pulls better than I thought it would. ONce was when I was at the farm on my side, and it pulled like a champ.
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Hey Chip what happend to your 8274?
 
i have been using a smittybuilt xrc8 for 2 years and im very pleased with it. it replaced a warn and pulls just as hard and the line speed under load is about the same however free speed spooling up was much faster with the warn. 2 buddys have the chicago 9k's and they are holding up well we even compared them to a milemarker and all the numbers and markings were the same. so as for my 2 cent if u use it properly and take care of it a lower price winch will do just fine if u are not running a marathon.
 
I just got an 8274....but I'm gonna have to move my rediator to the back so I won't have a shelf sticking out front of my truck
 
I've had a mile marker 8000 for about 5 years & not one problem
 
I have had my MM 9000lb for 5 years and have not had any problems either. Always works when I need it. However it is terribly slow. If you are not in a hurry then I would recommend from a realiablity standpoint.
 
While I haven't used it much, my XRC8 has worked just fine & is not painfully slow like the older ones when they first came out.

For three hundred bucks, it is pretty damn good.

The Sam's club champion comes with a hitch plate and wiring & some other goodies for the same price. I have heard that these winches also work just fine.
 
My roommate told me he saw one of those winches at Sams. Im gonna get one. So what they are slower, as long as they get the job done and get my out im happy with my $4-500 winch.
 
I have owned a rep 8000 Ramsey for more than ten years now, and it still runs fine. It is slow but it has saved me, and many others on multiple occasions. the brushes stuck in it once after no use for like a year. but I just tapped it with a hammer and it started up and pulled me out just fine. since then it has had several full load pulls and has worked flawlessly.
 
jvmin said:
I have owned a rep 8000 Ramsey for more than ten years now, and it still runs fine. It is slow but it has saved me, and many others
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Blkvoodoo said:
I ran a Ramsey REP 8000 on my '85 Runner for many years, never had an issue with it.
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:beer:

I've run a $299 Northern Hydraulics rebadged (to 4000#) REP8000 for the past 7 years. The ONLY issue was caused by single line pulling fresh stumps out of the backyard. Bought a REP gearset from BoogerCJ7 for $40 and it's been good for the past 4-5 years.

Slow, YES... but as said, I'm not in no hurry at that point.
 
I am using a Warn 8000 on the xj. Got it through horse trading. But before this, I had a hs9500 on the tj. It worked great but in my opinion the super fast spool in made it very difficult to keep the steel line spooled in properly. It was just to fast to do it right. It wa sbetter when I got rope line.
 
I've got a Warn M8000, has worked well for 10+ years. However, IF it were to ever give up, I would be looking at one of the cheaper winches like the Smittybuilt or Chicago to replace it. Back then I had money :(
 
been happy with my t-max, used it as my front suckdown EVERY trip and extracted myself a time or two.
 
I had a Milemarker 9000 for a couple years and never had any problems out of it it was just very slow. I paid right around $350 for it new. I saw the champion 10K at sams a couple of weeks ago for $400 and it came with a receiver mount plate an I think it had a snatch block and tree saver too iirc
 
Went with the Smittybilt XRC8...for the price in hard economic times you can't beat it! Still need a bumper to put it on and that is coming soon
 
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