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View Full Version : Smitty Built Winch - $350 10K winch What am I getting into



TheWeiss
11-04-2009, 11:00 AM
So if anyone has been watching Quadratec they've got the typically cheaper (now super cheap) Smittbuilt XRC winches on sales. Currently, they've got a 10,000 pound winch on sales for $350 and an 8,000 pound winch for $285 I'm a big believer in "you get what you pay for" and I am by no means an expert on winches.

What am I getting myself into with these winches? What am I giving up for the price and how much should I care?

Mudderoy
11-04-2009, 11:13 AM
So if anyone has been watching Quadratec they've got the typically cheaper (now super cheap) Smittbuilt XRC winches on sales. Currently, they've got a 10,000 pound winch on sales for $350 and an 8,000 pound winch for $285 I'm a big believer in "you get what you pay for" and I am by no means an expert on winches.

What am I getting myself into with these winches? What am I giving up for the price and how much should I care?

Chances are good that when I go to use my winch it's going to be important. I don't want it to fail. I would like to have the Warn winch simply because of the quality, but from independent field tests Superwinch is nearly as good as the Warn and it's 1/2 the price. Plus someone I trust recommend them. So would I go with the Smittybuilt, no, not for my situation.

4.3LXJ
11-04-2009, 11:22 AM
One thing that is important to me is line speed. I didn't think it would be an issue until I used my Mile Marker a few times. I set up at the top of a hill at Goat Mountain in OR and was winching my buddies up. It took forever. Then one of the guys used his own and got up in less than a third of the time. Then I had to respool the line, like I always do to preserve the cable, and that took a lot of time also. I just don't have those issues any more. If anything, the Warn spools too fast for respooling.

xj4life2
11-04-2009, 12:10 PM
ok , so I will admit that line speed on the Smitty's is slower, but (and you knew thier would be one ) is price and performance. I have sold well over 200 of the 8k and have only had two come back. One because the customer overtorqued the connections on the housing and broke them Smitty replaced the cover at no charge. The second the customer dropped the controller on the mud and then ran over it , Smitty replaced the controller at no charge. I personally have one on my Jeep and have had no issues with it at all. I understand the Warn love affair because I to had it up untill I used a Smitty. Warn is a great winch but not for the price. As an example I have the Warn's on closeout right now @10% below cost with free shipping and the Warn rebate is good on one of them. I'm still selling the Smiitys @4 to 1. So in my opinion the best bang for the buck is the Smitty.

Mudderoy
11-04-2009, 12:36 PM
ok , so I will admit that line speed on the Smitty's is slower, but (and you knew thier would be one ) is price and performance. I have sold well over 200 of the 8k and have only had two come back. One because the customer overtorqued the connections on the housing and broke them Smitty replaced the cover at no charge. The second the customer dropped the controller on the mud and then ran over it , Smitty replaced the controller at no charge. I personally have one on my Jeep and have had no issues with it at all. I understand the Warn love affair because I to had it up untill I used a Smitty. Warn is a great winch but not for the price. As an example I have the Warn's on closeout right now @10% below cost with free shipping and the Warn rebate is good on one of them. I'm still selling the Smiitys @4 to 1. So in my opinion the best bang for the buck is the Smitty.

I agree. Everyone has to look at how much performance they want and are they willing to pay that much. :patriot:

DETOURS
11-04-2009, 07:07 PM
No Warn love affair here, Superwinch is the way to roll....price & performance!

SLOW LINE SPEED BLOWS!! AND IT'S WORSE FOR THE RIGS WAITING BEHIND YOU!! DONT BE 'THAT' GUY!!!

Those frick'en chinese frick'en winches are bought by so called "smitty built", which is just a name........for probably less than 45 bucks each....if that.

Go ahead, ask me how I really feel.......just getting warmed up. :popcorn:

ssj123
11-04-2009, 11:58 PM
i dont know much about the smittybuilt but i agree with spanky on the superwinch. with the guys i wheel with we have superwinch, warn, harbor freight (chicago electric), and mile marker. out of all of them superwinch is by far my favorite for the price and performance value. the warn works great as it should be expected but is way too rich for my blood. the harbor freight winch works amazing for how cheap it is (about the same as the smitty) but it has been rebuilt once so far. and for mile marker i wouldnt touch their winches with a 10 ft pole that thing never works right. i currently dont run a winch cause i just picked up a new xj but on my old one i actually ran a champion winch which is sold at tractor supply company. the prices on that are also comparable to the smitty and i had zero issues with that and i did some heavy winching on it. sorry not trying to write a book here but just figured id give my 2 cents on my winch experiences. hope it helps at all.

Mudderoy
11-05-2009, 01:36 AM
I wouldn't mind having a cheap winch that I could pull out and hook up to the rear 2" receiver.

ssj123
11-05-2009, 02:25 AM
the champion i had was a 7500lb winch and i paid $265 for it. i must say you would think for the price it was junk but that thing handled some heavy loads and never quit on me!

TheWeiss
11-05-2009, 08:55 AM
Ok so I see a couple different points of view here. So everyone knows that the best winch you can buy is Warn, the name, the tech, and their history makes them impossible to deny. However, they are waaaay too much money so unless someone gives one to me (hint hint), or I start making a lot more money than I do, they are not an option.

So it comes down to an 8500 Pound Super winch for around $400 or a 10,000 pound milemarker for $120 less. While line speed is a consideration, its not something that concerns me too much. Maybe it will concern me more with some winching experience.

Has anyone had a problem with either? Has anyone not had a problem? So far I'm leaning towards Payless 4X's post more than anything.

Also, obviously there is a sizeable difference between 10K and 8.5K of pulling power. Is 10K overkill? Or will I be thankful for every extra pound of pulling power?

xj4life2
11-05-2009, 10:19 AM
No Warn love affair here, Superwinch is the way to roll....price & performance!

SLOW LINE SPEED BLOWS!! AND IT'S WORSE FOR THE RIGS WAITING BEHIND YOU!! DONT BE 'THAT' GUY!!!

Those frick'en chinese frick'en winches are bought by so called "smitty built", which is just a name........for probably less than 45 bucks each....if that.

Go ahead, ask me how I really feel.......just getting warmed up. :popcorn:

Smittybuilt winches are made by T-Max. Australia I think ??

4.3LXJ
11-05-2009, 10:22 AM
I have a Mile Marker 9000# on the floor of my shop. It had temperamental solenoids and finally just quit on my one day during a light pull. So, the winch still is on the floor gathering dust.

afbond03
11-06-2009, 07:59 AM
I looked at the Smitty myself. Piece of mind goes a long way though. I ended up with a Superwinch EPi9.0, def. cannot go wrong with this bad boy. I just need to get a synthetic line now.

DETOURS
11-06-2009, 07:14 PM
I looked at the Smitty myself. Piece of mind goes a long way though. I ended up with a Superwinch EPi9.0, def. cannot go wrong with this bad boy. I just need to get a synthetic line now.

That was an excellent choice!

DETOURS
11-06-2009, 07:28 PM
Ok so I see a couple different points of view here. So everyone knows that the best winch you can buy is Warn, the name, the tech, and their history makes them impossible to deny.

Ummmm, wait....no.
They SPEND the MOST advertising dollars, this is why you think this.
They also do the most give-a-ways.....that is up until a few years ago, when their promo director got shiat canned........Not so many give-a-ways....anymore.

Superwinch was actually incorperated in the USA prior to Warn, look it up.

You can spend less on a 9k Superwinch than Warn's 'Entry' level 8k, and it's faster as well.

Speed.......it can be very important in an emergency/roll over/reverse endover, you'll find a winch can be a critical pcs of equipment when on the trail, consider it a tool and purchase the best quality tool you can afford, it's better than busted, bloody knuckles and a bad after thought.......

Thats all.......good luck. :popcorn:

jonesy
11-06-2009, 10:14 PM
none use a ramsey? ive had lots fun with mine.. patriot 9500 ut

4.3LXJ
11-06-2009, 10:29 PM
none use a ramsey? ive had lots fun with mine.. patriot 9500 ut

I had a Ramsey PTO on my Dodge W300.

AJ99
11-07-2009, 01:53 AM
ok i have the xrc 8 and i like mine. The only problem i have had was the connects backed out. but that is the only problem i have had. Heck the other day i used it, i was in a canal and on the side of it coming out and used the winch to pull a fence out... (dont ask...) and it pulled my back half up off the ground. I have used it many times and only had issues the one time. So i say for the money you get a darn good winch. I got a bunch of crap for getting it but after everyone has seen it in action they realized it isnt as bad as made out to be. Heck one of my buddies has a warn and mine pulls faster than his.