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cheap winch vrs. warn winch

10585 Views 28 Replies 23 Participants Last post by  jeepwm69
how does the cheap 100.00 winches on ebay compare to a warn..i;m looking at the 3000lb. area..seems about 450.00 is the cheapest for a warn and these 100.00 winches on ebay are looking better and better..has anyone used them..?? the guys leaving feedback are leaving good messages after buying them..any opinions..??
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I have one of the 2500 Venom winches off of Ebay and it has worked great for me. Had to use it twice today to get of a half dried up pond. And had to use it along with a 30' tow strap to pull buddy out of a steep hillside with a ditch at the bottom last night. I love my winch, would recommend it to anyone. If I was to get another winch though it would be a 3000# winch, just for the extra power.
I can't say anything good or bad about the inexpensive
winches...But this is my third Warn the others got sold with the
ATV's And I could not be more happy on my '05 Rubicon I have A
1700lb and it has paid for itself, IMO I stay with the Warn the same reason I ride A Honda NO SUPRISES

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i have the 2500 warn on mine and it is very strong. i would go with a warn
I had a 1500 lb Masterlock from wal-mart on my last four wheeler but it was not very strong...very light duty only. It would heat up, shut off, and take 30-40 seconds to cool before it would pull again on anything that required a good deal of initial force...ie getting unstuck was hard but once moving it would keep going.
The cheap ones are good, if you do alittle preventive BEFORE you use it. They will last alot longer if you take the winch apart and put gobbs of marine grease inside of it and dielectic grease on the motor side. And as for the contactor, i would silicone it up real good also, to make it as waterproof as possible! Otherwise the cheap winches are fine if you want to save a buck or can't come up with 450.00 for a Warn.
So far I have used my Gorilla 3000 3 times and its worked great. I got the box really wet and it started running on its own so do what he says and you should be fine. I pulled the cable out also but it was my falt not the winches. All you guys that want more power should look into getting snach blocks to double it up. I'm getting one asap! It will help tons!
QUOTE ("big_daddy_bigfoot":3lkxnluc)
So far I have used my Gorilla 3000 3 times and its worked great. I got the box really wet and it started running on its own so do what he says and you should be fine. I pulled the cable out also but it was my falt not the winches. All you guys that want more power should look into getting snach blocks to double it up. I'm getting one asap! It will help tons!
If you have a Tractor Supply store near you, you can go there and get the stuff to build your own for about $15.00, versus $40.00-60.00 for one already made.
I have the Venom 3500# and have heard great things.. Unfortunately, have not had the chance to use it. Friends have the same winch and absolutely love it...even works in deep water...
i got the 3000# Gorilla and it hasnt let me down yet.....
My father-in-law owned my bike before I got it. He installed a 2400# Warn when he bought it. I have a 2006 Chinese quad as well and my wife had a 2000 or 2500# off brand winch on it before I saw the bike. Both winches have seen heavy use, the Warn probably more, and the off brand has had repairs done because of stresses to inferior components. AFIK, my FIL has never done any maintenance to the Warn. I pulled off the rollers and cleaned to sticks and crap out when I got it last fall as well as changed the cable. Other than that, it is working 100%. The off brand has needed more TLC over the same time period.

A Warn winch is like a Honda, you get what you pay for. My off brand quad has had more time and money spent on it than the Honda. Right now I am waiting on a brake drum for 11 MONTHS!!! When I heard my FIL was upgrading his Honda, I jumped on it...
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Zombie thread.

Superwinch LT3000 for $123 shipped on Amazon is the best deal going right now.

My Viper Max winches have been great for 4+ years of hard use, but they're $200 for the same setup.

My Viper Classic winch was a piece of crap that didn't last 6 months.
I just bought the Superwinch Terra 35 for $194 on Amazon after reading multiple reviews of it vs the ProVantage series from Warn. It pulls like a beast, I was pulling pieces of Oak that were 3-4ft round, 2 feet thick across the ground with no problem. Every review I saw showed it to outperform the Warn for half the price. I highly recommend it.
Both of the winches in our riding group are Warns, simply because we know that if we get a Warn we need not worry about whether or not it will engage. It isn't a question or a thought in our mind. They take a lickin and keep on winchin.
i have always had great luck with Warn but lately alot of people i know that have them are having quality issues with them in an array of different models and using conditions the new models anyway, Warns synthetic rope seems to degrade almost in front of your eyes once you get it caked with swamp mud, i like cable so no worries from me, and i have seen alot of their motors crapping out on the Warns and have no clue why, my 87 has a old Gorilla winch on it and it pulls great and i have never done nothing to it besides get it wet and muddy B)
I have 4 quads.... a 2012 Can am outlander 1000 XT, 2 Honda foreman 500's 2012/2013 , and a 2012 Brute force 750. All of them are running the harbor freight bandland winches. Never had a problem out of any of them. But the brand W that came on the can am burned up in under 5 uses. It was replaced with a harbor freight unit and been used quite a bit. I will say to get the biggest one you can fit for the extra power and you wont be disappointed.
I've got the 3500# badlands winch from harbor freight. As far as I know, it's the only one of their atv winches that's rated to be submerged. It's been under water several times and has not failed yet. It has great reviews from the people that have actually owned one. I haven't had any problems with it. Also, with the harborfreight 25% coupon, it was less than $100.
Just so you know the cheaper line of Warn(the ones usually installed by the dealer)don't stand up well at all especially if you get in the water much.If You're gonna run water and mud you need the RT or XT Warn.These are sealed up far better than the cheaper Warns.Just sayin.
nice to know, i never knew that
I agree on choosing either the xt or rt. And if you are in the mud most of the time, the 30 is much better, the 25 is good for all around purposes.
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