prochargeddart

i used the search function but didnt come up with much..
im after a winch for a custom mount on my dodge, there are some really good deals, and 3 year warranty's available with those titan, tuff stuff, recon, etc winches listed. has anybody actually got one and used it? i wont be using mine very often thats forsure, but i need it to work, and be waterproof in the time being. any input would be great. im a bit low on cash, been layed off due to oil field stuff for 7 months!! i'd love to afford a warn or ramsey but i'd have to revert to trading stuff for one of them. thanks

Hodge

With winches, you truely get what you pay for. Not many of the cheap ones are waterproof. And, whatever you buy, you want to get a series wound, not permanant magnet.
I have a friend in Haiti, who bought one of the cheaper, 10,000 pound winches. It will not pull a full 10,000 pounds, and after his first heavy use, he had to rebuild the motor in it. It gets the job done, but only marginally. And, that is not pulling massive loads, just the weight of the truck.

prochargeddart

thanks, thats what i wanted to hear. do you know how superwinches are by chance?

Hodge

I think they are pretty good winches. Maybe not as good as a Warn, but better than the off brand winches. Again, make sure you are getting a series wound motor. Most quality winches are.

Pirate

I have 2 superwiches on my trailers. The smaller one does ok but for light loads. I forgot the model # on that one. The second has a 16K rating and has no problem pulling a dead 14K peice of machinery up on my GN trailer. I also have the wireless remote for that winch to make things easier.

No problems with either winch over many years and a fair bit of use.

DmaxEter

I got one of the cheapo winches off ebay. I have it mounted on my Jeep and it has never failed to work and work very good! Its a 10,000lb rated winch. I took it apart when I got it and all the internals are just like a name brand winch. I did add some grease to the three stage planetary gear set but thats all I saw I didnt like. The one I have is branded Vortex. I have no complaint at all. It has saved me on several occasions so far and more than paid for itself.

http://cgi.ebay.com/12V-VORTEX-10000...d=p3286.c0.m14

prochargeddart

hm, something to think about, i had a vortex 12000 #'er i was lookin at, looks differnet then that one, these only have a 1 yr warranty, where as others have 3 yr warranty on ebay, for similar prices, im just curious if they actually back them up, and are they waterproof?

DmaxEter

Mine is over a year old and as far as water proof, I havent taken it apart since it was new but I have used it twice under water and it still works.

03 ant a hemi

All my Warn winches, 4 of them 3 ATV and one older 8000lb one were supposed to be water tight. Not a single one of them were.

My new Trakker ATV winch which I have used about 8 times now, is still working fine. My Warn on the other hand didn't like the water that much.

Pretty much all the winches are the same inside. Most of the knockoffs using old style parts of the major manufacturers.

Pick a Winch with in your budget and projected useage. If you are going to use it lots for heavy towing then look at a hydraulic powered winch using a power pack. If it is for light duty use then buy a winch that is rated at least 1.5 times your capicity.
Either way all winches require regular maintance and care.