Just got my xrc 8 comp installed yesterday. Haven't had much experience with it, but I spooled it in by pulling the jeep up an inclined driveway and it impressed me. Great price, looks great, WORKS, easy install, love it I got the saftey thimble to replace the hook. I say go for it. Like others have said, if I was going to use a winch weekly, I woulda gone warn, but I've so far, I've only needed a winch 3 times in the past 6 month, so I couldn't beat it. I'm sure ill get some use out of it in hot springs and over on the west coast when I go.

 

The older XRC8 will have the clutch and free spool lever on top of the drum.
The Newer one will have the lever on the end of the drum. (Side)

Either way its a decent product.

 

I'm going to use the winch maybe 1 time per month... So I should be fine with the XRC right? I think Toad is using a XRC

 

i got an XRC 10 and have had no problems at all, pulls real good, i have used the hell out of it, burned up the factory battery though, so you may wanna upgrade to the yellow top,

i alos upgraded my line to the synth

 

the newer style is a 5.5HP Series Wound Motor and a Planetary Gear System with 172.8:1 gear ratio. I cant remember the specifics of the old one but it was a different style of motor that is prone to over heating and will drain the battery quickly.
The new style is faster and will last much longer and is the same style motor and setup as most Warn, Ramsey, etc..

I did a lot of research before I bought this one because all my past winches have been Warn and Ramsey, so far I am very happy with my XRC

 

Bump... I want to hear more opinions

 

I've only had the chance to use mine a few times, but its worked flawlessly so far.

 

Thanks for your reply

 

JP Magazine did an article about all the different winches from Warn to Mile Marker to the Smittybilt. They said they were harder on the Smittybilt than any of the other winches on purpose because it was the least expensive winch and they were surprised at how well it performed.

htt p://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/trail/154_0907_affordable_winch_buyers_guide/smittybilt_tabor.html

I have that winch. You just need to ask yourself how often will you need to winch, then spend accordingly.

 

great way to look at it,

which is how i went on buying mine, quantity of pulls vs price of winch, SB won of course, but i have down some good pulls with it, a couple suburbans, trucks, jeeps, vans, ATV's, and a car, plus they are easy to use, my wife even used it to pull out one of the suburbans a while back. i mainly bought this due to the fact i got real stuck a while back, the day before my wedding and will never let it happen to me again, so i have got everything i need to self recover ifthe need for me to do so comes again,