Been doing a lot of research on which winch to get. I know I might get chewed up for this but 95% of the time it will be to fill the space in my LOD bumper, If there ever comes a time when I want to go crazy offloading, stuck in the snow/mud or whatever, I don't want something that will break if/when I ever need it.

I was looking at the Quadratec with the integrated solenoid, but I'd dont want to spend $100 on shipping. I was also looking at the Badlands winch, but I hear the break before some people get a chance to use them, and that they are slow as hell.

So, My question is: Smittybuilt X208 Comp at $450 or the Warn 8000 for $470. I have A small Warn on my 2004 Polaris Sportsman 600 that I beat the crap out of and it is still going strong. So I trust warn to last. But I feel like I'm getting more Winch out of the Smittybuilt for the price, or are the internals not made as well as the Warn, which is why the price is lower?

 

Both good for a 2 door but too light for a 4 door

 

Between the two models you are looking at I'd go with the Smitty...

Btw, Quadratec offers free shipping for forum members. All you have to to is call to order and let them know you're on the forum.

 

Or to get quadratec free shipping go through google shopping

 

Warn, hands down. I have an XD9000i and it pulls faster and harder than qtech 10k. I would definitely consider a 9k winch at least tho.... If u wanna save some money I ALWAYS recommend going with "Robo Winch" on ebay. I got one for my dad and tell ya what for 350+shipping it's pretty freakin awesome!

 

I wouldnt put a smitty built on my jeep if someone gave it to me. That said, warn hands down, if you are looking for another alternative, try an Engo.

 

Please enlighten us, if it's a genuine concern we should all know about it. Do they spontaneously catch fire? Turn the jeep into a prius? Controls are backwards??

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

The quadratec rep on here has given out a promo code in multiple threads to get free shipping when ordering on the Internet. I've used it a bunch. PM him and he will gladly send ya the code.

 

It's all opinions hence why u asked.

However like new vehicles anything can always go wrong. Usually decisions are based off of pros and cons and what is seen and proven over the years.
I'd say warn for reliability for sure but that doesn't mean it will work the second time u use it or perhaps the first.

I have a smitty xrc 8 and have put this thing thru its paces pulling me up huge cliffs and hills with the jeep sometimes being held by just the winch.
Many times through deep water and mud.

Had it for over a year now and rope is starting fray in some spots.
But I have gotten my money out of it for sure and won't be mad if it fails me. Hence the times I needed it. It saved me tons of money and time as opposed to calling in a wrecker or trying to flag someone down to get me out of a situation.
With that said
I have seen a warn 9000 fail the first time being needed. If it was not for my smitty. We would have been still in the woods!! The issue was a simple short in the control box. Nothing major but still an issue when we relied on the warn and it would not work.

So it's all in the pros and cons and budget for you and your needs.
Budget no issue then be one and done and go warn, if not I don't have experience withy the other but I love my smitty

 

[QUOTE="karls;3584846"]

Please enlighten us, if it's a genuine concern we should all know about it. Do they spontaneously catch fire? Turn the jeep into a prius? Controls are backwards??



Classic . A lot of people crap on Smittybilt products and I will be the first to admit their quality control department could be better. Especially with fitment of certain items. That being said I was skeptical against Smittybilt products also. I now run an XRC rear bumper which I've always liked the design and a Smittybilt XRC 8000lb winch on the front with synthetic line. The only problem I have noticed with the Smitty winch is the paint fades fairly quickly. But the winch does it's job, spools quickly and runs fairly quiet. Several people say don't run the 8000 on a JKU but to be honest it will lift the Jeep up a tree if the tree didn't break. If you play in deep mud I would definitely get a 10000 or larger winch because of the added weight to free your Jeep. But if you don't do mud the 8k should be fine.