Purchasing and installing winch within these next couple of days for next weekend, and I want to know if the Smittybilt XRC-9.5k winch would be a good winch for my 2 door jk... Anyone else have this winch? If so is it quality? The price is too good to ignore, being that I won't be getting myself stuck in feet of mud, or a situation where I need to lift myself out from something super heavy.

 

After a lot of research, I just bought the Smittybilt X20 Comp 10k. Solid overall reviews. Just installed. Haven't had chance to use it yet.

I went with this model for few reasons. More waterproof than xrc, Dynamic braking reduces heat, and longer warranty. Comp is the synthetic rope model so it is lighter. The wireless thing was not a selling point for me. Bought it at Morris. I was able to use one of their coupon codes $50 off $500 , so I picked it up for $499 shipped.

 

nice! I'm not too worried about weight because I'm going to change my 2 door springs to 4 door ones to reduce sagging, but it says the xrc has a lifetime warranty, and it's less expensive... I wonder though.. Is 9.5k enough for my 2 door if I end up getting a lift and 35s?

 

Yes 9500 is enough. Think about the rigs you wheel with also. Just my opinion. I personally have an 8k.

AND buy a good recovery ensemble to go with it. Straps, snatch block, good gloves, the winch is only part of what's necessary.

 

I have straps, how much are good snatch blocks?

 

I have the ARB snatch block great product just a bit over $100 .... There's less expensive ones out there but for $25 difference I figured it was worth it.

 

I just picked up a Smittybilt X20 Comp 10k.
All my previous winches have been Warn, and a Milemarker many years ago. I am very impressed with the fit, finish, and quality of the Smittybilt. Packaging was great, no damage, and I had it in 2 days from Quadratec as always.
Lifetime warranty on the winch, and 5 years on the electrical.
There are so many nay-sayers out there, but to pay 1600 bucks for something I might use wasn't in the budget.
I think they're a good winch, and yes, a 9.5 should be plenty for your JK.

 

That is what I have as well.

I bought the whole kit, just made sense. In a bag and all, I can store it anywhere.

 

The winch looks great in your bumper. Nice rig!

 

I like the looks of your setup. I'm in the same boat. I went even cheaper by going with the Badlands 12K winch for $299, and $25 for the wireless remote. You can buy a 2 year no questions asked replacement plan for $40 which I did. The problem is, my replacement plan turned into wasted money because I decided later that I wanted a bumper where the winch sat inside like yours and didn't have a winch bumper at the time of purchase. 2 years later I now have an AEV front bumper and the AEV winch mount. That's this summer's project putting that all on. I'll see how that all works out for me.

The key difference with the more expensive winches is with their increased duty cycle. They can run for a longer duration without over heating. I figured I would compensate by getting a higher rated pulling force (12K vs. 9K) than what is needed and getting unstuck faster.