Yep. JP subscriber so I had read that. I have had a lot of folks I trust tell me the Smittybilt is cr*p and not to bother but in the end I am going to give the XRC8 a shot because it makes more sense at the moment. I can't afford what I really want just yet (Warn Powerplant) and this weekend you can get an XRC8 for $250 with the 15% discount 4WD.com is running. At that price if I use it twice (as you say) it will more than pay for itself. I think what I will most likely do is use this for a year and then receiver mount it out back and get the Powerplant in front. That is a great setup.

 

I just bought the Mile Marker Pec8, saw the review as well in Jp magazine. I have only used it once so far, but no complaints, worked great. They have been on sale in the $349.00 range.

 

I thought it would be worth saving some $$$ on a XRC8.... boy was I wrong... It has been a month or phone calls between 4wd and Smitty and I now have a winch with two motors---one in peices. I would suggest anyone buy a different winch. If I cant find a motor shop to put all the pieces together i guess I have a new boat anchor

 

I have used mine once now and I will say that you definitely get what you pay for. Mine works and will do as a stop gap but I think I will replace it within a year. I can't complain at $250 but I can also understand the negative comments by others. This is not a winch I would want to be heavily reliant on. For the light duty I expect it to see over the next year the bang for the buck factor is there but if your budget allows you should buy a better setup. I hope that when Smitty releases their own air compressor model (XRC10HD) that the price of the Warn will come down due to competition.

 

Bought me a MileMarker 9.5......Not bad at all for the price. I have had to use it once already. Reason I went with them was not only price, but I am in the military and used them numerous of times trying to get up mountains in Korea when snowed over. If the military uses them, why not...

 

That was my thought. I paid about the same as you ($550 new) + the mount plate. Used it for the 1st time a year after installing. No issues. Used it again a few months later. Worked great again. BTW, both times were to pull OTHER stuck vehicles, no my Jeep.

Could it break? Sure. Has it been reliable so far, even though it goes a long time between uses?

 

Shop around for the best deal you can find on a Warn M8000. If there's anyway you can make the stretch financially, it's a winch you can count on years of use from as opposed to saving a few bucks up front and gambling on what you'll get for your money.

 

I actually just took a quick look on Ebay and I see a new Warn M8000 with 100 ft of 3/8 cable and a roller fairlead, with free shipping, for $539. That's not a whole lot more then the "bargain" winches. A winch is one area where I'd say try and do things right the first time if at all possible rather then go cheap and plan to upgrade later.

 

Just a thought, have you tried any local 4x4 shops or hoist/rigging companies? If they don't service electric winches in-house they may be able to point you in the right direction.

 

4 wheel parts can service a winch.


Check our craigs list. I got my XD9000i used for $500.

Works like a champ. I inspected it first and tested it before buying and it didn't hiccup at all.

I've since had two pretty good pulls.

My previous winch was a warn xd9000 (non-integrated winch)

I'm of the opinion to get the most that you can afford and encourge people to look at least a 9,000 lbs winch.

Not everyone I wheel with is a "light weight" rig...not to mention, when you add armor, bumpers, gear, you can tip the scales pretty quick!