If it helps, Quadratec offers a chart in their catalog the "Winch Adviser". Good info IMO. Some winches require more usage than others.

 

Don't go cheap on your winch. I've seen 3 fail, casings crack, and drums dislodge.

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which brands?

 

X2. I haven't seen any Smitty, Engo, Rugged Ridge or other chinese made winches fail yet. I have, however, wheeled with a few guys who have had non-working Warn winches on their rigs.

I'm sure there are some people who have had total failure of a chinese made winch since they sell like hotcakes due to price. There are tons of chinese winches out in the wild. However, I bet the failure rate as percentage of sales is no higher than Warn, Mile Market, etc...

It's tiring hearing people recommend Warn due to it being better without any hard evidence (and please don't refernce the winch shootout.....Warn actually failed the stress test in that one). I'm not against Warn and I believe that someone that needs a constant duty winch should definitley buy something more expensive/better but most of us are weekend warriors (and by that I mean maybe once a month if we are lucky). And most of us would be wheeling with other people who have winches just in case one fails regardless of brand. It's never OK to wheel alone unless it's a matter or survival or where you live.

If anyone does wheel alone, I would recommend buying spare parts for your winch and know how to fix it on the trail (again, regardless of what brand you buy). And hope you actually have a winch point where you get stuck since you won;t have another vehicle near you to help.