Ok, i thought you said the smitty was the same speed as the Warn.

Theres a reason warn cost more

 

I did post earlier that the Smitty's are faster than Warn 9500 under load (not by much. but faster none the less). Without load the Warn is about TWICE the speed of the Smitty 10,000.

please tell me, besides being made in USA, why is Warn sooo much more? I'm anxious to know before I buy.

 

I went ahead and ordered the xrc-10 comp winch today. I thought I might as well do it while there was such a good deal for it right now.

 

Wahoo! You go! I was about to do that but now with that Warn M8000 for $539 I'm back on the fence!!!

 

#1. Taking care of customers. I know a lot of guys with Warn winches that are off of warranty, but they still get taken care of by Warn's customer service people. Parts mailed out for free, help troubleshooting...you name it.

#2. They are tougher than any other brand of winch. They will soak up more abuse and keep running through uglier conditions.

 

That's a great video! Yup, not the best trail guides but it's a heck of a lot different in real life rather than watching a video. I got the 9.5ti from quadratec. They pricematched the competators and shipped for free to NC.

 

I did speak to someone very high up at Warn regarding our debate. I asked for FACTS about what makes a Warn, well, a Warn. In summary, here's what he said:

Warn winches are lab tested to ensure that they actually pull to AND AT their claimed load rating. They have their own standards (there aren't industry standards on this). They have to pull at full load for x number of feet.

Another huge Warn selling point is that its brakes are unique. The brakes are designed to hold up to full load. A handy feature when hanging by a thread up a steep hill!

There was much more, but those were the big ones.

Oh, and he also talked me out of synthetic lines for general use because of their weakness if dragged/rubbed along something.

He gave me an example that he lived to tell about:
He was getting winched up a steep rocky area. His rig slid sideways a bit which dragged the line over a rock and also changed where the cable was now running! He said a synthetic line would have snapped under that condition, LETTING HIS JEEP GO!

He also gave this scenario: if you are getting pulled up a steep hill, it's conceivable that your only anchor point is over the crest of the hill. That means your line will have to drag along the crest. (picture getting winched up a staircase. Your line would drag on the top step.) He said a synthetic line simply cannot do this without breaking, but a steel one can (if that was your only choice - it's not idea as we all know).

Then he added that in 25 years of working for Warn and testing winches in their lab, he's only seen steel cables break IN THE LAB, and only when they were TRYING to break them. That's a lot of experience talking.

So I went with steel and will get the proper safety gear as well.

I just wanted to share some knowledge and facts (and not just internet hearsay).

 

to sum this up, we were right when we said buy a warn

Ive called warn more than once and they sent replacement parts for my winch out of warranty. no questions asked. I've always had the parts within a day or two.

 

i still wouldnt run a steel cable, pro's out weight the cons IMO.

 

What do you think, did this sum it up?

Synthetic Pros:
Saves about 25 lbs.
Safer if it snaps
It floats

Cons:
Will snap if rubs while in use (ie, rubs on rocks, trees, etc).
Shorter lifespan due to use, UV, elements, etc.
Price

Steel Pros:
Will not likley snap on a rock/branch
Price

Cons:
Weight
Potentially dangerous if it breaks