Thoughts about Smittybilt winches

[Dingo3]

I’m looking at an XCR 9,500 Gen 2 winch. It’s going on an open trailer and will be removable for other chores. It’s slightly over kill for what I need but better safe than sorry.
They have a great warranty compared to some of the off brands and it’s priced very reasonable.
Any comments or concerns are appreciated.

 

[UncleTom]

All the off road recovery shows i watch are using the Harbor Freight Badlands winch and are proven to be good. They are wireless remote control also. Very affordable.

 

[showcrop]

All the off road recovery shows that I watch are using the Warrior winches. They are proven to be good. They are wireless remote control also. Very affordable.

 

[Eman85]

I'd say they are all pretty comparable, I have a Champion with a remote and it works great for loading and unloading my car in an enclosed trailer every week.

 

[john in la]

I have no personal experience with smittybilt but you might do some more research before buying.
Sometimes the best looking deal is not always the best deal.
Warn makes the best winches and you can still buy parts for their older products.
But you will pay dearly for that peace of mind.

 

[Dingo3]

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I have no personal experience with smittybilt but you might do some more research before buying.
Sometimes the best looking deal is not always the best deal.
Warn makes the best winches and you can still buy parts for their older products.
But you will pay dearly for that peace of mind.

Warn is definitely the best but out of my budget. Most of the off brands have little or no warranties. The Smittybilt Gen 2 comes with lifetime hard parts and 3 year electrical warranties.
Don’t really trust the reviews where they have a buy now at the end.
Might upgrade to the Gen 3 as it has an even better warranty and I’m betting the Gen 2 is being phased out which could explain the hard to get parts.

 

[john in la]

The gen 3 might be the better choice with its 5 year electric warranty.

I shy away from anything electrical from HF as their stuff only has a 90 day warranty and the extended warranty puts you above the price of others.
Beyond that (as said) most of the similar priced stuff is similar quality.
Follow the 1.5 rule when selecting and you should be fine.

 

[Dingo3]

The gen 3 might be the better choice with its 5 year electric warranty.

I shy away from anything electrical from HF as their stuff only has a 90 day warranty and the extended warranty puts you above the price of others.
Beyond that (as said) most of the similar priced stuff is similar quality.
Follow the 1.5 rule when selecting and you should be fine.

I just spent some time watching videos of people that actually own one. You are right on the money about some common issues that seem to need attention. They all got replacements with the warranty but what good is that if it breaks down in the middle of no where.
Looks like I’m going to save up for the Warn.
Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Mule Meat]

See more Mile Marker winches here than any other brand on off-road rigs. A 9000 one will run you about $800.00.

You couldn't trade a Smitty Built winch for a house cat around here.

 

[m16ty]

The Harbor Freight winches are hard to beat for the price. I bought a 10k over 10 years ago. I’ve been hard on it, overloaded and grossly exceeded the duty cycle many times. Bought it not expecting much out of it but you can’t kill it, just keeps going.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

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I have no personal experience with smittybilt but you might do some more research before buying.
Sometimes the best looking deal is not always the best deal.
Warn makes the best winches and you can still buy parts for their older products.
But you will pay dearly for that peace of mind.

Define "common part." I think they're calling it a common part to make it sound more dramatic.

Who is "someone?" What specific part was broken, that they could not get? Was it because it was out of stock or because the company does not offer the part at all?

I take vague "someone had a problem with something once" reports with a HUGE grain of salt. More often than not the person writing the complaint either made it up or never tried to resolve the problem. They just laid on their back, flailing and crying like a 3-year-old because their little toy was broken.