Smittybuilt Winch

[blazinid]

Anyone use the Smittybuilt winch? Saw the 8000 lbs is on sale for like 320 and that includes shipping.

[stick]

I've never personally used one, but I've heard good things about them as long as it's just for emergency use a few times per year. They're slow, but for the price, you can't expect too much. It's no Warn, but it's a good product for the price.

[granitex1]

I have one, have used it a few times and the new ones are faster than the old ones. They changed to a 5.5hp with a reduction like 170 ish. agreed it is no Warn but it is more than enough for what I need, which is really more of a short pull just to get unstuck, not the length of the cable up a hill.

[ZR2nit]

I have one attatched to my ZR2 pickup. I have the old XRC8 and its perfect for my needs. But like what was said before the newer one are faster. Overall for the money I say its worth it

[BriansFJ]

I've got one for emergency recovery, not hard-core rock crawling. Good enough for me.:safari-rig:

[blazinid]

thanks guys just what I wanted to here. On occasion I'll head up to the hills alone and would just like the added security of getting unstuck on my own. I'm still looking for a used Warn but if nothing comes up soon I think I'll go for the Smitty.

[Maximus Ram]

wow...they went to a 5.5 motor...shoot , if I didn't already have a MM PE8000
I would get one for 320 bucks.
Better safe than sorry....

[flyingwil]

We had one in the Xterra... Here was my short review... http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=107834&postcount=14

[FlyingWen]

You beat me to it Wil.
I thought it was a solid winch.

[go4aryd]

I have one installed, put in it last spring. I have used it to clear wind blown trees off the trail several times. It does run a bit slow, and the motor does seem to get pretty hot. I was originally going to put a synthetic line on it, but won't do that now. The winch has been solid thus far, however, no shorting, controls have held up well. I have been pleasantly suprised thus far. I bought it as a recovery backup (I'm nearly always solo), but haven't needed it for that yet - which is the way I like it :)

I did have the local shop install the control box over the winch (warn mounts I think), as the mfg provided mounting plate didn't fit in my bumper opening.

[StumpXJ]

I also have one and have made about 10-12 pulls with it. Anything from short pulls to get someone out of the mud to pulling my self up a very slick hill the entire length of the cable. Mine hasnt hickuped one bit. It is slow, but when you are truly in need of a winch, it gets the job done. I have replaced all of the bolts with stainless bolts since the stock ones rust after about 2-3 weeks. I also just installed synthetic winchline from winchline.com

I havent noticed any problems with heat on mine.

~James

[HanzoSteel]

You can get the Warn 8000 for a faily good price, Quadratec seems to have a good price on them around $570 but they have had them as low as $550 on occasions. If your looking for used ebay and craigslist are great, I've picked up a 8k for $400 on ebay you just need to keep looking.

[BKCowGod]

Pop open the Smittybilt and everything says T-Max on it.

I am definitely happy with mine so far.

[Rupe]

I think for the price you can't go wrong for everyday wheeling, if I was a rock crawler then I would probably go with a Warn.

[Bigjerm]

2 of my friends have them, 1 the old model, 1 the new. Both are working great and guys do crawl the rocks. The old models is so SLOW and made my old MM PE8000 look like a rocket. The new one is faster and seems to be holding up well to the beating it takes.

[adventureduo]

Just installed one on Yosh's TJ. We'll see how it works. Wasn't super happy with the quality of the controller, but everything else appears fine. Figured for how often the TJ gets used, it was a no brainer. The Landcruiser will stick to the WARN M12000.

http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/43740/2263184100034696539S600x600Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2263184100034696539TYWmoR)

[SoCal_80]

I have the 10k on my 80 series cruiser and it has been great. For the price, what i needed it for and a LIFETIME warranty through 4Wheel Parts.... Ya, it was a no brainer

[bad80]

Excellent winch! I have used mine (more than 25 times) for more than a year and is still great. It is slow but it gets the job done and costumer service is top notch, HIGHLY recommended. I'm getting the new 12K lb for my Land cruiser.
My friends have Warn M8000 and 9.5XP and they have already broken at least 2 times each. The warns usually over heat and the solenoids just burn out and the smitty is the one that have to finish the pull.

[MuddyOval]

In the article posted, they refer to it as possibly a re-badged MileMarker. Kinda true- as a Milemarker is a re-badged TMax. TMax makes many of the 'private brand' winches on the market and once you've seen a few they get easy to identify. MileMarker was the first widely marketed one, as the only winches actually made by MM were the hydraulic ones- the electric ones were all outsourced.
Although there are some differences in specs, most of these winches look the same- but you have to go beyond the looks. Some companies will spec their winches differently than others, although they will look the 'same' based on the casing. Some have bushings instead of bearings, some don't have gaskets to seal the gear case, some have higher HP than others. The control boxes are often sourced separately, so they can vary from excellent to garbage.
Shop carefully!
FWIW- I've been using TMax for about 6 years, both 11K and 12K models. I've worked them hard, very very hard at times and they just keep cranking along. I've actually had more warranty claims on Warn than Tmax, and dropped the Warn line. Only claim on Tmax was an add-on accessory wireless controller.

[getlost4x4]

i have a T-Max 9000 lbs. i've been using it for 2 years now.

i must say i am very impressed with it. the only problem i have is the wireless controller doesn't work. but i can live without it. other then that the winch has been great.

[MuddyOval]

The wireless controllers can be really picky. When you change the battery in the remote, you have to push the buttons a bunch of times to re-sync it. I've had a couple people with that problem, they just assume it doesn't work anymore. Try a battery and reset and it might come back to life.

[getlost4x4]

i had to replace the whole remote twice. when i pulled the chip it messed up the prong on the chip. i've pretty much decided i didn't care about the wireless control. i'll probably just rig up something so i can run the winch from inside the cab.

[FlatlinesUp]

i had to replace the whole remote twice. when i pulled the chip it messed up the prong on the chip. i've pretty much decided i didn't care about the wireless control. i'll probably just rig up something so i can run the winch from inside the cab.

this guy (http://www.12voltguy.com/web/) offers some nice switches/panels and are worth a look

[Chris85xlt]

i bought the Smittybilt XRC8000 combo pack which came with the synthetic rope and fairlead on sale for $400.
the fit and finish looks pretty good. one thing that bugged me was how difficult it was to unspool. it took too much effort to pull the rope out where my old Warn XD9000i unspooled nice and smooth. other then that im pretty happy with it

[Donsfast]

I have a Smitty XRC on my Jeep and it has been great, quick enough and never an issue. I have used several winches on car trailers for work and will use nothing but Harbor Freight #8000 winches for them, slow but great for the money. I have only ever had one winch break and that was a Warn 9000 on a trailer that got upset and threw up metal parts from deep within.

[alexrex20]

You can get the Warn 8000 for a faily good price, Quadratec seems to have a good price on them around $570 but they have had them as low as $550 on occasions. If your looking for used ebay and craigslist are great, I've picked up a 8k for $400 on ebay you just need to keep looking.

Warn M8000 is $530 at 4wheelparts.com, but is it worth the extra $210 over the Smittybilt? i thought it was, until my Warn's clutch lever seized and stopped going into neutral. (i guess that's better than not going into gear...)

[CYi5]

Warn M8000 is $530 at 4wheelparts.com, but is it worth the extra $210 over the Smittybilt? i thought it was, until my Warn's clutch lever seized and stopped going into neutral. (i guess that's better than not going into gear...)

That is a good deal considering they were 700+ for like the last year it seems.

I'll be going with the Summit 9k though, it's a rebadged Tmax 9k. Summit has it on sale right now for $403.95.

I've heard the same things about XRC8's, reliable but slow.

[mrchips]

The problem with the rope/line being hard to pull out, take the planetary gears off the side and clean the factory grease out, some nasty goop. Repack and grease it with a good hi temp grease and it will spool out much better.