Cheap vs Expensive Off-Road Winch

[@Scrambler85]

Bought a Harbor Freight 12,000 winch over 10 years ago and it has never let me down.

[@Bigdaddyslasher]

I bought their new Apex 12k synthetic after watching people beat the living hell out of those winches without issues. I mounted it on a cradle and store it in my toolbox in my dually. I wired the truck front and back so I can use it front and back just plug and play

[@Jeeppeeps]

@@Bigdaddyslasher thats exactly what i want for my JLU was thinking of getting the RC after seeing this but maybe the harbor freight will be just fine...

[@RockMauler]

Mile Marker mil-spec 12k hydraulic winch with PSC pump and cooler. 100 percent duty cycle, fully functional while submerged, can winch nonstop until the fuel runs dry with zero heat, uses only 8 amps max for controls, ductile iron housing, stops the instant you release the trigger (no coasting to a stop like all electrics winches). bulletproof, the Last winch I will ever need to purchase. Does not adversely affect hydro-boost brakes, hydro assist steering ram, or steering gearbox with proper pump. Being hydraulic it is also of no interest to thieves. The downside of course is the 2.5k price tag for such a setup. Overkill for my TJ but reliability is not optional for me when recovery is the task at hand. Love your channel.

[@kevindawson8277]

Smittybilt x20 Gen 2 12,000lb synthetic on my 2016 Rubicon. It performs flawless! I've had other brands over the years including Warn, Ramsey, and Superwinch, which were all great winches, but so far this Smittybilt has been my favorite performer. Regular maintenance, cleaning, and avoid overheating are key to longevity of any winch, regardless of brand.

[@taraaaron1242]

I have them on both my jeeps. Reasonably priced and simply works

[@kevindawson8277]

I love my Smittybilt, and wouldn't hesitate to buy another if needed. Personally, I think WARN is a great product, but over priced big time. While the recommended size of winch to buy is one and a half times the weight of the vehicle used, and that formula does work, larger does the work much easier, and with synthetic rope, weight wise allows you to go bigger and not overload your front end. Happy Off-Roading and stay safe.

[@midwesternguy370]

Bought a Smittybilt X20 Gen3 10k with synthetic rope for my wrangler last month. No field use yet, but worked well just testing it. Lifetime mechanical warranty, 5 year electrical for $725.

[@saintarmstrong8790]

Have fun getting them to honor that warranty if you've actually used it.

[@wildwolvesadventures735]

I have the rough country 9500 and it has been great never let me down, great winch for the money.

[@sierramantrvlnus]

Warn Zeon 12000 s Platinum is what I have. Definite Workhorse. As a lone traveler getting stuck requires a lot of repositioning of your anchor by yourself. The wireless control makes things just that much easier. A lot of deep snow recoveries.

[@JKAW0000]

Smittybilt’s lifetime mechanical warranty is almost a joke. Sent me a replacement motor with no instructions for install, no replacement o-rings, and no tech support. I had to figure it out on my own which was no fun

[@Bigdaddyslasher]

I have seen expensive winches fail on the trail and I have seen cheap winches fail too. I have had a Smittybilt X20 12k on my Jeep for 9 years now and it's been heavily used. I am on my 3rd winch line. 1st was steel rope then 2 synthetic ropes. The remote died this year and I put a HF wireless remote on it and it works great.

[@bobvedder2451]

I had to use my 12000 pound warn winch for self recoveryfor the first time. The road ahd at least 18 inches of snow on a steep road. That didn't bother me until there were several trees across the road and i tried to turn around and got stuck sideways on the road. The winch was easily able to pull my gladiator 90 degrees to point back uphill.

[@roadwarrior3315]

I have 3 Jeeps, an 86 CJ7, a 92 YJ and a 2017 JKU. I run the Warn 8274 on the CJ and YJ and I just got the Warn Evo 12S for the JK. It is replacing a Badlands 9500lb winch that has given nothing but headaches.

[@obfuscated3090]

The king of industrial use in the recovery and wrecker businesses is the Ramsey worm drive. They're available in electric, hydraulic and mechanical PTO inputs and most of the parts swap. They're also expensive but many off-roaders have deep pockets. Ramsey is well worth buying used, especially the electric variety which users typically kill by undercurrent (I use welding cable to wire my winches because it's tough, flexible, high ampacity and has insulation designed to survive jobsite abuse). I've bought three for dirt cheap then replaced the motors and they've been on my wreckers for over a decade.

[@chevyblazer944]

I been running a Ramsey for the last 30 or so years and it's still working sure I have had to put solenoids , I don't remember how many ropes, 3 controllers all that to me is just general up keep , it's kinda slow compared to today's standards but that's ok with me

[@Chiefpaylor]

Ran a mile marker 10.5 hydraulic winch for a few years and it pulled and pulled and pulled until you either came unstuck or you sent something into a low earth orbit, currently have the Apex 12,000 pounders front and rear on my 90 Toyota and they’ve never let me down but time will tell.

[@bobvedder2451]

I like the milemarker winch, would have to order one online though.

[@robo5391]

The Apex winch is amazing I actually have two of them myself. I love the wireless feature I have been using the same battery on the remote for over a year.

[@TheElderOne2003]

I have one on my 2500 Ram and am presently surprised on how it has handled the abuse. Even if it breaks I'll get another one to replace it.

[@NorthShoreBronco]

Great video! I love my 12000 lb RoughCountry winch on my Bronco!

[@b01tact10n]

I use a Ramsey 9000, I just changed out the connections when she started acting up. Cleaned greased and well sealed and remounted. I'll probably get another Ramsey for my rear to replace my DC200 time for this awesome piece of equipment to retire😁👍

[@b01tact10n]

My uncle took the solenoids and put them inside my Chassis to keep them away from exposure to the elements.👍

[@kxiong93]

Does the RC have a wireless remote you can buy aftermarket?

[@vitaplur426]

I got a dirt cheap winch called an XBull rated at 13K pounds for around 300 if recall correctly. IP67 ratting and has simply worked like a champ every time it’s been needed. I compared it to a friends Harbor Freight unit and it would appear to simply be either a rebadge or a knock off of that unit. But since it just works I really can’t complain. To me people get the warn most often because it says warn on it :) It’s worth noting that this winch weighs less than some others (not huge difference) however every component on my Jeep was chosen with the lightest weight option that still gets the job done and that methodology has worked pretty well so far (synthetic a big part of the weight savings ofc)

[@eljefeslash]

Good to know. I've been looking at the X-Bull but have hesitated to pull the trigger b/c I can't get in touch with anyone - no phone # on their website. Still working well for you?

[@vitaplur426]

@@eljefeslash it is... I'm a mechanical engineer also so I took it apart to look at the steel used in the gears. And they were very well cut from high quality billet material. Can't really complain

[@Jeeppeeps]

i have to say i have a few rough country parts (2.5 inch lift adjustable track bar and tire mount bracket kit and hinge kit) and all of them seem very well made (in the usa of course) and have never let me down. I was thinking of getting the smitty built but after seeing this i think i will go with the RC..don't listen to the BS RC builds a quality product.

[@loveracing1988]

Idk about that made in usa thing. I have their rear bumper on their Ram and it was made in China.

[@tuckerhiggins4336]

Rough Country is garbage

[@tangledline]

cheap vs expensive makes a BIG difference. Never had SINGLE issue with Warns. Other ones are just shifty as hell. The way I see it is-if you are REALLY going to use it...go Warn. If you are just going to cruise the streets (especially those who lift their 2wd vehicles and outfit it like its 4wd) and do some beaching then get a cheaper winch. I have a 24v 15k on my H1, 15k M15 on my H2 (which is my least 4 wheeled vehicle) and an older 9k for my TJ and they did ALOT more than recovery. They lifted vehicles for tire changes, moved vehicles, debris, boulders, trees, worked as a hoist and many other things. Oh and it even acted as a transfer case support as I sheered off all the one side of the transfer case bolts on a boulder. Warn Winches with Hi lift jacks make life easier. Not a fan of synthetic-they always fail when we get into the "You want me to do what? ".

[@bobvedder2451]

I have used Smittybilt 10000 pound winch on my first wrangler rubicon. It worked well.

[@LordHolley]

great video, great to see comparisons like this. I'm not a heavy duty off-road guy, Rough Country will do fine for me. I used to have a Warn winch on a trailer, it was great.

[@clintk4691]

Warn XP-S 9.5. Hasn't let me down and works great. Would have gone a cheaper route but I like the factory bumper on my truck and there's a very limited number of winches that'll fit. So might as well go quality so it lasts the life of the truck which I don't intend on getting rid of.

[@88rushrocks]

I’ve got the warn m8000 on my 2010 rubicon with steel cable and of yet 100% reliable and I seem to use it more on others than on my own jeep I guess that’s a good thing lol

[@gabrielreyes8476]

Badlands Apex 12000 is the way to go. Better than a Warn any day of the week and for half the cost.

[@The_Falken]

Thanks for the video!!! I went with the Rough Country 12 pro on my bronco. Easy install, and easy to install an aftermarket wireless option. Works great!

[@TrailBuilt]

Glad it helped! Thanks for the feedback!

[@matadorprime]

I have a Warn 8274 on my 2003 TJ. Has never failed and still also pulling like a mule.

[@UncleNucoa]

Now THAT is a manly winch!

[@zainabe9503]

@@UncleNucoa lol but for the price of that one, I'd rather have my TC and gearbox modified to accommodate PTO winches.

[@fredwasielewski8327]

I recently got a Rugcel Tank 13K with wireless remote and cut off switch with wire and a half decent recovery hook not the typical curved one rectangular this one is.Two year warranty I am yet to try this out though in the field.

[@YogSoggoth6]

My first winch was a Warn Zeon 12s Platinum. I abused it hard and pulled things I couldnt move even when using snatch blocks. I had zero issues with it. On my current rig I have the Harbor Freight Badland Apex 12000 lb winch. First day out using it the line snapped by the spool. Also was unable to freespool it out, its being uninstalled later today and returned tomorrow while still in the 30 return window. The line break may or may not have been preventable by me but ultimately I lost confidence in it. From now on its buy once cry once.

[@stevemacdonald9977]

I've been running Quadratecs 10K Stealth synthetic for a couple of years & other than the recall they had on it, it's done what I needed it to do.

[@bobvedder2451]

I use my winches for work around home to skid logs etc. when not being used for vehicle recovery.

[@kevinviperherbig7066]

HF Badlands APEX 12,500 on my 98 XJ Cherokee. No complaints.

[@Sbenis24]

I've had a couple winches ,a Ramsey 8k never had an issue with it bought it used even, sold with a truck then I got a smittybilt 9.5 I think X something I dk if I got a dud or what but it wouldn't pull my 4runner even with a block so I sold that thing with the toyota. Now I bought a Warn zeon winch for my tacoma haven't used it yet because I installed it 12 hrs ago

[@TrailBuilt]

How long did it take to install the zeon winch?

[@AnayanationAutoDetailing]

Just got the Warn 10s evo synthetic winch

[@TheDon8771]

This is my next mod. Looking into a 9,500 lbs my two door won’t ever need more then that if so I’ll add some snatch blocks . I want another Ramsey I think. Had a 9,500 platinum forever mounted on a few jeeps I had till I sold it on my old Jeep. I drove wrecker for over a decade never used a warn. Honest opinion is a warn better then a Ramsey?

[@bobvedder2451]

How long can you run the winch before letting it cool down

[@JackFrost-xy7yl]

Thanks for the info.

[@davidanderson3999]

I have 3 winches I have run, a old 8,000 lbs warn, model with drum/ band brake you operate with cabels for brake and engagement of winch, it has drum a 6,000 lbs Ramcharger 4 wheels locked no problem, and broke a 3/8” steal cable dragging logs and log cought, I use 2 batteries,1000 amp each, use welding cables for power, the other 2 winches are Badlands, I have had no issues with them, one steal cable the other synthetic rope, I run 1/0 and 2/0 cables from batteries on those 2 ram trucks, A V10 2500, running 40” irocks, the other is 3 gen Hemi, our. Group 31 battery with 1150 CCA , just pulls other trucks nothing heavy yet, would like to think the Badlands will last as long as my old Warn witch I got used 30 years ago but who knows, the Badlands are only 5 and 3 years old yet so they still new to me lol, you guys did great job with information on the winches, I did know RC was about the same price as Badlands, with synthetic rope, steal cable badlands is couple hundred cheaper

[@charlesnickell7257]

I run a 9500 rough country on my jeep grand cherokee wj and a 12,000 rough country on my jeep gladiator and have worked amazingly well for me

[@jlb8696]

I paid my warm $800 brand new in Canada for 10,000 pound it's perfect for my jeep I'm very pleased

[@62chad76]

Harbor freights badlands winches are legit

[@HermanVigil]

Ramsey is the best winch it commercial grade … Warn is good for the weekend warriors because it has all metal gears ⚙️ some of the other winches use low grade metal gears or nylon gears

[@tudsdustin]

Sold me on the intro

[@BenWebster84]

I had the Quadratec 9500lbs winch and it was absolute junk.... I was only able to use it for maybe 3-4 pulls and it never worked when I needed it too.... Now I have a Badlands Apex that I haven't used yet, but hopefully this weekend I'll put it to use.

[@BenWebster84]

I did get to use my Apex winch and holy crap is that thing a mule as Nate would say

[@cruzlopez4449]

Just got a Smittybilt XRC Gen3. I’ll report on it when I need to use it for you.

[@madcratebuilder]

Warn Zeon 12-s, used off a mall crawler. Warn is just a few miles from home and a friend works there, he took it in and went thru it for me. For $800 a darn good deal, otherwise I would be in a budget winch.

[@mikegreer9041]

I bought a 800 dollar warn. The motor corroded beyond use in two years sitting in my garage. Never been wet. I just bought a 297.00 X bull. 10 times the winch

[@CaptainRudy4021]

I can't seem to find the winches you have for sale on your website

[@lawaia14]

Anyone know about the barricade winch from extreme terrain? Just wondering

[@MarvinHodgson-s5z]

Thanks for the info

[@TrailBuilt]

Any time! Feel free to drop a comment if you have any questions.

[@djupsman]

Smitty gen3 9.5 on the jeep. Only complaint is the cable hook up lock release. That's thing is janky

[@WASTED__POTENTIAL]

469 amps x 12 volts = 5628 watts 5628 watts / 745.7 = 7.55 horsepower

[@zawlahmar6536]

Will this winch can pull 3, ton ?

[@Mark-wq1nh]

That scout is sweet

[@cnetate]

I'd like to get the rc but I wish it could mount cleanly behind my 21bram 3500s bumper. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas?

[@maudebe1]

Great review! I appreciate the time you took. I am the type of person if I'm gonna buy it I want it to work and you can not yell that from an unboxing video

[@TrailBuilt]

Glad it was helpful!

[@j.r.777]

Ironically I just bought a Warn Zeon 12S for my 2021 JLUR. I’m in the middle of installing it now.

[@Jerry-ko9pi]

I bought a ZEAK 13000 lb. Premium Electric Winch 12V Waterproof Synthetic Rope, 6.0 Horsepower; Gear Ratio: 236:1; With a 3-stage planetary gear system ,IP 68 waterproof design; 400 AMP 12V DC Series Wound; No load traction drag speed at 21.3 feet /min, the Full load 13000 lbs drag speed at 5 feet /min; from Amazon for only $324.35 (now $385) and installed it on a cradle for my rear hitch. Hardwired a Anderson connector in rear bumper for power with a fuse block and switch in engine compartment for safety. Haven't used it yet though. Can't wait to put it to the test.

[@johnwahl7460]

I think I’ll mount the warm winch packaging on my bumper and save a shit load of cash instead

[@NismoXero]

Every jeep I've had to winch out because theirs didn't work anymore, was a Warn. Their old winches we're unstoppable. New stuff..... Not so much. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@buckhorncortez]

Sounds like a owner maintenance problem to me...

[@edzimdahl1158]

How about what winch is actually manufactured in the USA?? Not just a company that is USA based and has all their products manufactured in chinastan

[@_j_dog]

Right? We run two warn winches both made in the USA. You have to be careful as half of Warn's winches are also made in Communist China.

[@PonyFoot123]

Americans selling out america for money is the most american thing

[@lennyj3300]

Nothing is made in the USA anymore. Unfortunately

[@doubtful74]

@@lennyj3300 the top of the line Warn is.

[@bboness713]

Origin Maine, get yourself some amazing boots and clothing lol. American made good stuff

[@taraaaron1242]

499 isn't cheap. I have smittybuilt on both my jeeps. Both have been Getty Subaru out of places they shouldn't be for years.lol 😜

[@vicc6744]

IH Scout- everything else is just a car LOL-

[@paulelliott682]

The WARN Zeon Platinum winch is $3000+

[@robo5391]

For the price I would get the Fadlan 12 K synthetic The wireless remote on this one is amazing

[@DumbCarGuy]

But if you really want to be fair. You will do this comparison after 3 years of use. Anything brand new is good

[@stereotypicalwhitemale848]

If you have money and want a warn get it, if your like me and poor buy a badlands 12k they go on sale a few times a year for a little over $200.

[@gunslinga7077]

If you pulls you out it pulls you out it’s not rocket science

[@markpattychampion4758]

When asked what I prefer for a winch I always reply if your solo wheeling how much is your life worth and that of your family, rig etc ? my Warn saved my ass that that of my wife when solo wheeling in the winter in deep snow. Don't skimp on what can save your life and that of your family get the best and that is a Warn!!!!

[@bobvedder2451]

I just bought a RC 12000 winch for my wifes wrangler,

[@robsdeviceunknown]

People who actually care and do some research don't buy either of these brands. Far too many professionals and testers have shown that the APEX is the best you can get especially for the price. I'll believe the guys who have fleets of recovery vehicles and use them every day vs a reseller of said items.

[@Ac22768]

You keep looping the same scenes over and over. This is a 14 minute video that could be 2 minutes or less.

[@frederick6008]

All these winches are made in china. Warn is the standard. I just bought a Vevor 13000 with syn rope for $300.

[@bradleyhightower6849]

500 dollars is not cheap by any means for some of us folks

[@loveracing1988]

It's cheap for a winch.

[@Jeeppeeps]

@@loveracing1988 349.00 at harbor freight..and i've heard great things.

[@loveracing1988]

@@Jeeppeeps go get that one. I'll stick with the Badlands Apex for $450 with a coupon.

[@porchpuppy9428]

If a $500 for a winch is too much you have the wrong hobby.

[@spencerhughes3670]

Any Warn winch with VR in the name of the model is made in China, prob same factory that the Badlands winch is made in. They are basically the same thing