Which Winch!!!! Need Advice

jmildoc

jmildoc

New member
I am torn between these two winches, any help, info, opinions would be greatly appreciated.

This winch will be a temporary mount winch on a winch hitch plate until i can afford to get a plate bumper.

I am torn between two winches,

Smittybilt XRC8

&

Smittybilt X2O 8,000

Basically one is waterproof and one is not, Please steer me in the right direction. I wont be picking another winch as these two are within my budget I am just trying to get a better idea of which may be better or if the "waterproof" one is actually worth the extra $75.

Links to both here:
Smittybilt Part 97281 - XRC8, 8,000 lb. Winch

Smittybilt Part 97380 - X2O 8,000 lb. Amphibious Winch
 
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I'd stick with the XRC8 and save the extra money towards a bumper. Unless you think you will find yourself stuck under water!
 
jmildoc said:
I am torn between these two winches, any help, info, opinions would be greatly appreciated.

This winch will be a temporary mount winch on a winch hitch plate until i can afford to get a plate bumper.

I am torn between two winches,

Smittybilt XRC8

&

Smittybilt X2O 8,000

Basically one is waterproof and one is not, Please steer me in the right direction. I wont be picking another winch as these two are within my budget I am just trying to get a better idea of which may be better or if the "waterproof" one is actually worth the extra $75.

Links to both here:
Smittybilt Part 97281 - XRC8, 8,000 lb. Winch

Smittybilt Part 97380 - X2O 8,000 lb. Amphibious Winch
Click to expand...

I've had the X2O for a couple months now. I've didn't have a chance to use it for a real no **** recovery until yesterday. It was at a odd angle too but it's definitely strong enough. (I have the 10k lbs) I don't have any experience with using it in the water but I know the local 4WheelParts did some testing with putting it in a fish tank and running it, leaving it over night, and then running it again while in fish tank the next morning. That's what made me go for the X2O. Besides, if you are anything like me you would get the none water proof one and wonder if you should of got the X2O.... Get the lifetime warranty on the winch. Yeah, it's (I think) $60 but if you ever break it all you have to do is take it to back.
 
i was just thinking about the long term, once i get a bumper the winch is going to be on the truck all the time, i dont want to really have to mess with it too much, i am sure i will take it apart after some point and re-grease everything with better grease and change out the line to a synthetic one to save on weight, but other than that i would just leave it on there. Im not hurting for the $75 bucks either, i could technically buy the bumper and the winch now but would rather not listen to the wife groan about it since it is christmas shopping season. anyway, still looking for more opinions, advice and so forth.
 
Check into the TJM winches.
You can get them already setup with synthetic line and are reasonably priced.
Still may be out of your price range.
 
I'm thinking when I get around to buying a front bumper/winch combo, I'm probably going to go with an Engo. I've read some good things about them, and they are in the same price range as Smittybilt.
 
Dark Lord said:
I'm thinking when I get around to buying a front bumper/winch combo, I'm probably going to go with an Engo. I've read some good things about them, and they are in the same price range as Smittybilt.
Click to expand...

Well there you are!! how you been man!

Yeah I just want to try these out to see if they live up to the hype i just cant decide if I need the "amphibious one or the other one?
 
troyboy162 said:
I think your extra 75 would be best put toward the sythetic line version. I would image you could waterproof the normal one better then the X20 if you wanted to. that said I havnt heard of any water damage issues on the normal one.
Click to expand...

That's the kind of reply I have been waiting for!!
I haven't ever heard of a non-waterproof winch breaking from getting wet either. I saw another write up where someone regreased there winch and resealed with RTV. I was thinking that is what I could do after using it a while. Plus I can always get an extended warranty.
 
jmildoc said:
Well there you are!! how you been man!

Yeah I just want to try these out to see if they live up to the hype i just cant decide if I need the "amphibious one or the other one?
Click to expand...

Yeah.... my truck has been getting worked on, but I'm almost done. I'm getting new wheels and tires in this week. All my other maintenance is done with exception of a valve cover leak (which I'm not worried about), and a whining noise I can't figure out.

Check out these winches.

Engo E9000S Winch

Multi-Winch Shootout - Bulldog Alpha 9300 - Four Wheeler magazine

The Engo was ranked #4, and best value out of the group in the above article.
 
jmildoc said:
i was just thinking about the long term, once i get a bumper the winch is going to be on the truck all the time....... Im not hurting for the $75 bucks either....
Click to expand...

IMO, Spend the extra $75, that way when you dunk the winch into a deep water hole, swamp the air intake and hydrolock the engine you KNOW that you will be able to pull yourself out :)

jmildoc said:
Plus I can always get an extended warranty
Click to expand...

A warranty won't pull you out of the hole. A working winch will.
 
So I think I am going to go with the XRC8 and see how long that lasts. Will be posting pics and updates as to when i use it and how it performs. Gonna put the money I will be saving into some LBJ's and a tranny cooler :)
 
i know you asked about those specific winches...
but, there are better options out there, in that same price range.

maybe they've fixed/changed it now but i seen a few of those where the selector knob has fallen out/off. and..theyre just friggin SLOW.

i really like my rugged ridge. for the money, i couldnt be happier. its an 8500...but...ive snapped the cable 2x....it pulls HARD. its still slow compared to a GOOD fast winch, but much faster than the XRC's ive seen.
 
I am about to head to 4wheel parts and take a look at them. the rugged ridge look pretty good too. will see what i can get at a good price with a good warranty!
 
Metal tech sells engo winches and they typically don't sell junk. If I were to try a different winch than a warn I'd go with engo.
 
i got the smittybilt xr8 w synth lin and hawse fairlead for 400$ shipped to my door off amazon. it was FREE SHIPPING!

ive winched everything from myself, to jeeps, full size trucks (2500's), and never had a prob. winch works freaking awesome. I would buy again.
 
I have been happy with my Smittybuilt Competition 8k with the synthetic. It's a cheap entry level winch for sure. But it's seen some abuse, but the rope is really no good, not much of a safety factor either. The abrasion guard blows too
 
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