Advice on Warn vs. Barricade winch

[mgroeger]

Long story short. Terrible experience with two $hittybilt 9500 XRC synthetic rope winches from Extreme Terrain.
They are taking care of me in terms of returning it and upgrading. At my price point I have two options. A 9500lb Barricade synthetic rope with wireless controller or a 8000lb Warn VR8-S synthetic rope PLUS $100.
I know Warn is the holy grail but it's only 8000lb vs. the 9500lb of the Barricade. Here are the winches and I would appreciate any advice but please know these are my only two choices. I don't have nay money to throw at this to buy some much more expensive one which I'm sure someone will tell me to buy

https://www.extremeterrain.com/warn-vr8s-8000-lb-winch-w-synthetic-rope-1.htmlhttps://www.extremeterrain.com/barricade-wireless-9500-sr-j101798.html

 

[Mike_H]

8000 Lbs will be plenty. Get the warn.

 

[mgroeger]

More info, turns out this Warn winch isn't made in the US and on another thread a guy was saying the quality on this is less than the US Warns.

 

[Gollywomper]

The warn m8000s runs around $900 if you can swing the extra cash.

 

[mgroeger]

Nope, it's the two I posted for my budget.

 

[Chris]

Barricade is re-branded Smittybilt. That's Extreme Terrain's in-house version of all the other Chinese clones (i.e. Smittybilt, EAG, etc.).

 

[Gollywomper]

Well I would suggest the Warn. There customer support is top notch, in my experiences with them. My guess would be that they outsourced the VR series to cut costs and compete with the other Chinese winches in that price range. Lots of them running around and working properly.

What about a Warn m8000( steel cable) use it until funds for synthetic are available?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000182DYM/?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[mgroeger]

Barricade is re-branded Smittybilt. That's Extreme Terrain's in-house version of all the other Chinese clones (i.e. Smittybilt, EAG, etc.).

So even though this is Warn's low end (at $700) you would go with the Warn?

 

[mgroeger]

Well I would suggest the Warn. There customer support is top notch, in my experiences with them. My guess would be that they outsourced the VR series to cut costs and compete with the other Chinese winches in that price range. Lots of them running around and working properly.

What about a Warn m8000( steel cable) use it until funds for synthetic are available?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000182DYM/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Not a fan of steel cable, they make we nervous and add more weight. To each his own, I'm sure some guys love steel and have never had a problem but that's two strikes against steel IMO.

 

[Chris]

So even though this is Warn's low end (at $700) you would go with the Warn?

I think it depends on how often you're going to use it. I know a lot of people who wheel with Smittybilt winches and haven't had an issue. However, if you're planning on doing some serious wheeling and using the winch frequently, then I would go with the Warn.

Since that is the low end Warn though, I personally think at that point it's the same thing as a Smittybilt, just with the Warn name on it.

Personally I haven't seen a Smittybilt fail yet. But I'm also not out on the trail as much as some of those guys are, so it's not the same.

 

[Gollywomper]

Not a fan of steel cable, they make we nervous and add more weight. To each his own, I'm sure some guys love steel and have never had a problem but that's two strikes against steel IMO.

Oh I agree. I really like the synthetic line. I know of no issues with the M8000. It stands up to the abuse, will be working long after the less expensive ones are worn out. Customer support is great. And it is fast. I also understand the $$$$ restraints too. Lol

 

[Benjeepn]

What problems were you having with the Smittybilt winches? One thing to keep in mind is the rating is for the first layer of cable and then drops with each layer. A snatch block is your friend. Unfortunately, almost all winches come over on the slow boat except for Warn's and Ramsey's high-end winches.

 

[mgroeger]

I think it depends on how often you're going to use it. I know a lot of people who wheel with Smittybilt winches and haven't had an issue. However, if you're planning on doing some serious wheeling and using the winch frequently, then I would go with the Warn.

Since that is the low end Warn though, I personally think at that point it's the same thing as a Smittybilt, just with the Warn name on it.

Personally I haven't seen a Smittybilt fail yet. But I'm also not out on the trail as much as some of those guys are, so it's not the same.

I do plan on getting use out of it, the trails we run can easily have a need for it. The thing that is wrong with the Smittybilt is the unspooling. I have it disengaged and it is near impossible to turn that barrel. I was literally pulling the Jeep towards me in my garage as I was trying to unspool it. This is the second one to be like that.
You should be able to walk a line out, when disengaged, with relative ease.

 

[Chris]

I do plan on getting use out of it, the trails we run can easily have a need for it. The thing that is wrong with the Smittybilt is the unspooling. I have it disengaged and it is near impossible to turn that barrel. I was literally pulling the Jeep towards me in my garage as I was trying to unspool it. This is the second one to be like that.
You should be able to walk a line out, when disengaged, with relative ease.

That's odd. The Smittybilt winch on my TJ I can spool by hand very easily. Never had an issue with it at all in fact.

 

[mgroeger]

That's odd. The Smittybilt winch on my TJ I can spool by hand very easily. Never had an issue with it at all in fact.

My hands were actually hurting by the time I was done.

 

[Chris]

My hands were actually hurting by the time I was done.

That's weird. In all fairness, I've only ever tried it on my Smittybilt X20 winch, so I have nothing to compare it to. But it was super easy to spool up in my garage by hand.

 

[Mike_H]

My experience mimics Chris.' I have the same winch and it seems pretty good so far. I've only used it a couple times, but when I have, its done exactly what its supposed to. The wireless feature is nice too.

 

[Mr. Bills]

Just last week I had a conversation with the local Warn dealer who steered me away from VR winches. His negative opinion of the entire VR series was based upon his own experience with customer service issues and warranty returns. He suggested the M8 or M8-S over the VR-8 or VR-8S.

I know budget is a concern here. Have you looked at Engo winches? Yes, they are of overseas manufacture. However, the company offers good customer service unlike Extreme Terrain, Sh*ttybilt and other vendors. Engo founders and management include the sons of the former Milemarker CEO - they have been in the winch business much longer than Engo has been in existence.

Just trying to expand your options beyond only two choices.

SR9S - $480
SR10S - $520

http://store.engousa.com/

 

[Benjeepn]

Just to rule out other problems, the rope was not backlashed or dragging on the hawse fairlead?

 

[smithcaz]

One thing I have seen with the Smittybilt winches is the grease they use, when it gets cold out it will thicken up so much you cannot free-spool the line out. In the summer, I can pull the cable out fine on my XRC8, winter not at all, have to use the winch and spool it out. Not sure if this is happening in your case or not.