Best place to buy a winch?

Cheetokps

TJ Enthusiast
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Wallingford, CT
I’ve been looking into winches more seriously now, my top choice is the Smittybilt x20 comp 10k. I was debating buying the badlands apex winch since it’s $100 off right now, but I still prefer the smittybilt.

The smitttbilt is currently $624 on Amazon, although the price fluctuates a lot. I found it on a website called wicked rigs for $549 here and was wondering if anyone has any experience with them? I also found it cheap new on eBay, but I want to make sure I can still get the warranty. Should I just stick with Amazon?
 
I usually see the best deals on Amazon but the great prices aren’t there all the time. For example last October I snagged a warn m8000 for 620 bucks. Right now it’s listed for 890. If you are willing to wait and check back all the time you will most likely get a good deal at some point.
 
Amazon is fine. There are worse brands like Stegodon or X-Bull. Many people run the Smittybilt problem free, even many here. Stegodon is a better brand than SB, that's a new one. I wouldn't do HF personally, too much money for what it is. If you have time I'd check classifieds, these things come up for sale all the time, all brands. Just beware people selling used stuff for retail.
 
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shop craigslist for a bit. I bought my xd9000i there. at 10 years old ( when purchased 6 years ago) its a genuine US made model, had been used 3 times.

new synthetic line with safety thimble and good to go.

i think i paid 650 for the winch. offloaded the YJ winchplate it came on for 40 dollars.
 
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I'm running a shittybuilt, I think its the older gen 10K x20 (its the waterproof one, i could go out and look) I've had it probably 4 years and its given me 0 problems and pulled me out more times than I can count. The price was right (less than $300 on amazon when I bought it) if you can't afford a Warn and are willing to run the risk of the winch one day not working, its a great alternative. If you can afford it and want your winch to be dead nuts reliable in the worst condition, get a Warn

Really what it comes down to is cost of failure, I don't go wheeling in the middle of nowhere by myself (firm believer you should never do so), so if my winch decides not to winch one day I call a buddy and it's a significant annoyance, but no worse. If I was wheeling in west Texas where the nearest help was 3 days away and my winch was the only thing I had to get out, I would have saved more for a Warn. As it is I'm happy with my shittybuilt, and you can't beat the wireless remote, are they a Warn? No. Are they "good enough" for what you are doing? - probably, but thats for you to decide.
 
Yeah I’ve been doing my research for awhile, Warn is definitely out of my price range unless I buy the VR Evo. I know smittybilt’s reputation, but I’ve heard many people say the x20 is good and I believe it.

I do wheel alone, so that’s why I want a winch, but I go like once every few months so I can’t justify spending a crazy amount

It sounds like nobody has used the “wickedrigs” website so I probably would go by or a more reputable site
 
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I’ve been searching marketplace on and off for years, only seen one decent one that I missed out on. I can keep looking, but I was planning an off-roading trip for august I will need one before
 
When I was shopping 4WP had the best price on what I want and there is one in town.

Ordered online with a coupon and picked it up at the store. Got it home, opened it up, and it looked to have been dropped upside down during shipping and the solenoid cover was broken.

Like dealing local on stuff like this. Called and told them the problem, they ordered another, had it in 2 days, and i just exchanged it.

I ❤️ 4WP
 
When I was shopping 4WP had the best price on what I want and there is one in town.

Ordered online with a coupon and picked it up at the store. Got it home, opened it up, and it looked to have been dropped upside down during shipping and the solenoid cover was broken.

Like dealing local on stuff like this. Called and told them the problem, they ordered another, had it in 2 days, and i just exchanged it.

I ❤️ 4WP
Wish we had a 4wp around here, there’s not even any in New England. The closest one is PA
 
Yeah I’ve been doing my research for awhile, Warn is definitely out of my price range unless I buy the VR Evo. I know smittybilt’s reputation, but I’ve heard many people say the x20 is good and I believe it.

I do wheel alone, so that’s why I want a winch, but I go like once every few months so I can’t justify spending a crazy amount

It sounds like nobody has used the “wickedrigs” website so I probably would go by or a more reputable site

How far out do you wheel? is this something were you could call a buddy to be there in a couple of hours, our are you looking at being stuck over night or more?

you can find good deals on Warns that need a little love, I like the idea of the 9.5ti cause its a bit more water proof than the M8000's, but I hear theres a solenoid upgrade you can do to the 8000's....... 6 a 1, 1/2 dozen of the other.

I would look at amazon, 4wp, quadratec, extreme terain, theres lots of good sites but I normally wind up buying on fire sale or buying used.
 
After seeing the H2O 10k and the M8000 run side by side I think the specs say it all. Just spooling the line on both and resting your hand on the motor answers the question for me but I know everybody has different needs.

Forget about those comments regarding how reliable Warn is. Can't exactly brag about having spare parts if your shit don't break. Search here for winch broken and see what you find, search anywhere and see what you find.
 
I have a 5 yr old xrc9500 an it works great,,altho I've never needed it for myself ,,but have pulled many a lifted big ass trucks out the mud an snow.....
 
How far out do you wheel? is this something were you could call a buddy to be there in a couple of hours, our are you looking at being stuck over night or more?

you can find good deals on Warns that need a little love, I like the idea of the 9.5ti cause its a bit more water proof than the M8000's, but I hear theres a solenoid upgrade you can do to the 8000's....... 6 a 1, 1/2 dozen of the other.

I would look at amazon, 4wp, quadratec, extreme terain, theres lots of good sites but I normally wind up buying on fire sale or buying used.
So far not far, but I’m planning on doing some further stuff when I go up to Maine. I’d like to keep it below $600 so idk about warn unless I find a good used one
 
Facebook and Craigslist. Bought a new/used Superwinch EP9.0 for $275. You have a good chance of finding older/quality stuff, things that you wouldn’t normally buy at full price.
 
Yeah I’ve been doing my research for awhile, Warn is definitely out of my price range unless I buy the VR Evo. I know smittybilt’s reputation, but I’ve heard many people say the x20 is good and I believe it.

I do wheel alone, so that’s why I want a winch, but I go like once every few months so I can’t justify spending a crazy amount

It sounds like nobody has used the “wickedrigs” website so I probably would go by or a more reputable site

If you wheel alone I would strongly suggest one of these

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