what do you think of it? easy to install? why did you choose the comp over the regular xcr8?

 

I have seen Warn and all the other big names fail repeatedly also.They are 4 to 5 xs the price too.If you have'nt had one then you should'nt comment on them.I have had Smitty,Warn and Super winch.i have the XRC8 now cuz the other 2 were not worth the money in replaceing them..IMO.I beat this one just as hard and still works.My other 2 don't!If I'm gonna go through a winch every few years I may as well buy the cheaper one that works nearly as good and save $.As for speed,how fast do you really need to get unstuck? I don't think 1 to 2 min faster is worth $800 more.

 

wow somethings wrong with the end user if you have had all those brands before. yes I have had a smitty. used it on my car trailer. the plastic handle that shifts the winch in and out broke after the second use. had to re-solder the wire connector back onto the solenoid. honestly to much plastic on that winch for me. sold it and bought a warn and have never had an issue with it. I also bought the one on my xj for pennies on the dollar on craigs. its 6 years old and keeps ticking unlike the cheap Chinese winch I had.

OP buy whatever you budget allows. just beware when you buy cheap you get cheap!

 

I have an XRC8. haven't used it much but i like it. i had to buy on a budget i read for weeks bout both you were originally looking at. I found more people having less issues with the XRC8. It wasn't to hard to install. i bought from 4wheelparts.com $299. With free shipping and a free winch cover. the cover is cheap and has faded fast but its free can't be that. Good Luck let us know what you decide.

 

The only plastic on mine is the remote.I use my winches all the time .I go wheeling with between 5 others and 500 others so it gets used more in a year than most peoples will in the whole time they have it.My Warn and Superwinch burned up much quicker than I hoped.XRC going good.

 

we have one sitting on the shelf at work and the one I broke was plastic. smitty even advertises it as a plastic handle in the instruction book.

 

I took mine apart to paint it and mine is metal.I took all the bolts and screws off so I would'nt get paint on them ,even took out the freespool handle.They must have messed up and installed the wrong one on mine.

 

alright. seen and sold many in the last year or so.

 

ok did some research. yes smitty uses a plastic handle in their first generation winches. also a ton of solenoid pack/controller issues to. Series 2 comes with a composite handle and different gearing.

I have not used a gen2 smitty built so all my experience with them is their gen1 winch.

so hopefully the gen2 is quicker, pulls harder and doesn't have the solenoid issues. my bad didnt know they came out with an updated model

 

No prob dude.

 

is the remote still plastic and feels weird?

 

Yea.It works good though.The box on the top that the remote plugs into is plastic too.I forgot about that.

 

i think a cheaper winch would be fine if your not going to use it non stop. long and heavy pulls it might not last as long as a warn. i like my old gear driven big spool warn. but if your on a budget and not using it all the time its a decent choice imo
just gotta remember alot of ppl dont have the coin to drop 1200 on a fancy winch. a cheap winch is better then no winch and if it saves him in a tight spot its paid for itself

 

Sometimes it's not what you say; it's how you say it. It took me a long time to learn that, and I sometimes still forget.

I forgot what magazine winch review article I read, but the SmittyBilt worked well and was recommended. They did mention speed and noise, but it never let them down.

 

I gust recieved my XRC8 from 4wd.com I got the winch, cover and a lifetime warranty for $340 shipped.

I was shocked about the warranty though. Has anyone ever heard of a lifetime warranty?