84Toyota4x4
Well-Known Member
Well, I just thought I would post a little feedback now that Ive used my Smittybilt XRC8 about a dozen times now.
I should preface this by saying that this is the first winch Ive ever used, however, Im impressed. When I went shopping for a winch, it was one of those things I knew I wanted, but I dont wheel that much and I could only think of about 3 times in my wheeling experience where a winch would be helpful. With that in mind, I couldnt justify the cost of a super fancy winch, however I still wanted the reliability and performance of a decent unit for when I DID need it. I went back and forth over and over between the Mile Marker PE8000, the Warn M8000, the T-Max EW-9000, and the Smittybilt XRC8.
As I researched the winches and read reviews, I learned the series wound motors are supposedly more efficient, and more reliable. I then realized that the Mile Marker used a permanant magnet motor which is what helps keep the cost so low. Since reliability was something I was after, I ruled out the Mile Marker for that and other reasons. I also didnt like the clutch lever for the Mile Marker, as well as housings (all plastic), or the controller itself. The line speeds of the Mile Marker were also sub par in my opinion. My friend has a Mile Marker that he has ran with no problems, but has only put about 3 pulls on it. It works, but its painfully slow to use.
This pretty much narrowed it down to the Warn M8000, the T-Max EW9000, or the Smittybilt XRC8. Cost basically eliminated the T-Max, no other reasons. Like I said, I wanted something decent but without breaking the bank.
I was down to the Warn or Smittybilt. After doing some research, it seemed to me that the NEW Smittybilt appeared to be a decent unit with the recent revisions they had made. I also found some speculation that the Smittybilt was actually a T-Max based unit, with a slightly different drivetrain to make it an 8K versus the T-Max 9K.
I mentioned the NEW XRC8. Turns out, Smittybilt had recently revamped their winches and introduced a new version which boasted a 5.5 HP series wound motor instead of the older versions which had a 4.1 HP permanant magnet motor. The controllers now also resembled the T-Max versus the old version which was a two button style similar to a Mile Marker. Another difference, was the location of the clutch lever. It was moved from the inboard side of the case, towards the outside more like the T-Max, and less like the Mile Marker. The end covers for the gear boxes also changed to resemble a T-Max more.
After a little more research on the seemingly mysterious new version (even Smittybilt's website showed the old version still), I finally decided to go with the Smittybilt. I discovered that the line speeds of the new Smittybilt are right there up with the Warn M8000, although line pulling weight per layer was slightly lower for each layer. I was also much more comfortable looking at the new design with the improved clutch lever, new motor, new case, etc.
Really, it came down to the performance (numbers) for the dollar to me. The Warn is a tried and true unit, but it was also considerably more to purchase. The Smittybilt's performance is close (dare I say rivals?), and the cost is significantly less. If you could find someone with the new versions, most retailers were selling the new XRC8s for $349, with a few selling them at $299 each (which is what I paid for mine). This is a big break in price from the M8000 at a best price I found of $512. I decided to take the gamble and run the Smittybilt due to the limited use it would see, and the overall possible performance for the money when looking at the numbers compared to the Warn.
Now that all that is out of the way, Id like to say that the winch has performed flawlessly for me every time Ive used it. The line speeds are great, the free spool has just the right amount of tension, the clutch lever moves in and out of position smoothly, and the overall construction and quality is very solid.
So far, the pulls I have put on it range from winching a dead Toyota truck on and off a car trailer, to pulling dead trucks up hills, and most recently, the heavy use in the recovery of three trucks buried up to their frames in mud consecutively within 3 hours.
I spent 3 hours today recovering a Jeep Cherokee, a Ford F-150, and another Toyota which were all buried in very thick mud/marsh type land in a private back yard. The Jeep was buried up to his grill in THICK mud/marsh with an approximate 3 foot vertical lip in front of his bumper. The F-150 was buried over both the 33" tires on the passenger side and sitting on the frame rails and transmission also in very thick mud. We had to high lift the back up and toss some logs under the back tires after the first winch attempt didnt budge it. I was just pulling myself in since I had nothing to anchor to, but once the back was up a little it came out just fine. The third truck, the Toyota, was buried over both his 35" tires on the passenger side, with his entire front axle buried in mud and his front right tire hanging over another 3 foot embankment into a creek, thus high centering the truck on the frame/crossmember with his drivers rear tire in the air. The winch also recovered this vehicle. Im waiting for pictures to be emailed to me to show the situation. All in all, it was 3 hours of constant heavy use and heavy winching in THICK mud and the winch never gave me a single problem, even with how hot it got. I was using cable lengths of 10 feet all the way to damn near 80 feet of a possible 92 feet of cable, and pull distances just as varying.
Basically, I wanted to share my experience with this winch so far, as well as get some word out there about the new version that Im not sure many people are aware of. I have seen a lot of people compare them to the Harbor Freight units, and I can honestly tell you, its NOT that quality (although the old versions may have been). Ive seen it side by side to another T-Max, and I can tell you now, its basically identicle. If I had it to do again, I would probably buy it all over again based on what Ive seen so far :awesomework:
~T.J.
Old version. Note the controller, motor wiring, clutch lever placement, controller box, controller connection, etc. Even the case is slightly different on the end covers.
New version
I should preface this by saying that this is the first winch Ive ever used, however, Im impressed. When I went shopping for a winch, it was one of those things I knew I wanted, but I dont wheel that much and I could only think of about 3 times in my wheeling experience where a winch would be helpful. With that in mind, I couldnt justify the cost of a super fancy winch, however I still wanted the reliability and performance of a decent unit for when I DID need it. I went back and forth over and over between the Mile Marker PE8000, the Warn M8000, the T-Max EW-9000, and the Smittybilt XRC8.
As I researched the winches and read reviews, I learned the series wound motors are supposedly more efficient, and more reliable. I then realized that the Mile Marker used a permanant magnet motor which is what helps keep the cost so low. Since reliability was something I was after, I ruled out the Mile Marker for that and other reasons. I also didnt like the clutch lever for the Mile Marker, as well as housings (all plastic), or the controller itself. The line speeds of the Mile Marker were also sub par in my opinion. My friend has a Mile Marker that he has ran with no problems, but has only put about 3 pulls on it. It works, but its painfully slow to use.
This pretty much narrowed it down to the Warn M8000, the T-Max EW9000, or the Smittybilt XRC8. Cost basically eliminated the T-Max, no other reasons. Like I said, I wanted something decent but without breaking the bank.
I was down to the Warn or Smittybilt. After doing some research, it seemed to me that the NEW Smittybilt appeared to be a decent unit with the recent revisions they had made. I also found some speculation that the Smittybilt was actually a T-Max based unit, with a slightly different drivetrain to make it an 8K versus the T-Max 9K.
I mentioned the NEW XRC8. Turns out, Smittybilt had recently revamped their winches and introduced a new version which boasted a 5.5 HP series wound motor instead of the older versions which had a 4.1 HP permanant magnet motor. The controllers now also resembled the T-Max versus the old version which was a two button style similar to a Mile Marker. Another difference, was the location of the clutch lever. It was moved from the inboard side of the case, towards the outside more like the T-Max, and less like the Mile Marker. The end covers for the gear boxes also changed to resemble a T-Max more.
After a little more research on the seemingly mysterious new version (even Smittybilt's website showed the old version still), I finally decided to go with the Smittybilt. I discovered that the line speeds of the new Smittybilt are right there up with the Warn M8000, although line pulling weight per layer was slightly lower for each layer. I was also much more comfortable looking at the new design with the improved clutch lever, new motor, new case, etc.
Really, it came down to the performance (numbers) for the dollar to me. The Warn is a tried and true unit, but it was also considerably more to purchase. The Smittybilt's performance is close (dare I say rivals?), and the cost is significantly less. If you could find someone with the new versions, most retailers were selling the new XRC8s for $349, with a few selling them at $299 each (which is what I paid for mine). This is a big break in price from the M8000 at a best price I found of $512. I decided to take the gamble and run the Smittybilt due to the limited use it would see, and the overall possible performance for the money when looking at the numbers compared to the Warn.
Now that all that is out of the way, Id like to say that the winch has performed flawlessly for me every time Ive used it. The line speeds are great, the free spool has just the right amount of tension, the clutch lever moves in and out of position smoothly, and the overall construction and quality is very solid.
So far, the pulls I have put on it range from winching a dead Toyota truck on and off a car trailer, to pulling dead trucks up hills, and most recently, the heavy use in the recovery of three trucks buried up to their frames in mud consecutively within 3 hours.
I spent 3 hours today recovering a Jeep Cherokee, a Ford F-150, and another Toyota which were all buried in very thick mud/marsh type land in a private back yard. The Jeep was buried up to his grill in THICK mud/marsh with an approximate 3 foot vertical lip in front of his bumper. The F-150 was buried over both the 33" tires on the passenger side and sitting on the frame rails and transmission also in very thick mud. We had to high lift the back up and toss some logs under the back tires after the first winch attempt didnt budge it. I was just pulling myself in since I had nothing to anchor to, but once the back was up a little it came out just fine. The third truck, the Toyota, was buried over both his 35" tires on the passenger side, with his entire front axle buried in mud and his front right tire hanging over another 3 foot embankment into a creek, thus high centering the truck on the frame/crossmember with his drivers rear tire in the air. The winch also recovered this vehicle. Im waiting for pictures to be emailed to me to show the situation. All in all, it was 3 hours of constant heavy use and heavy winching in THICK mud and the winch never gave me a single problem, even with how hot it got. I was using cable lengths of 10 feet all the way to damn near 80 feet of a possible 92 feet of cable, and pull distances just as varying.
Basically, I wanted to share my experience with this winch so far, as well as get some word out there about the new version that Im not sure many people are aware of. I have seen a lot of people compare them to the Harbor Freight units, and I can honestly tell you, its NOT that quality (although the old versions may have been). Ive seen it side by side to another T-Max, and I can tell you now, its basically identicle. If I had it to do again, I would probably buy it all over again based on what Ive seen so far :awesomework:
~T.J.
Old version. Note the controller, motor wiring, clutch lever placement, controller box, controller connection, etc. Even the case is slightly different on the end covers.
New version
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