Winch Reviews

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If you’re looking for a Winch Manufacturer that is as “off the beaten path” as its products, consider Mile Marker. First there’s their brilliant advertising tag line: “Abused World Wide.” ATV’s are built to be abused and so should the winches that are mounted on them. But if you are one of those who think words are cheap, consider this. Mile Marker’s patented hydraulic winch is the only winch approved by the United States Government for military use. All those Hummvees you see on the news videos take more abuse than you will probably see in a lifetime of vehicle ownership. And most are equipped with Mile Marker Winches.

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Mile Marker has also introduced a variable speed recovery winch, using their trademarked MiFi Technology. The controls have no solenoids and no analog parts — they are completely digital solid state. What’s more, they offer a conversion kit so you can add MiFi technology to your existing winch even if it is a competitor’s brand. They also make traditional electric winches, locking hubs, and conversion kits. Let’s take a look at some of their top products.

Mile Marker Winches: Electric Winches
Mile Marker makes winches for ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles), UTVs (Utility Terrain Vehicles), and Truck Winches, in a Tough Series, an X series, and the new V series. The X series and the V series feature their MiFi Technology control systems. Even their original Tough Series electric winches have fully redesigned 300 amp solenoids for more reliable operation. There are new models of V Series winches coming out soon for both trucks and ATV/UTVs.

Mile Marker Winches: Hydraulic Winch
Electric Winches can quickly sap a vehicle’s battery of its capacity, leaving an hapless ATV or Pickup Owner with a vehicle freed from the mud but unable to start! A hydraulic winch is completely independent of the vehicle’s electrical system. It uses your vehicles power steering pump as its source of power so as long as the car is running and you don’t run out of gas, you can keep right on winching. And you don’t have to retrofit your power steering pump in any way. The original equipment pump will do just fine. Electric winches are great for the occasional self-recovery or hauling application, but for those with more frequent winching tasks a hydraulic pump is a better choice.

Mile Marker Winches: ISO Certification
If you’ve looked into Mile Marker Winches at all you know the company is headquartered in Florida with a Distribution Center in the state of Washington. However, the winches themselves are manufactured in China and this raises some concerns to some potential buyers. Not to worry, as Mile Marker is an ISO certified organization. What does that mean? ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization, an international set of quality manufacturing standards subcribed to by over 162 countries. ISO certification means the certified manufacturer follows these standards and is audited at least once a year. So if your concerned about Mile Marker’s China plant, rest assured that the ISO certification is a mark of a quality product, wherever it is made.

If you own an ATV or 4×4 vehicle you need to have a winch. After all, these off-road vehicles are designed to take you off the beaten path, where others fear to tread. And when you get stuck out there off that beaten path, you’re on your own. There are a lot of companies out there that manufacture ATV winches. What makes one stand out from the others?

Champion winches are much cheaper than their better known rivals like industry leader Warn Winch. And you could add availability to what Champion brings to the market because you can walk into your local Costco or Sam’s Club and pick one up and take it right home with you. A Champion could cost you about half of what you’d pay for a comparable Warn but is it worth it? If “you get what you pay for” holds true with winches, what do you get with a relatively inexpensive Champion Winch?

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So is a Champion Winch right for you? If you don’t have to use it a lot, it could be. Check the forums and you’ll find owners who rarely use their winches more than a few times a year. If you’re on a tight budget and you make sure you know its limitations, a Champion winch could be an economical and practical alternative.

Introduced in 2006, Ramsey claimed this winch “delivered the ultimate in winching technology.” Corporate hype sometimes is just hype, and sometimes there’s actually something behind the hype. There is definitely something to the Ramsey Hype. If you’re a doubter, think “patent.” Breakthrough technology in any field is generally patented, or is introduced to the market as “patent pending.” With this model Ramsey introduced its patent pending semi-automatic clutch. What does it do for you? It is faster than any other winch out there. With this clutch there are fewer steps to take in operating it, saving both the time and the energy of the operator. And time is money! In addition. the Ramsey Patriot 9500 introduced a patented wireless remote. No longer do you have to shiver in the cold struggling with your winch. You can operate the Ramsey 9500 from the warmth and comfort of your vehicle.

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Ramsey offers other models in the Patriot Series for situations where you need more or less pulling power. For lighter duty use there’s the Patriot 6000 with 6,000 pounds of pulling power. The Ramsey 15000 is the heavyweight of the line featuring one of the highest rated line pull capacities available — 15,000 pounds.

While the “looks” of a winch are unimportant to some, a lot of Ramsey Patriot users think that its sleek overall design and structural integrity make a Patriot winch one of the best looking winches available to mount on the front of your vehicle. Ramsey offers other front mount recovery andATV winches along with their industrial line. All together, they offer over one hundred fifty different models. The Ramsey Badger is their most economical offering for the self recovery market. The Ramsey Honcho is a favorite amongstATV enthusiasts. For those in the self recovery market who like being out in the cold and would have no use for the remote controlled capability of the Patriot Series, Ramsey offers thr ee comparable models in the Ramsey Rep Series: the 5000, the 8000, and the 9000. All in all Ramsey gives you a lot to choose from.

Warn winches are grouped into four series ranging from the entry-level and economical “Value Series” through a “Premium Series” and a “Heavyweight” Series all the way up to the “Ultimate Performance” Series.  At the low end, the Tabor9k Value Series winch features nine thousand pounds of pulling power.  That’s  a lot of power for the price. Mounting on the front bumper of your vehicle, the Tabor has a hundred feet of wire rope on its spool.  At the high end, the Ultimate Performance Series Endurance 12.0 packs twelve thousand pounds of pulling power with eighty feet of heavy duty three eighths inch wire rope.  The innovative cooling system in this winch gives it the longest duty cycle of any electric winch currently available.  Winches in the Heavyweight Series are designed primarily for truck use and offer models with pulling power up to 16,500 pounds.  Within the premium series, off-roaders will find two portable models for those times when it’s difficult to get your vehicle to the “work.”

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For those load jobs away from AC power sources, Warn offers three models that are powered by 12 volt DC batteries. And they still pack a punch with up to a 1700 pound pulling capacity.  If you doubt that Warn is truly an innovator, you have to take a look at their ingenious “PullzAll.”  Anyone who has ever struggled with a manual “come a long” will love this model.  The designers at Warn added an electric motor to a manual come a long and the rest is history. Available in corded or cordless models, this gem can pull 1,000 pounds.  So do you still have any doubts about those guys at Warn?

Many who consider adding a winch to their off road vehicles question whether they will use it enough to justify paying top dollar for a top of the line winch. Superwinch is one of many manufacturers who address this need by offering more price friendly offerings than those of industry leaders like Warn. As an example, you would pay about one hundred dollars more for a Warn 3000lb ATV winch than for a comparable Superwinch. Should you take the plunge and go for the best winch money can buy or will a lower quality offering meet your needs? To address that question, let’s look at one of the primary differences that influence the price of a winch: the motor itself.

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Top of the line winches like Warn use series wound motors while less costly offerings from companies like Superwinch use permanent magnet motors. What’s the difference and why should you care? Without getting into too many technical details of electric motor technology, what you need to know is that permanent magnet motors can overheat in heavy pull and long duration applications. If you’ve checked the Off Road forums you’ve probably found consumers complaining about motor burnout. Both types of motors will start with the same pulling capacity but the permanent magnet motor’s power will diminish as it heats up. Some off roaders are unaware of this disadvantage and fail to give the motor a rest during long and heavy pulls. If you are the impatient sort, a cheaper winch is probably not for you. However, if you are aware of the capabilities of winches like those offered by Superwinch and are willing to take the time to use them properly, they provide a cost effective alter
native.

Superwinch: Warranties

Another variable that differentiates winch models is warranty service. Most Superwinch models offer a Limited Lifetime Warranty on mechanical parts and a 0ne Year Warranty on electrical components. That’s better than a lot of the less expensive manufacturers but note the word “Limited” in the warranty description. Some Warn models offer a Lifetime Mechanical Warranty — no limitations.

Superwinch: Product Lines

Superwinch offers one of the most complete product lines of any mid-price manufacturer on the market. They offer heavy duty Hydraulic Winches and AC Winches for industrial use. For the off roader they have every kind of winch you can think of — 4 x 4, ATV, UTV, and Trailer. They also have a full line of accessories ranging from wireless and wired remotes, to pulley blocks, to synthetic rope, to portable winch mounts.

Their most innovative offering is the LT2000 “Winch In A Bag.” It’s hard to believe but yes, everything you need for light duty winching applications is right there in a canvas carrying case. If you think of it as an electric powered heavy duty “come along” you’ll get the idea. It comes with 50 feet of wire rope and an 8 foot remote control so you can operate the winch from a safe distance. If you are a multi-vehicle ATV family, it can be a great alternative to permanently mounted winches.

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In a markeplace crowded with a host of winch manufacturers, what does the Champion Power Equipment Company add to the field? After all, they’re best known for their spark plugs, generators, and pressure washers, but winches? The answer is simply, price point.

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For ATVs they offer winch kits complete with mounting brackets and other accessories as well as winches alone. They have models rated for 2,000, 2,500, and 3,000 pounds of line pull. They are bigger and bulkier than their more expensive cousins. For Truck winches they have models rated for 5,000, 7,500, 8,000, 9,500, and 10,000 pounds of line pull. Again they offer winches only or winch kits with everything you need to get up and running. And as is the case with their ATV offerings, these winches are big and heavy. So where’s the downside?

One area that frequently differentiates cheaper products from their more expensive counterparts is warranty. All Champions winch models come with a limited 1 year warranty. In the Warn line, only their bottom end Value Series features a 1 year limited warranty. All other Warn models come with a limited lifetime warranty — a big difference. But a warranty is only as good as the company backing it up so check the off road forums to see if anybody out there has been burned by Champion’s not living up to their warranty.

One area where “you get what you pay for” holds true with Champion Power Equipment Winches is the type of motor they use — a permanent magnet motor. The advantage of this type of motor is that they don’t drain your battery as much or as quickly as the other type of motor used in winches — the series wound motor. Permanent Magnet Motors are also signicantly cheaper to produce, lowering the price of a Champion Winch. All Warn winches — even the Value Series — use the more expensive series wound motors. Why? Permanent Magnet Motors can overheat, and overheat quickly in heavy pull situations. They are subject to burnout when used by owners who are unaware of this disadvantage and fail to let the winch “take a break” during a long and heavy pull. In addition, Permanent Magnet Motors can weaken over time as the magnetic field loses its strength. Because of this, most experts agree that winches with Permanent Magnet Motors should only be used for lighter and less frequent applications.

If you’ve been looking around for a reasonably priced winch for the ATV you just bought you’ve surely come across the Viper Winch. Manufactured by MotoAlliance in Minnesota they have been around for about five years now and they appear to be growing in popularity. MotoAlliance limits its distribution network to keep costs down and passes the savings along to you. You can buy Viper Winches direct from the MotoAlliance Website or through Amazon or Ebay. If you search the Internet forums you’ll find a lot of praise for these lower cost alternatives to Warn and Ramsey Winches. But let the buyer beware here because Vipers, like almost all lower priced winches, use permanent magnet motors as opposed to the series wound motors found in Winches from Warn and most Ramsey models. While it is true that permanent magnet motors draw less amps at startup they also are prone to overheating with prolonged use and heavy pulls. Dig deep into those forum threads and you are sure to find users of winches with permanent magnet motors who have experienced burned out motors. If you need a winch for everyday use, not just the occasional “stuck in the mud” scenario, a winch with a series wound motor might be a better option. At the very least, be aware that most low and mid priced winches will need to be given a rest during long pulls.

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Viper Winches: The Classic Series
Viper Winches come in three different Series: The Classic, The Max, and The Elite. The low end Classic Series offers three models — the VX 2500, the VX 3000, and the VX4000. These come with basic mounts and all hardward needed to install them. To fit your vehicle you may need to add a special mounting kit. While the Classics come with 50 feet of steel cable you can upgrade to Viper’s Amsteel-Blue synthetic rope. The Elite Series includes Amsteel-Blue which is the only synthetic rope on the market today with its own warranty. The Classics are a little light on their warranty — 6 months for internal parts — and they do not include some nice “bells and whistles” like snatch blocks, winch covers, and rubber line stoppers that are standard in the Max and Elite Series, but they are very attractively priced. The VX2500 will set you back a measly 85 bucks!

Viper Winches: The Max Series
The Max Series offers a few more options in line pull capacity — adding a 3500lb, a 4500lb, and a 5000lb model. Cabled remotes, winch covers, snatch blocks, and rubber line stoppers and terminal boots are all included and the warranty is a bit more substantial at 1 year. As is the case with the Classic Series, the included mounts only work on flat surfaces so you may need to add a custom mount to fit your ATV.

Viper Winches: The Elite Series
One of the big advantages in this Series is the included Amsteel-Blue synthetic rope, available in your choice of colors: red, blue, or green. They come with wireless remotes and a healthier 2 year warranty. MotoAlliance has added what they call a “Whisper” greasing system to this Series that makes Elites extremely quiet. They have six different models here with two offering a special wide spool feature. If you’re in the market for a low priced winch, Vipers are definitely worth a look!

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