Winch Reviews

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.