Ok, my roadless gear order came in a few days after I ordered it, but I was in the middle of moving back to the states from overseas, so I had it delivered to my parents home. I was at their place this past weekend for Fathers day and opened up the box.
Slight problem. I ordered, and was charged for, 2 of these units since I will be running front and rear winches. I opened the box and there was only one receiver, and transmitter box. The invoice showed that I was charged for two, so I assumed they just simply forgot to put the other unit in the box.
Today, after getting back home from the holiday weekend, I call roadless gear to explain the situation. The guy (not sure of his name) appologized sincerely, confirmed that someone simply misread the order slip quantity, and then said he would get the other one out right away. No questions asked, no 'my word against his word' stuff (like some companies), just "we will take care of it".
I dont know about you guys, but I judge a company by how well they take care of me, and how they handle problems. This company just did both of those things flawlessly in my opinion. I had never had any dealings with roadless gear in the past, but will certainly not hesitate in the future to make purchases.
Now on to the good stuff. The big advantage I see with this product (aside from it being a fraction of the price of other similar units) is the fact that there is no in cab wiring. The unit I currently have - made by milemarker -, has the control box that gets mounted to a location inside the cab. The actual control box has a power switch that needs to be 'on' in order for the wireless remote system to work. The milemarker system was very easy to install, with the wire running into the cab being the most time consuming/difficult part.
The roadless gear version is better (imo) because the control box is very small, 100% sealed, and will likely fit in the existing winch solenoid cover with a little creativity. The hookup for the unit is very simple, and the same as the milemarker unit. The box is powered constantly, without the need for there to be an in cab switch. The 'power switch' is actually on the remote itself. Turn on the power switch, and the system is live and ready for use. The remote is much larger than I imagined, but this is NOT a bad thing. My biggest complaint with the milemarker remote is the buttons are MUCH too small for big hands, and you can forget it if you have on gloves....and who doesnt wear gloves while winching?
The directions are lightyears ahead of the milemarker unit. The installation of this unit is ridiculously simple, thus the instructions are as well. No need to make something seem harder than it is. I could easily have this installed and working in 5 minutes or less.
This will also work with ANY winch that has solenoids.
So far so good, I am in the middle of rebuilding my 8274 that will go on the front of my Jeep, and will install it after I get it finished. I am moving the XRC8 to the rear of the Jeep. Here are a few quick pictures of the two systems.
The new Roadless Gear system:
You can see the size of the remote and small control box. Just 4 wires to hook up, and the antenna.
My mile marker unit:
You cant see it in this picture, but the two red buttons for control are tiny. They are behind a sliding panel on the face of the remote.
Here you can see the control box mounted on the steering column.
Bottom line is, now that the Roadless Gear unit is available at such a low price, I dont see any reason why folks still use the hand held plug in remote. These systems are SO MUCH easier.
More update when I get them installed.
~James
