That's the crux for me. I ended up with a used Warn XD9500 from a fellow club member when I was looking to buy an M8000. It's just bumper farckle until you need it not to be. I preferred to wait until I could get something I personally could trust to work after being bounced around and covered with road grime all the time. What I use for criteria is just as individual as anyone else, though, so it's not an either-or question. All I know is that my winch came out of my previous truck pretty nasty and rusty after about 12 years behind the ARB but still works fine. At the time, though, the proliferation of cheaper winches hadn't yet happened so I don't know if I'd make the same decision now that I did back then.I realize that it's a bumper ornament 99% of the time, but want it to function without fail when I do need it.
Could ask Andy from Warn (Warn Industries is a supporting member here), but I think this is correct. Only the VR series is made overseas and I believe in a factory dedicated to making winches for them.I think the M series are made in the USA and the VR series are made overseas....
+1. Just the winch I recently got. A similar WARN is nearly 3x the price. There's no way it's 3x the winch.
You could also buy 2 Hyundais for the price of one Toyota or 10 Huffys for the price of on Giant bicycle.It's true. I could buy a 9.5 XRC for both ends of my truck, and a third one to put on the shelf for a spare.
Hi everyone! New member, first post here.
I just sprang for the ComeUp Seal Gen2 9.5rs. It's a 9,500lb winch with synthetic rope (Dyneema SK-75 fiber, made in Norway, has a 19,500lb rating - same fiber as the Warn Spydera ProMax). It's about $950 shipped, but with its rating, remote, and synthetic rope it's a great alternative to Warn. They apparently manufacture(d) many of the Smitty winches and have been popping up on pro race rigs lately. It's worth a look.