New 8000lb Winch for $175... is it worth it?

[spikemd]

I have come across a Champion 8000lb winch for $175 at my local Costco:yikes: No that is not a typo. They were selling them for $299 and just closing them out now. I have read that Champion may be the same manufacturer as the MileMarker and possibly Chicago Electric and they have been selling these through Costco in Canada for a few years. The other brands are still selling from $300-$450. At $175, I am thinking I am crazy to pass this up. Costco is even selling the MileMarker PE8000 on the website for $370!

A winch for me is solely for remote recovery as I never see myself doing any crazy rock crawling or mud bogging or using it every weekend. I understand most of you may stick with Warn, but at $1000, that is way out of the budget. Costco also has great return and warranty policies.

Any thoughts? Is this deal too good to pass up?

My buddy just bought one today for his 1999 LC. We are going to see if the mounting holes line up with his ARB bumper.

 

[MoGas]

They use a standard mounting spacing and will fit where a Warn would. For that price, I may get one for the rear bumper.

 

[CodyLX450]

I know of someone who has 1 on his 80 and he says he's more than happy with it after using it to rescue stuck people.

Cant beat that price with the Costco return policy.

 

[FlatlandTRD]

They use a standard mounting spacing and will fit where a Warn would.

Which one, the Champion, or the PE8000, or both? Sounds great I'll have to look into this also, as long as it doesn't say "made in china".

 

[Alaska Mike]

It's made in China, like the vast majority of winches out there. There have been a couple threads about it here and elsewhere, and the consensus was it was fine for occasional use, but be aware that you get what you pay for.

$175? I might look into that...

 

[p1michaud]

Cheap winch.

Three guys in my local 4WD club own these.

One guy is on his 4th replacement in 3 years. Lost of use.
The other guy has had it for 18 months and very few pulls, it's died.
The last guy has replaced his once in 2 years.

The wet/damp weather up here probably does not help. Your results may be better in a desert/dry environment.

Save you money and buy a winch from a reputable company. When you need a winch, it must work otherwise you've wasted your money.

 

[stick]

I've read a lot of discussion about the Champion winch. Most people would agree it is very slow, but if it's just going to be used for emergency situations maybe once or twice per year it is a great winch for that. Not something I would use every weekend. For $175 it's worth getting one as a primary winch for now and if you get a few extra bucks in the future and buy a better winch you could put the Chicago on the rear bumper or on your trailer.

 

[DaveInDenver]

A winch for me is solely for remote recovery as I never see myself doing any crazy rock crawling or mud bogging or using it every weekend. I understand most of you may stick with Warn, but at $1000, that is way out of the budget. Costco also has great return and warranty policies.

These points are exactly why I'm waiting until I can afford a Warn. If it sits on the front of your truck for months at a time, you'd better we dang sure it's gonna work when you're solo and 100 miles from nowhere. If you are crawling and your winch dies, it might not a big deal since you are probably not alone and could walk 5 miles back to the trailhead anyway.

A Warn M8000 can usually be found for about $550 or so. It's $517 with free shipping at Winch Depot.

http://www.winchdepot.com/PDT57613.aspx

 

[IntrepidXJ]

good price on the winch....but I would only trust it on my trailer (which i just might get it for)

 

[Willman]

Save your time and buy it right the first time!!!!

Warn has never failed me!

:ylsmoke:

 

[ExpoMike]

I was on the fence about buying a lower cost winch but after hearing about the different problems with these winches and almost nothing negative about Warn winches, I decided to hold out for a Warn.

For me it will be a very occational use item but since most of the time I will need this I will be alone on the trail, this item could become a life or death situation very quickly. What do I want to trust my and my families life on?

For what it's worth you can get a Warn M8000 for $517 shipped from here,
http://www.winchdepot.com/PDT57613.aspx

Sure it's more then the Champion or Mile Marker listed at Costco but it's not $1000 as most people seem to quote.

My .02 worth.

 

[WJinTRSC]

:iagree: That there what he said!

 

[SAR_Squid79]

I've said it before, but I'll say it again:

I would rather not have a winch, than have a cheap winch!

It's not a stretch to consider a winch as a life-saving device. Life saving equipment is not something you want to cut corners on. Every time you use your winch, you are putting yourself in a potentially VERY DANGEROUS situation. Expensive winches are expensive for good reason, and cheap winches are cheap for a reason. I paid a lot for my winch and line, but I know my winch is going to work, and work properly every time I hit the switch. If it should fail, my winch has redundant braking systems.

If you can't afford a good winch (Warn, Superwinch, T-Max), then stick to using a Hi-Lift with proper winching attachments, and stay alive. Don't risk your life because you're pinching pennies, want to fill in that space in your bumper, and caught a discount on a POS winch.

 

[SEREvince]

I've yet to hear of anyone killed or a vehicle totalled by a winch, cheap or not. I'd be very interested to see a thread of instances where the proper use of any recovery gear left someone injured or stranded. Good info to share with everyone.

I've had to leave my truck in the mountains for a week, in a spot where a easy pull from any winch would have had me out in 5 mins. The anchor distance was too great to use a hi-lift, even though I only needed to get up the last 20' of a steep incline.

I say go for it, and try not smirk too much when you drag someone out, who would never put that chinese crap on their rig.

 

[StumpXJ]

I pulled a couple guys out with my Chinese crap winch the other weekend, including one Jeep that had a Warn 9000 that was fried trying to get himself out of some water. I Hadnt touched my winch in 3 months, and it worked like a champ. I am not knocking Warn, they make an excellent product and at a fair price, but ya cant lump all of the milemarker made "offbrand" winches into one pile and say none of them work, because its not true. I think by using the proper winching techniques, and working smarter not harder, you will be just fine with that winch. All things mechanical have a failing point, you need to know if your intended winch usage will justify spending the extra cash on a more common name brand. I have used my winch a total of 4 times in 6 months, I expect to use it a total of 6-10 times a year, and the Smittybuilt 8000 (aka milemarker) works just fine for me.

For that price, even if it gets used 3-4 times without problems, it will have paid for itself twice over. I am going to get another Smittybuilt for the rear of my truck, just because they are so cheap. If they both quit on me, I have the highlift, pullpal and enough rigging to get me out of anything, so no worries.

Just my .02

~James