Winch Choice

[Nonimouse]

And this data is where?

Readily available out in the world! I've been a winch instructor on three different continents, in more countries than I care to remember, approved by all the big manufacturers. You tend to listen to the complaints and the drunken confessions.

If I had a pound for every time I spooled the wire off an HS9500i only to find no grub screw on the cable - I would be buying the drinks all week. Or for every brake failure on an 8274 - same thing. Knackered controls, dodgy solenoids, main shafts with more twist in than Jivebunny. Same old same old.

Thing is you can sell cr*p but if the name fits it will still sell. Warn don't sell cr*p, they just sell archaic designs, poor designs, badly built stuff and pointless stuff, all mixed in with gems like the M8000CE or the XD9000; and when it comes to competition winching, nothing touches an 8274 unless it's a custom 8274.

Say what you want, argue what you want, my points are made on 25 years of internatinional experience with just about every damn type of winch on the world market. I've made my mind up, won't be swayed - such is life.

 

[I Leak Oil]

While I envy your experience it is hardly a good measure of hard fact condoning the Warn brand of having a higher failure rate per capita sold than other brands.
I accept that it is your opinion that they are of lesser quality. For everyone with an opinion similar to yours I'm sure there are others with the exact opposite.
I like my XD9000i, my first and has been good to me for many years.
I like my 8274, has been good for others for many years and now will take care of me too!
I'd love to have a Husky 10 (just missed one at a swap for $300, damn)
My friend's RE10000 is a beast!

 

[charlieaarons]

FWIW the US military use DP hydraulic winches on its' BIG trucks - 2.5 ton, 5 ton, HEMTT, etc. I have a 20,000 lb 20AJ on my front, it has been used (using 2 Landcruisers as an anchor), without problem.

Charlie

 

[emmodg]

The US Military uses 12000lb MM Hydraulic Winches on it's over 14,000lb 1151 HMVEE. (I've seen the same winch on the front of many-a MRAP as well!)

 

[Antichrist]

My impression is that Warn built their reputation on the 8274, which has an extremely well respected history. But a company can't rest on their laurels.

 

[michaelgroves]

Readily available out in the world! I've been a winch instructor on three different continents, in more countries than I care to remember, approved by all the big manufacturers. You tend to listen to the complaints and the drunken confessions.

If I had a pound for every time I spooled the wire off an HS9500i only to find no grub screw on the cable - I would be buying the drinks all week. Or for every brake failure on an 8274 - same thing. Knackered controls, dodgy solenoids, main shafts with more twist in than Jivebunny. Same old same old.

Thing is you can sell cr*p but if the name fits it will still sell. Warn don't sell cr*p, they just sell archaic designs, poor designs, badly built stuff and pointless stuff, all mixed in with gems like the M8000CE or the XD9000; and when it comes to competition winching, nothing touches an 8274 unless it's a custom 8274.

Say what you want, argue what you want, my points are made on 25 years of internatinional experience with just about every damn type of winch on the world market. I've made my mind up, won't be swayed - such is life.

What's a "winch instructor", and how does it get to be "approved by all the major manufacturers"? I ask because I think your points are long on personal resumé, and short on evidence. There are a lot of people on this forum whose experience and expertise would be hard to match, and I'm not hearing them say the same things about Warn as you do.

Not that I have any love for Warn. I have not, (in my comparatively limited experience), found them to be hugely more reliable or well-made than other brands. Certainly not to the extent that their price-premium or market share would lead me to expect. But they are also nowhere near being the least reliable, or worst made! (Which is what I understood the thrust of your argument to be).

Incidentally, I suspect one thing that might influence anecdotal comparisons is that the expectations of someone buying an expensive Warn would be a quality an order of magnitude better than a cheap alternative. This might well make the owner very dissatisfied, if he finds out it is only fractionally better. Thus, the expensive product might give the impression of being worse than it actually is - it is inferior for the money.

 

[alexrex20]

What's a "winch instructor", and how does it get to be "approved by all the major manufacturers"?

http://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/internalcoursedetail.htm?courseid=52

looks like that one is a 1-day class to get your certification.

 

[Dave Bennett]

We have a major winch repair facility here in SLC (Six States) that does winch/PTO repair for their stores in the Western US, all models and brands even some of the lower priced re-badge imports. Interestingly enough they only sell Warn units in their stores and the winch techs run Warn's on their personal vehicles. That speaks volumes to me.

That says it all.

 

[DarioCarrera]

Tacodoc, I'm not sure that it says it all... It could also be argued that the facility could have a commercial agreement with Warn. I'm not saying It does have it, im just saying be open to the posibility... business has many treacheries...

 

[michaelgroves]

Tacodoc, I'm not sure that it says it all... It could also be argued that the facility could have a commercial agreement with Warn. I'm not saying It does have it, im just saying be open to the posibility... business has many treacheries...

Agreed. You might choose to sell what's profitable, not necessarily what's superior quality!

 

[Dave Bennett]

Tacodoc, I'm not sure that it says it all... It could also be argued that the facility could have a commercial agreement with Warn. I'm not saying It does have it, im just saying be open to the posibility... business has many treacheries...

I was referring to this important point:

...and the winch techs run Warn's on their personal vehicles. That speaks volumes to me.

The guy who works on this stuff every day is the guy I listen to.

.02

 

[DarioCarrera]

I was referring to this important point:


The guy who works on this stuff every day is the guy I listen to.

.02

I was refering to boths things as part of an agreement. Its hard for me to think that 10 out 10 techs want the same brand of a winch.

For the sake of conversation, imagine a deal beteween the facility and Warn that the factory will give the techs winches or a very good discount in a winch if everytime some asks any of them: "what winch do you use?? his response is clearly something aling the lines: "We all have warn here".

That would be a GREAT incentive to a potential buyer. why? because he's the guy to lsten to...

I know warn makes a quality product, but I still dont understand why SOOO many US buyers choose Warn, having great winches closer to home without crossing the pacific ocean...

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Tacodoc, I'm not sure that it says it all... It could also be argued that the facility could have a commercial agreement with Warn. I'm not saying It does have it, im just saying be open to the posibility... business has many treacheries...

The business very well might, but the employees surely do not. They run Warn because it works 'most often'. Anything can fail.

To toss another personal experience into the growing list here, during my years competing in competition rockcrawling (spent 3 years competing in UROC at locations in the US), I'd guess that 75% of competitors ran a Warn. Not because Warn sponsored them, not because there was any sort of contingency. Because when your building a $50k+ competition buggy you can afford to spend as much as it takes to get a product that works. Now keep in mind often times these buggies were build by shop owners themselves, so the collective experience speaks volumes to me. They know about the lower budget units and they know about the satisfactory experiences that many have had with them, but they still they most often chose the Warn. Its not that I wouldn't consider another unit for my personal vehicles, but when it comes down to $100-200 extra for a unit with a lifetime warranty and what I consider a stellar reputation... its money well spent in my situation. I use my winch on a more regular basis, self extraction, service project and customer/club training. They have never left me wanting.

 

[michaelgroves]

The business very well might, but the employees surely do not. They run Warn because it works 'most often'. Anything can fail.

I don't think DarioCarrera was suggesting Warn was inferior, just pointing out that a Warn Shop and its employees would have to have a very good reason for not using their own product. Firstly, employees almost certainly get a better deal on Warns than the public, and secondly, you would expect (hope, even) that they would have some pride in what they sell and service, even if there were equal products out there. There would be significant pressure to do so, I am sure!

It would undoubtedly be an indictment of Warn winches if the employees of Warn dealers didn't use Warns personally, but if they do use them, the most it actually implies is that Warns aren't bad.

OR that they are excellent, of course...

 

[DarioCarrera]

Michael is right, at no point I have sugested that Warn isn't a quality product. I know it is a quality product. Im just wondering why the incredible bias there is towards Warn, when there are products in the US produced locally of equal quality. In my years living in the US, i noticed that most americans have a pride for buying an american product, this is the reason for my curiosity!