Hey everyone. I am currently considering installing a winch on my truck. I have no experience with winches and am seeking feedback on what you have experienced with different winches. Currently I am looking at the Smittybilt X2O Gen 3 winch. I’ve read good reviews about this winch and it’s priced within my budget. Does anyone have experience with Smittybilt winches? I know that Warn is supposed to be the cream of the crop, but they are outside my budget. Any feedback you guys can provide would be appreciated. Thanks all.
1 Like
I’ve not owned one but in my old group we had a mix of about anything. Here’s a few rules with running the lower end winches.
-
The winch should be at least twice your vehicle weight.
-
Look very carefully at the cable. I haven’t seen a quality cable with the lower end winches. Where this shows up is a hard pull or over time.
-
Spool the winch in and out at least twice a year. The motor brushes corrode over time.
My experience here is a couple of decades of doing adapt a trail work. We would wear out and break about everything. I got to see side by side comparisons while over stressing all of them.
Edit didn’t post.
What I left off was the smitty built performed well. It seemed like most of the low end winch’s were made either by the same company or close. Over all I wouldn’t have an issue running one.
1 Like
I run the smittybuilt on my tundra, it has been rock solid with zero issues any of the times I’ve needed it in all sorts of conditions
1 Like
Scratch the winch. Buy 4 maxtrax and a rear locker.
3 Likes
I have used the X20 Gen 2 for around 6 years and have no real problems with it and it did what it needed to do the 6 or so times that I actually have had to use it. Remote works both wired and wirelessly which is a nice feature. The on/off switch on the winch is pretty easy to inadvertently toggle with a winch cover on so I have had it drain my battery a couple of times thus having a kill switch under the hood is recommended. The space within the winch to store your retracted cable is just big enough to do so and as such you need to be methodical and neat about respooling your cable when you retract it back in after use. Warn has an EVO line of winches which are non-USA made and price compatible with the Smittybuilt models.
1 Like
Then you miss out on all the winch uses around the house 
1 Like
I have been using a Smittybilt winch for a long time. Usually to recover other people. Like with all winches , inactivity is not good for them. Stretch them out every so often, spool them back in. I use steel cable on mine, so I oil the cable when I stretch it out to help prevent rust.
Ron W.
3 Likes
Lots of good info here. Warn winches are pricey. I’ve used ENGO in the past on a few different jeeps without issue–except on one the clutch lever ended up freezing up and I had to repair it. Engo was quick to send out a replacement part. I’ve since switch to Warn but I would run them again if I need to.
I have 3-4 jeep friends running Badlands winches–I think from Harbor Freight? And I’ve personally seen them put to use without issue. As long as you install it correctly and secure it down to spec, use loctite, etc.
The 1.5x the weight of your vehicle is a good rule of them. I’d definitely go synthetic line. And the last tip I would have which I think many people skip over is to install a power interrupt kit. This makes it easy to not have to run the winch “hot” all the time. A good thing in case of damage to the front end it won’t activate the winch, or, if your winch solenoid gets stuck in the “on” position you can kill the winch with a switch. The Interrupt kit is simply another solenoid you install under your hood. You connect your battery to one side, the winch to the other, and then a small switch wire to it and place the switch under the hood or in the cab. Then, when you need your winch, you can flip a switch and its “hot” and live, or, if you need to kill it, you can kill power to it through the switch. I’ve seen videos of solenoids getting stuck on and its a big disaster–it can catch fire, damage your vehicle, damage a vehicle you’re winching, etc…
1 Like
Appreciate the knowledge share, @James ! A solenoid is on my to do list. I don’t like that it’s always hot on principle. Really appreciate your specific examples, too.
1 Like
You’re welcome!
Here is a photo of my winch power interrupt solenoid wired to a cab aux switch. I also have a kill switch for my front locker as shown on the left as the locker button is an aux button and can technically be activated anytime. I keep it off day to day and flip it on once we hit dirt. The rear locker has a nanny control only when in 4L—but front is wired directly. I also have my on board air coupler under hood.
2 Likes