Gorilla 3000lb XT Series ATV Winch Review

I got my hands on a new Gorilla 3000lb XT Series ATV Winch from the folks over at www.gorillawinches.com, and I must say that, I was impressed from the moment it arrived. Besides the impressive box, easy to read instructions, and included hardware, this winch just looks like a heavy duty and well designed product. Inside the box was the roller fairlead, rubber stopper, contactor, thumb switch, hook with strap, hardware, and a corded remote! All that was needed additional, was a bracket for my 2006 Yamaha Grizzly, which was available right on their site.

INSTALLATION Installing the Gorilla Winch was easy enough. I did it before going out to the field, in the back of my Dodge Ram pick-up! A few tools I had in my box got the job done. The hardest part was removing some of my factory plastic. The bracket mounted right up to my stock frame and the winch right up to the bracket, without an issue. If you know the difference between your positive and negative battery terminals, you'll have no problem hooking this up. I ran the wires up the middle and under the seat, to the battery, and hooked up the switch to my handlebars. It was a breeze.

THE FIRST TEST I rode my 2006 Yamaha Grizzly out into a wooded, but open area, to run some small tests with this winch. Operation was very good for a traditional winch. I especially like how smooth the cable turns out in the free wheel/spin mode. Engaging this is easy and the switch is located on the side of the winch. Putting it in this mode allows you to pull out the cable without hassle. I ran it in and out a few times to check out the motor operation and to see if there was any heat coming off of it, which there wasn't. I roped the line around a couple of trees and pulled the Grizzly without any issue, up the hill and tested it letting the winch out slowly back down. The winch Motor sounds strong and smooth, giving me no concerns. I hadn't planned to get out in the mud yet (maybe for my next report), so I thought to myself...How could I really test this thing out? I decided that a good test would be to rope my Grizzly to a tree and see about lifting it off the ground. I know, sounds crazy, and when will this actually apply, but why not. So I let out the winch cable and chucked it over a thick branch and around a tree, probably about 15 feet off the ground. (Don't try this at home and wear safety equipment and protective gear!) I began to pull my 600 lb (dry weight) 2006 Yamaha Grizzly toward the tree, by engaging the winch switch I mounted on the left handle bar. As I got closer to the tree, the front end started to rise. I proceeded to pull the winch cable in and my quad up the tree. It was now about 70 degrees up in the air! I kept going until it was vertical and back tires off the ground! I forgot to get off…What a site…hung my quad off a tree...it was a first for me. I finally let it down after looking at it for a few minutes hanging there. By no means do I suggest for anyone to do something like this with their quad! Nevertheless, it’s a good test for me. I let out enough cable slack to get the hook to slide down toward me and unhook it. I inspected the cable, hook, winch, bracket, and frame. No issues at all. All looked great. At least I know that on my next run, this winch will pull my ATV without a problem.

FINAL NOTES This $199 Gorilla winch replaced my older Warn 2500 winch that I believe cost me upwards of $400 or so at the time. You would think that the cost difference would show in the product, but I really can't tell you what the higher priced Warn will give you over the Gorilla. The Gorilla winch works very well and is definitely worth the money. I'll be testing this winch out more on the trails and I'll be sure to report back. Happy Trails!  

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