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Choosing a Winch


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Generally speaking there is nothing special about warn. Just a fancy name. Most are produced in China like all the rest... except Ramsey. Warn uses small motors with low gear ratios and draw lots of amps. Not anything to be bragged about. Ramsey winches make more sense. Tall gears, larger motors, and lower amp draw.... which leads to faster line speeds, less heat, and longer battery life. The lower the gear ratio, the more amps you're using just to churn grease inside the 3 planetary gears... and that's a lot of gears! The taller you can get that ratio, the more efficient the winch will be. Its as simple as that.

So in this case I would pick the superwinch terra 2500 over the warn provantage 2500. It has a 140:1 ratio compared to warn's 154:1. It has a 1.3hp motor compared to warn's .9hp motor. Its line speed at zero load is 25 fpm compared to warn's 18.7 fpm. At full load its line speed is 9.5 fpm compared to warn's 5.4 fpm. Oh but the warn costs twice as much so it must be better LOL

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Well all I know is I have been using Warn out on the trails alone for years and that is what I depend on. I am sure there are a few other brands out there that can preform just as well or better but in my mind dependability is the key. And yes I paid twice as much for my warn then some of the other brands out there.

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Warn makes perfectly usable product, but they aren't god. Everyone just assumes they are the best because its the biggest name. I have some no-name chinese winches that have been abused horribly and have survived for years. Once you start seeing the insides of a few different brands of winches you begin to see that they're really all about the same.

Massive Multi-Winch Shootout - Four Wheeler Magazine

"Submersion Test

Warn Contaminated water with bronze-colored substance

Speed and Efficiency Test

The Superwinch made the most work happen on a given amount of electrical energy supplied. The Warn model was faster than the rest but demanded more electrical energy than our test arrangement could supply, so it depleted the battery and ceased forward momentum halfway up the hill.

Stall Test

Warn Broke internal parts, would not work after test"

What gets me is if you paid thru the nose to buy what you believe to be the top of the line winch, it should not produce enough power to destroy itself. Or, it should be beefy enough to handle the power it produces.

Yet warn still wins the shootout because it has a nice remote and nice manual LOL. "Well my winch blew up, but at least I have a nice remote and manual." LOL

I'm not bashing warn. I'm just saying they're no different than anyone else. Every winch should be considered equally.

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Im partial to warn because thats what my father used since the 70s. We have never been stranded by a Warn...ever.

Warn also is the only company to make the super light sport quad winch. Its only 8 pounds with a synthetic line. Yes its only 1500 pounds but I wont need any more than that pulling out my 375# atv.

Just as a side note Ramsey does have some China parts to it.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

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Yeah, Ramsey does have some chinese parts (they don't like to admit it), but its as close to made in the USA as you can get. I think they comply with the labeling standards of "assembled in the US" or something like that. But I'm not saying made in the US is a good thing. Made in Japan would be a good thing LOL. The Japanese treat work like a religion. But, its just that I happen to like the specs on all the Ramsey winches. You won't find many winches with a 136:1 ratio and Ramsey seems to like that ratio.

Briggs and Stratton used to be a good engine... back in the 70s and earlier or so. Now days its a clump of garbage. Period. Less than garbage actually. I bought a 10hp briggs a few years ago and in less than 1 year's time the rockers rattled off by themselves, the airbox wasn't even close to fitting correctly (letting plenty of dirt in), the bore was out of round, and when I went to download a service manual I had to call briggs only to find the stupid lazy line workers didn't even care to stamp the model number on fully! My friend's riding mower has a briggs... it made it a few years before starting to smoke.

The point is just because something was made well a long time ago doesn't mean they still are. Actually, I'm suspect of companies with respected names. They're probably surviving JUST on their name. I kinda like the up-n-comers who are building a name, rather than relying on it. In the 70s warn winch was fairly new Warn Industries - Corporate: WARN History

Yes, 8lbs would be nice. I have a generic 2000lb model with steel rope on the front of a 350lb sport quad and at 12lbs, I can definitely tell its there. The winch has plenty of power to pull the quad, but goodness its SLOW. Sometimes I don't even reel the cable in all the way... I just wrap it around the bumper until I need it again lol. It just takes too long. 153:1 shouldn't be that slow, but the drum has a small diameter too. I guess that makes the difference.

This summer I made a camping trailer that winches itself down and then back up a 170ft 45 degree "cliff" to a spot by a mountain stream where I like to camp. The trailer is 600lbs loaded and must get in and out on one battery charge AND do it fast enough so not to draw attention from onlookers. So I spent a long time pouring over specs and excel spreadsheets, then testing various winches to find one that would do the job well enough. That led to me stumbling on what Ramsey figured out years ago.... high gear ratios are better. Its better to have a bigger motor with taller gears than it is to have a small motor with lower gears. Its more efficient anyway. And its nice to have the fast line speed. Warn does have one winch that's time tested and has the fast line speed. Its a favorite among jeep owners and rock crawlers. The M8274-50. Its 134:1. I can't figure out why warn didn't make more like that in other sizes.

Here's a warn planetary. Stamped and spot-welded. http://www.wanderingtrail.com/Repairs_Rebuilds/warn_winch/images/DSC04370.jpg

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I agree with what your saying but i am only going by weight. That was my only deciding factor. The warn xt15 is also intermittent use. You cant pull a bike out at once you have to wait. Price for weight savings i guess

Like you said there is a fine line with the assembled or made in USA. Sucks to admit Made in Japan is quite good.. But lately even Japanese products are being outsourced to singapore and india etc.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

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I can't say myself which is better or will last longer. But back in the 80's when I worked for American performance we sold warn winches I never recall having 1 returned and I worked in the returns. What we stocked was for the 4x4 trucks and for trailers for guys who used a winch to load cars. Warn has built a name for it's self by building a good product. Another thing to think about is customer service and standing behind their product. This is a great site but I would go type in reviews for the winches your looking at buying. I have found doing a search for trouble shooting and seeing how many people have posted for help can be good. You should be able to tell the ones thats not to bright and can't operate a light switch. but read the ones where they have had them for a while.

Edited by hangingon
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I think all winches have a duty cycle and none can be run continuously except for the hydraulic winches. The one I'm running on the camping trailer runs for 5 min continuously and never takes the battery voltage below 12. If there is another winch that can pull 600lbs up a 45 degree incline 170ft in 5 continuous minutes and not kill the battery and not cost over $150, then I'll buy it lol. But I'm pretty sure there isn't. All other winches I tested could only do it in 7-10 min, if they could do it at all. A 12,000lb winch killed the battery at 7 min and couldn't finish the pull. And it got so hot the oil inside the cable sizzled on the drum.

Yup, warn sells a lot of winches and there are a lot of people to say they've never let them down. Here's a guy who doesn't seem to like them Opinion on Superwinch - ATVConnection.com ATV Enthusiast Community

The only thing I've owned by warn are the locking hubs and they never let me down, but my off-brand hubs never did either. I've beat my superwinches until the plastics and solenoids are falling off, then strap and tape everything back together and beat it some more. They work like new, but look like they've been dragged behind my truck for a while lol. Those little 2000 and 1500 lb generic winches... I have a few of those and on one the knob to release the clutch broke off and the drum wobbles, but it still works. Seems like those little boogers you just can't destroy. And if you do, you can get a new one for $50-$100. Black friday should produce a lot of them for $50.

I just looked at the spec for the warn xt15... that is a neat little winch. I'd like to have one :)

Comparing the 2000lb generic to the xt15

153:1 vs 103:1

12 lbs vs 8.6 lbs

50' steelrope vs 40' synthetic. yikes! 50ft wasn't enough the last few times I needed it.

13.3 fpm vs 15 fpm zero load line speed

6.2 fpm vs 5 fpm at 1500lbs

10 amps vs 6 amps zero load

80 amps vs 65 amps at 1500 lbs

$50-$100 vs $250. wow... I bought a 12,000lb winch for $270 shipped.

They are neat and I would like to have one, but I don't know about the price... And I'd have to buy longer line too.

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Duh I forgot why Im also partial to Warn. I have a Warn Recovery winch on the back of my welding truck. I use it to pull steel thats been bent. Dont need a come a long. I have replaced the contactor a few times but i think its cause i went past the duty cycle. It came with the truck wasnt my choice.

Im gunna say as long as you stay with a name brand its fine. Sure sh** happens . Products do get made on fridays at 5:00. If its unknown quality your setting yourself up for disaster 60 miles from civilization

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

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I know about getting stranded in the middle of nowhere. There is a trail on the mtn here called the "expert trail" (that's what it says on the USFS sign). I've been trying to get to the end of that trail for 6yrs. The only way on a quad is to have a winch. Well one day I'm up there camping and didn't have much else to do, so I figured I'd try it again. Why not? The quad I'm on has never had a single issue since it was new in 2005... and my winch is new. Ha! The damn battery died! At just about the highest point on the whole mtn... 3400 ft. My camp site was around 1500ft and miles away.

This battery had been waiting patiently for 7yrs to leave me stranded at the worst possible spot on earth. And it didn't gradually wear down and get weaker. It just died. I hate AGM batteries. Don't get me started lol. Anyway I had to walk 1hr 20mins all down hill back to camp on the 1st day of hunting season and not 1 hour after I had seen a large bear get spooked by my quad and leap for its life as I came around a curve. Then lug a new battery 2 hrs back up the next morning. Luckily I brought another battery with me (to listen to the radio and charge my phone) and a flask filled with my favorite single malt scotch!

Anyway, its not the winches that scared me. Its the batteries. The things are so fickle. There is a charging procedure for every type of battery and a whole list of do's and don'ts Batteryminders Specials | BatteryMinders.com

That's another reason I like winches that don't use many amps and reel the line in fast. When AGM batteries die, they just die. They don't give a warning like good ole lead acid batteries. And 99% of quads have AGM batteries.

Here's the trail: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7EcMbxJ8E8]Windy Gap expert trail - YouTube[/ame]

If you think watching it is long and boring, you should try walking it LOL

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Videos and pics are nothing like the real thing. I can take a pic of an imposing boulder in my path and have it look like a little pebble lol. There are spots on that trail that get pretty hairy... like trying to turn on an off-camber 180 degree switch back.. one wrong move and you fall off the mtn. The video doesn't show that and its much easier to ride on a bike.

I was reading here ODYSSEY Batteries and from what I can tell, it sounds like an awesome battery. I didn't know they existed. The only thing that worries me is the thin plates would build up sulfate and short quicker.... which seems to contradict everything they said on that page about lasting longer, etc. I'm not a battery expert though.

I found this tooling around online Which Battery?

"Starting battery is Simplest Type

The simplest, and least expensive battery is the starting battery. It is constructed with many very thin plates. The combined surface area of the many plates allows high currents to flow through the battery ...great for the purpose of starting engines. The starting battery can't be deeply discharged without a significant risk of destruction. A recent study showed that no starter battery survived more than 18 deep discharge cycles ...most survived no more than 3 deep discharges.

Deep Cycling Requires Thicker Plates

To enable deep discharges, the plates must be made thicker and the insulating separators made from more expensive materials than the paper used in starting batteries. Thicker, but fewer plates means that the battery won't sustain as high a rate of current, but will permit deeper discharges without imminent failure. Golf cart batteries and heavy duty 8D units are thus designed with the purpose of supplying moderate currents for sustained periods. They aren't a true deep cycle battery, however, and should be charged soon after any extensive discharge.

By making the plates thicker yet, and using expensive fiberglass matte separators, a battery can be made which provides a great many deep cycles ...400 or more 100% discharges. This kind of unit is called a traction battery and will cost several times as much as golf cart batteries in the same capacity range. batteries made by Surrette and Rolls use very thick plates and offer great longevity when low rate discharges are followed by long slow charges. "

Way back when I was into car audio (and before class D amps were around), I was talking to a guy at a battery supply place for a couple hours. This guy really schooled me. He said the best thing is 2 bigass 6-volt golf cart batteries wired in series for 12volts. In the battery world, you just can't get around size for reliablilty. Obviously this wouldn't work on an ATV, but on my 4x4 king quad I found enough room to install a lawnmower battery. I don't know why mower batteries have to be so big, but anyway, it was a perfect fit and should hold a lot of charge.

On the quad in the pic, I just bought the cheapest ebay battery I could find. $30 shipped. It comes with a bottle of acid. Its 9 amp-hours. What is an Amp Hour and How to Calculate Battery Capacity | OverlandResource.com – Overland expedition travel info. 9ah is pretty much nothing when talking about winches, but its the biggest thing that fits in the hole. Its bigger than the battery that came out though. What else can I do?

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Cool vid there JustRandy so where is windy gap at in GA. It has to be North,Ga somewhere? Is this at a riding park?

Its part of the conasauga forest in north GA. Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest - Windy Gap, Milma Creek, and Tibbs OHV Trails

The video isn't mine... I just found it on youtube. There are a bunch of them from motorcyclists and bicyclists.

GA is pretty ATV friendly. There are only 2 laws here concerning ATVS.... have brakes and a muffler. In contrast, look at the laws for MN. You'd need a couple days to rifle thru all that crap. But GA (Or maybe the feds idk) maintains the trails with a bulldozer just for us to ride. Can't beat it!

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At least you got the Scotch! Nasty looking trail and at least you made it back.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

I was mostly worried about the bears. Not sure what I would have done had I seen a bear fattening up for the winter. Since I had just seen a bear earlier that ran from me out of surprise (I mean this thing LEAPED right off the mtn like superman taking flight), my logic told me to charge the bear like a crazed lunatic and hope it fled without thinking. I didn't want to give it time to think "Hey, wait, he's half my size...". In my tired state from walking, I couldn't have fought much even if I was half a match for a bear. But I got lucky... I didn't see anything or anybody the whole time I walked. Surviving the ordeal was good for my head though.... there's something about overcoming obstacles that pumps the ego. Spend 2 nights on the mtns in the middle of nowhere by yourself, break down, then rescue yourself... you won't be scared of the dark anymore LOL

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Thanks for the info JustRandy. I live in west,ga Cedartown,ga has a place to ride near where I live but it caters to bikes they have an onsite KTM shop. So as far as atv's I don't think KTM has them in their lineup anymore I feel thats the reason it's not much there for the ATV folks. Fairmount, ga by what I've read has a good riding park but I for get how long it takes us to get to Fairmount but it might be worth the drive.

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I know where cedartown is and I'm about 30 miles north of fairmount. Kinda sounds like you'te talking about Rock Creek. Its close to fairmount. Its a nice place. I don't go there much because its a slightly longer drive and not much different than windy gap.

This is it here:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_wmvmLbGYQ]Rock Creek ATV Park.wmv - YouTube[/ame]

Here are the places you can go:

Georgia Off Road >> Motocross Track Map & Directions to ORV Trails

If you're going to make a long distance drive to some place, Houston Valley is the nicest and biggest. Pronounced Howston for some reason. They have the smoothest trails and probably more than you could ride in a day. Unfortunately they charge you $5 per person (used to be $5 a car load). The place is always crowded too. A woman died there last April. Went up a hill and flipped over backwards. Safety officials concerned with ATV trail where Chatttooga County woman killed | timesfreepress.com

Oh and ktm makes race ready atvs you can drool over lol KTM Sport ATV

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