That story only proves you should carry a ****** block. I?ll bet it was a good time till things started breaking though!

This is the first I've heard about problems with the Gorilla winches but from the price they?ve always seemed a bit too good to be true.

 

I failed to mention that Gorilla Winches sent me a prepaid DHL label to return the first unit. Went online, ordered a DHL pickup, three hours later the old winch was gone.They certainly should pay for return shipping but not all companies do that. From reading their guarantee it is clear that at some point during the six months the buyer will need to pay return shipping charges. http://www.gorillawinches.com/performance.htm

I once ordered running boards for my F250 from J.C. Whitney. They shipped me the wrong boards. It was clearly their fault. It cost a lot to ship those running boards back and they would not reimburse me. I will never order anything from them again.

There are a number of postings on this forum that indicate a large number of riders have been satisfied with their Gorilla Winches over extended periods. I think the design (Warn?) and basic quality are fine. They aren't making rockets. Quality control seems to be the problem. I would guess that the final inspections are done in China before the winches are boxed and containerized. I haven't found any of those reassuring little notes in the box with the final inspectors name or initials.

Gorilla Globalization.

 

I haven't done a reel good test on my 3000lb yet but every thing is functioning properly so far.

 

mine works pretty good but it drains the battery if you use it alot

 

Not that anyone should have to do this but anyone that has the gorilla winch, if you like to play in the mud or deep water where the winch will be submerged take the winch apart and clean it out and oil the gears to keep them from rusting. They will eventually lock up if you dont do this. They are not water tight and mud will ruin them but if you do this every couple months it will last. I have doet it 2 times in 1 year period and still works great. I like to tinker so I dont mind doing it but if you dont then dont get the gorilla. Get the Venom. The venom winches are sealed pretty good. I was with 2 other polaris quads and one was stuck so bad it took both me on my rincon and the other polaris to get him out. We were both pulling with the winches. His was a warn and mine was the gorilla. His was pulling great anad alot faster than the gorilla untill it really loaded up then we heard a pop. His stopped pulling and heard nothing but the motor running. LAter we took his apart and the plastic case that the gears ride in got stripped. Easy fix but the wrong time for it to happen. SO yes the Gorilla is cheap, it will need some more tlc than the high dollar winches but they serve a purpose.

 

Several years ago I had a Warn winch failure as I was trying to crank myself out of a hole. The motor ran but no pull. Took the winch apart and found the teeth molded into the plastic end cap which is part of the planetary gear system were stripped. When I called to order a replacement part the guy at the service center said, "you?ve been using the winch rope as your front trailer tie-down haven't you?" Then he went on to explain these winches are made for reeling in rope, not as a tie-down or tow strap. The plastic cap is a "sacrificial part" designed to fail during a sudden jerk or pull on the rope to preserve other more expensive internal parts.

In fact I had used my winch rope as the front tie-down in a trailer a couple times but I'd done even worse. I'd used it to pull a tree from the trail just by paying out line, hooking up the tree and riding hard in reverse. And I'd done this more than once. Not anymore.

I've never seen a Gorilla winch but if they are a true Warn knock-off as has been suggested it could be their winch might suffer the same fate if "abused" in the same way. Just a heads-up so you know.

Is it possible that we don?t hear about many Gorilla winch problems because most owners hardly ever use them? (Not all, as is obvious from this thread) I mean the winch is a last resort for most of us. I've used mine about two or three times in the last year. Maybe the Gorillas can't hold up to more frequent use, I don?t know. I do consider the Warn a very dependable and durable unit if not abused. Mine have been submerged numerous times and I've never had to take them apart for cleaning.

 

I have off brand winches, more off brand than gorilla or venom. First thing I do is take that **** off and fill the area around that shaft with rtv or silicone. That is an easy entrance for water and mud to get into your winch. If you could figure out a way to put a rubber seal around that shaft it wouldn't be a problem.

 

im kind of curious as to how using the winch as a hold down to the trailer would be abuse. it has a constant strain(not all that much) and doesnt jerk around. i can see the tree yanking or jerking someone out (like i have done but never thought much about it) could be harmful. just wondering.

 

Well think about if you catch a bump or pothole going more than 20 or so that would be a retty good jolt to your truck or trailer, and therefor whatever is holding your atv into them. My trailer has a wire bed which I use to hook my straps too. I more than once caught bumps I barely noticed that after I got where I was going found that the straps had been pulled hard enough by the atv to pop the wires apart leaving the stra hanging loose. Now if the jolt is enough to pop those wires apart I don't see a plastic gear made to fail before more expensive parts breaking as that big of a stretch.

 

Exactly. I've hit bumps hard enough when trailering to pop the ratchet straps loose. If the suspension on the quad is compressing/extending that much (and that often) on the trailer think about the potential damage to your winch.