Ok guys as some of you members know I was looking for a wheeler for my brother home from Iraq and found the Honda trx 300 4x4 for him. This past week I've helped him with getting new tires, fixing a few minor flaws and going through all the fluids and general service of the machine. He has decided that he would like a winch since some areas we ride can be pretty nasty. Of course my first selection for him would be a warn, but out of his budget. So I've been looking at some of the cheaper winches on E-bay and have come across, Viper, Gorilla/(now known as Promark), Venom, and Extreme winch. Of these which would you guys suggest. I know from reading other threads on these winches some had issues some not. I can't remember.

 

my brother is installing (as i type) a Viper 3500 classic on his '08 brute force 650. Obviously it has not been used yet but for $180 with all mounting hardware its hard to beat. Only complaint so far is the instructions for install pretty much just said "install winch, conect wireing" lol. Pretty bad instructions.

 

My suggestion is buy nice not twice. Save his money until he can he can afford a Warn. Sure a RT25 is about $300.00 and a 2500lb Viper is is around $165.00 but if he can wait for a month or two and save the extra $135.00 so he can buy the Warn he will be better off in the long run.
My brother got me a Venom for Christmas just after I got my 500 Ho and it has been a good winch after I got it to work. I had to send the whole thing back due to one of the mounting nuts built into the bottom of the winch was missing and then I had to go through 3 relays before I got one that worked properly. So by the time I got it mounted and working it was about two and a half months from when I started putting it on.

 

Winch Mount $73


Winch $319

Total = $392 + est. $25 shipping (minimum)

Final cost to door = $417


Viper winches from $125-$140 Shipped with winch mount


For something he is "thinking" about getting the warn sure is hella expensive!

 

i dunno. my buddies wife got him a 2500 lb. winch for his 4 wheeler for christmas and it was a cheapy from the farm and home store.It works and looks like my warn(polaris). i bet if he ever needed replacement parts for it, he could order warn stuff for it and they would work.
Use stainless steel bolts for mounting the winch or some kind of anti-sieze,it help when you need to take the winch off for maintainence.

 

well if you would have got a polaris instead of a honda no just kidding lol. the gorilla winches are like the warn knock offs(warn being the best)and you used to be able to get them cheap on ebay for around $100 + so not a bad choice. i had one and it wasn't too bad.

 

Ah the ole winch debate...Well if money is the issue there is no debating...You're not gonna get a Warn for $140 bucks for sure ....But then again the quality isn't there in some of these knock offs...Yes some guys have had great luck with the off brands but I'd say the majority of Warn owners would wouldn't suggest any winch other than a Warn...Not bashing the cheaper models guys so don't blast me...lol...But I agree with if hee can save the extra money and get a Warn, he won't be disappointed...JMO....


John

 

I agree totally with buying a warn. But in the beginning brother was going to have about $4000 to work with until momma decided some home improvements were in order. So now he got cut to $1500 budget. I managed to find an excellent deal on the honda $1000, new tires $260 (old one's bald, had to) about $50 in service and minor repairs which has left him with about $200 to get a helmet and winch. So for now it's going to be a cheap winch until he can afford better. He's raising 4 kids on a single income until his wife finishes school and gets her R.N. So budget is the way it's gotta be.

 

Readymix I bought an Extreme off E-bay over a year ago and I've had no problems with it yet. You don't live to far from me so I kind of know the terrain you probably ride in. Extreme, Viper, and Venom are all the same winch. I've used mine at the Hatfield-McCoy trails and a lot of the nasty mud pits I ride in, saved my butt a few times. The only thing I can suggest is a few times a year, like after you sink it, take it apart and clean and re-grease the gears. They say the are waterproof but that is only the motor, the gear housing is water-RESISTANT. Don't over heat it with long pulls and a little PM and he should be fine.

 

It doesn't matter a fuzzy rats a$$ how much you save if it can't do the job or breaks down. This one area not to cheap out. If you insist that $$ is the most important, don't buy a winch, just get a St. Christopher medal and pray you'll never need the winch.

Better still, Bro didn't make it home safely from Iraq because of inexpensive equip.