This forum turned me on to buying the Gorilla Winch for my ATV, I never knew a Gorilla Winch existed untill I became a member of this forum and Im very happy with it and it has performed perfect. Yesterday I removed it, dissassembled it so I could apply Amsoil Synethic Grease to the gear drives as recommended by another trusted member of this forum, Upon inspection the grease already inside of the gears was clean and dry, no signs of water getting into it even when I submerged the winch in water many times, I applied more grease to both gear ends, the hub and the motor ends, then I removed the end cover off the motor to check if it showed signs of any water getting into the motor, the end cap has a heavy duty rubber gasket and the inside of the motor was very clean and dry and showed no signs of water getting in. Assembled and installed the winch, after the service I noticed this helped in making it more quiet. Im very happy with the Gorilla Winch and would highly reccomend it to anybody.

 

there worth the 100.00 you pay but i still wouldnt compere them to a warn even though they seem to be the same.

 

I wouldn't compare The Gorilla with the Warn either, cause the Gorilla is a better winch than the Warn, everybody has problems with the Warn contactor and the inside of the motor taking water. I purchaced a Gorilla because I want a winch I can trust to work when im stuck out 20 miles away from nowhere. Like I said before, just because its the most expensive one doesn't mean its the best. I just bought a washing machine for the old lady I found one with a 3.2 ci size tub for $249 that does just as good of a job as a different model with the exact same tub size that costs $699, she don't know it yet but that new machine counts as her Christmas present.

 

you said your eiger goes thru everything ,mud, raging rivers. and the competition is left far behind.

lol

hoyt

 

what you need a winch for?

 

i personally wouldn't compare a monkey winch to the warn. that contacter problem was more widely know w/ a gorialla winch. besides that ive seen 2 gorilla winches fail and have had problems my self i have yet to see a warn fail even when overloaded w/too much weight for it. but thats what ive seen personally. so 50 miles from nowhere and midnight stuck in the mud i'll trust my warn 3.0 cu winch.

 

In the past year I personally have installed three Gorilla and two Warn 2.5 winches. On all the machines the winches are used primarily for trail clearing, moving fallen trees, large rocks, etc. I've never had a lick of problems with any of them. If you are going to use your winch behind a plow, well, I can't comment, that use can be pretty extreme, but for MOST people either brand is probably fine. As for the statement you wouldn't compare a Gorilla to a monkey winch (I confess, I don't know what that is), well, that's a cheap shot spoken from youthful exuberance and doesn't lend itself to creditably. The first Gorilla winch I installed I picked up from the distributor in the Twin Cities. At the time his volume was about 3000 winches per month. I asked him his rate of return for problems...1-2%. If he was blowing smoke, and I have no reason to believe he was, and you halved the volume and doubled the problems, well, that still seems pretty good to me and I suspect Warn would be happy with that rate of return also. ...and, you're aware that Warn sources some of it's winches (I don't know which) from China also - and those numbers are increasing. So...what it boils down to is money. Only you can decide whether a $115 dollar winch is worth it for your use, or whether you'd rather spend $360. It's your call, but for me and given my experience, I'll take the Gorilla every time. BTW, the Gorilla distributor was leaving a few days after my visit for China. He personally meets management and tours the factory 1-3/year. He indicated management is VERY receptive to changes and improvements. He was going to talk to them about a 100% waterproof series of winches for the future. I don't know the status of that at the moment.

 

I use a Warn and have had 3 in the past and never a lick of problems. I know 10+ people with the GOrilla's and they are the ones with the contractor issues. That said, I know Gorilla is a good company and has come a long ways in the winch department. We have sent the Minneapolis distributor many pictures of ATV's underwater and that is why he is getting the company to water-proof all there winches. He is also great for customer service, He will always send you a replacement if you call and talk to him even when the warantee is up.

 

Im just being friendly and passing on some good advice that was given to me, when I find something good I wanta share it with everybody, I don't want my bad reputation in this forum to tarnish a good product, so to everybody that hates my guts: Don't buy a Gorilla Winch, buy the Warn Winch instead. Thank You, I feel better.

 

I'm sure Warn appreciates your advice. I wonder if they can produce that many winches.