Thread: Choosing a Winch

Measure the distance between the inside of the chassis rails. The trouble with the Disco is the Warn XD900 size is the largest dimensions that seems to fit (dimensions are on the Warn web site). That said, those 2 are 546mm and the XD9000 is 555mm. The problem comes though from how far the motor protrudes past the mounting bolt holes. You only have about 190mm to play with. This is not specified on the eBay sites.

I'm not a fan of the cheap winches, I want something that is going to work when I need it. For that money you can buy a Tirfor and they work a lot better if you don't use them very much, are easy to maintain, don't over heat etc.

If I remember correctly, the cheap knockoffs have inferior bushes and seals, however if you dismantle them and pack them with grease when you first get them then they can perform quite well for the occasional user.

Might be worth looking at T-max - they are apparently a cut above the average cheapie.

Originally Posted by dm_td5

I'm not a fan of the cheap winches, I want something that is going to work when I need it. For that money you can buy a Tirfor and they work a lot better if you don't use them very much, are easy to maintain, don't over heat etc.

No the tirfor doesn't over heat but the user does!
Personaly, I would not buy an ebay winch. Places like Repco seem to be selling a reasonable quality winch at a reasonable price and you should be able to get warranty and spares easily for them from a national outlet such as Repco.

I have a winch which looks the same as the second winch (not Tiger), this winch has lower gearing than the Tiger winch, the SWL or WLL of the cable supplied is around 1200kgs, these winches are advertised at their Guaranteed Breaking Strain (GBS) so dont be fooled by the claims of pulling 5 1/2 tonne, because you will end up with a broken cable "Guaranteed". These Chinese winches need to be dismantled, cleaned out of the Crap they call grease and filled with good Quality Waterproof Grease (Marine). Also the boss that the gearchange handle sits in was only pressed in in my winch and it fell out first time I used it, when you pull gearbox down to properly lubricate, weld the boss in, this will keep the water out and make it possible to change the gears.
Tirfors are great, but if you are unfit like me you may regret the purchase of one, a snatch block connected to the front of your vehicle with the Tirfor cable thru the block and back to your anchor point for the Tirfor will halve the effort, but will take twice as long, Tirfors are very versatile and use a much bigger cable and a "REAL" Tirfor will have the SWL or WLL written on the body.
There are Pro's and Con's for both, pick what suits you best,
As dm td5 said above the chinese winch is not always a direct fit to an Aussie B/Bar, I had to use a bit of 6mm plate to space the winch back from the bar as it was touching both ends, I didn't mind because it strengthened the mounting point for the winch, hope this helps, CAUTION I would advise STRONGLY against using the Chinese winch without stripping it and Greasing as above, Regards Frank.

A few of us from GCLRO purchased Chinese winches from a local Ebay seller. I have stripped and re-packed two of these and both have been given a reasonably hard time. This is the only winch I have owned so cannot give a comparison but the only time it has failed is when my dual battery could not keep up enough charge to my second battery. This was during a 3 hour recovery "exercise" where we pulled three cars out of trouble, a lot via continued single and double line pulls. Another member of the club has a Repco winch which cops a flogging most trips, and appears to be reliable.

I would not hesitate to but another one.

Look for a second hand Warn Highmount, should be able to get a good runner for around $500.

Originally Posted by stikman

A few of us from GCLRO purchased Chinese winches from a local Ebay seller. I have stripped and re-packed two of these and both have been given a reasonably hard time. This is the only winch I have owned so cannot give a comparison but the only time it has failed is when my dual battery could not keep up enough charge to my second battery. This was during a 3 hour recovery "exercise" where we pulled three cars out of trouble, a lot via continued single and double line pulls. Another member of the club has a Repco winch which cops a flogging most trips, and appears to be reliable.

I would not hesitate to but another one.

You shouldnt hang your winch on the second battery for this very reason...

Unless running two alternators I'd suggest no-one wires the winch to the aux. battery.

Originally Posted by Tombie2

You shouldnt hang your winch on the second battery for this very reason...

Unless running two alternators I'd suggest no-one wires the winch to the aux. battery.

Why?