[RedneckDDS]

I know everybody has there own very strong opinions on winches, but I had a new one thrown at me today--does anybody know anything about KFI winches? My local dealer seems pretty high on them, and sells the 3000 for around $250, and the 4500 for around $300. They both have wireless remotes and wire cable.

Anybody have any experience with them?

 

[[email protected]]

Whether or not that is a good price depends on what type of winch they are.

 

[gunrunner]

One question usually answers it for me... Where was it made? Ive found if the answer is china, then 90% of them are made in the same factory and branded with what ever name the importer wants to use, so be wary of "new" to the market brands. One look at KFI and it's obvious these are china made and reading some reviews that say it is built better than other low cost winches, maybe it will hold up better than some of the others. It is only rated as water resistant and has only a 1 year limited warranty. IMO, if spending 300.00 i had rather spend a bit more and get a quality weather proof winch with lifetime warranty

 

[jll4lee]

You'll end up with a Warn at some point, so you might as well start there. I know there are some other very good brands like Viper you may want to consider.

 

[grider]

Warn is the biggest rip off ever. Waste of Money. I have had 2 warn winches, both are junk. They r not waterproof eiather. I buy venom off ebay. Looks and operates same as warn, but r made better. No floating nuts held by plastic to mount with like on the warn. Taped steel frame mounting. I have had two venoms now. Last one came with spare fail lead, wire rope and synthetic rope remote cable switch for half the cost of a warn. My warn sounds awfull.

 

[JohnnyB]

It really seems like its hit and miss with winches... I opted for a champion 4500lb for $200.00. Junk...maybe..but I dont plan on using it hardly ever.
I know ..I know..You dont want to find out it doesnt work when your buried in mud... Ill take my chances...Im not paying 5 or 6 bills for a winch.

 

[hunted]

i'm in the same boat as everyone else when it comes to winchs. i've only had my rzr for 2 months and i also need a winch but after owning 5 atvs that all had new winchs on them i've learned my lesson some of the winchs i only got to use 4 times and some i got to use 1 time. all of them where brand new and my average price i paid was $150 x 5 = $750 for garbage. i'm gonna save my $ and time by buying a warn

 

[gunrunner]

Its laughable to say a venom is built better than a warn, they just dont do that in china. My warn xt extreme 3000 pulls way harder than the gorilla 4000 and the venom i had and it works when i hit the button.

 

[RedneckDDS]

gunrunner--you have the warn xt30? That's the winch I'm looking at and comparing everything else to. I really wanted to put a bigger winch on mine, but the warn bumper says not to put larger than a 3k on it. In your opinion, has the xt30 been enough winch get you out of sticky situations? (with the rzr, not your wife.....I don't think they make a winch big enough to keep me out of sticky situations with my wife.....)

 

[gunrunner]

gunrunner--you have the warn xt30? That's the winch I'm looking at and comparing everything else to. I really wanted to put a bigger winch on mine, but the warn bumper says not to put larger than a 3k on it. In your opinion, has the xt30 been enough winch get you out of sticky situations? (with the rzr, not your wife.....I don't think they make a winch big enough to keep me out of sticky situations with my wife.....)

Yes it has, not only me but a bunch of my friends have them. I bought this off ebay, brand new xt30 extreme full syn rope with a real wireless remote for less than 400.00 it out pulls the gorilla 4000 i had by a big margin. It has been in many mud and water holes and always works, as it is truly waterproof, i had it on my 2010 before putting it on my 2011. Warn makes real good winches IMO, the rating is true not like the china stuff that is rated up to 4500 and wont pull as hard as mine. If it burned out today, i would order another just like it. Something else that helps is a bigger battery, any winch if needed will draw alot of power, they all will work better with a bigger than the little stock rzr battery.

 

[OpDawg]

gunrunner--you have the warn xt30? That's the winch I'm looking at and comparing everything else to. I really wanted to put a bigger winch on mine, but the warn bumper says not to put larger than a 3k on it. In your opinion, has the xt30 been enough winch get you out of sticky situations? (with the rzr, not your wife.....I don't think they make a winch big enough to keep me out of sticky situations with my wife.....)

Yes it has, not only me but a bunch of my friends have them. I bought this off ebay, brand new xt30 extreme full syn rope with a real wireless remote for less than 400.00 it out pulls the gorilla 4000 i had by a big margin. It has been in many mud and water holes and always works, as it is truly waterproof, i had it on my 2010 before putting it on my 2011. Warn makes real good winches IMO, the rating is true not like the china stuff that is rated up to 4500 and wont pull as hard as mine. If it burned out today, i would order another just like it. Something else that helps is a bigger battery, any winch if needed will draw alot of power, they all will work better with a bigger than the little stock rzr battery.

Yes, Warn makes great winches. Although, I've never had any troubles until the (2) XT30 (installed on our (2) Grizzly700). Granted I'll explain some problems as you should be aware of them...

1) If YOU do the install, be sure to remove the 'shipping bolt' from below the cable. Your winch will still run (for a while) but if you leave this in, EVENTUALLY it will fail. It will cause troubles with your freespool and switching to 'engage'... GIANT PITA. Sure it's my own fault, but warn doesn't show WHAT this shipping bolt looks like or where it's located. Just has one line in the install directions "Remove Shipping Bolt".

2) If you live in an area where you get snow/ice, etc. Don't go with the synthetic cable, go with the RT30 (or swap you cables). Synthetic cables, though easy on the hands, get frozen and bind up easier. Another PITA with probably any winch.

3) Warn's XT30 seems to 'freespool pull' REALLY hard (I weigh around 185, 5'-9'), I have to lean forward with all my wieght to get it out. Just seems geared really low to acheive the 3000# rating. Another big help is cutting the cable strap that covers the first 24" or so. That gets tangled up easy.

Majority of the time, with the wireless remote, I can just lean foward and press the 'out' button, so the freespool isn't a huge deal.

In other words, the wireless remote is a MUST with this winch.

All in all, the warn gives you a great warranty and has proven itself to our family after buying 12-15 of them for multiple machines through the years.

 

[RZRUAE]

ATVTV made a rview on it,i will check if i can find the vidoe.

 

[RZRUAE]

found it:
review

ATV Shows


install

ATV Shows

 

[rzr(s)hroom]

gunrunner--you have the warn xt30? That's the winch I'm looking at and comparing everything else to. I really wanted to put a bigger winch on mine, but the warn bumper says not to put larger than a 3k on it. In your opinion, has the xt30 been enough winch get you out of sticky situations? (with the rzr, not your wife.....I don't think they make a winch big enough to keep me out of sticky situations with my wife.....)

instead of a bigger winch, just carry a snatch block. doubles the pulling power of your winch for the rare times you may need more power. you will most likely find out that you never need it though.

 

[tat39]

just to chime in on this one. If you use a winch alot to get out of sticky sits maybe look into larger battery or batteries wired in series. Seams on hard,long load time the rzr just can't keep up and have to rev engine and wait sometimes. I have a warn now. have had viper and a trail tamer over time. get the largest you can the pulling power is worth it if you come across something bigger than yourself. hope it helps.

 

[grider]

I was not laughing when I threw all the money spent on warn in the garbage pile of busted parts. I dont laugh when I listen to the awfull sound my warn makes every time it operates. :rm_thumbdown:

Buy what you like. ALL my experience with warn have been bad, i will not buy another.

just take a look at the contractor... warn vs. china. why does the warn cost 100 and the china one cost 20? Guess which one of mine failed... Warn....

I highly doubt the warn winches do not have parts made from china in them.

 

[SGP01]

I had a Gorrilla 3500 and had a couple of problems with it. First thing when I got it the freespool would not work at all. The customer service was good and they sent me a new planetary gear set which I installed and worked ok. I then had trouble wiht the solenoid and again, good customer service and they sent me a new one but I would rather not have had any problems. I found a Warn XT30 minus the remote on e-bay for $230 so I thought I'd try it, for the money shoot. I can always get a remote if I want it or use the one off my Gorilla I didn't use. I would have liked a XT40 but for the $ the XT30 was it. My only concern is if the XT30 is big enough. I would like to try Moab and a winch is mandatory.