I am rating this Winch a 5 Star because it is a BEAST, and Does a WONDERFUL job. However there are several things that were not good and had to be overcome to get it to that point. This of course was annoying.
The first issue was I got the Winch in and Mounted it to my 2500 Chevy Silverado Diesel. The Winch was SO big I had to make some modifications to the Winch Cradle I got from Tuff Stuff to make it fit the Curt 31042 Front trailer hitch.
2nd after I did 5 pulls with the Winch it just completely quit and would never work again. Now I did do four of those five pulls back to back. However that should NOT have been enough to kill it, but it did. So I told Amazon and they promptly sent me a new one that arrived within 2 days, which was nice. No questions were asked. I have used the new one for 10 pulls and it is VERY strong and works Amazing!!
3rd Alot of the fastener hardware is cheap Chinese screws that have the head strip out easily if you don't press it hard as an 800 lb. Gorilla can.
I recommend replacing ALL fasteners with American made Stainless Steel equivalents.
4th they sent the Wrong Mounting bracket so I could not Mount the Module on the left side of the unit like I had preferred to do. Going to call SmittyBilt and see if they will send me the correct bracket.
5th So since the side mount Bracket did not have the correct fitment I had to use the center mount method. Well once installed the module, it would slide from side to side on the cross members. So I had to take it off and bend the Bracket so when mounted it would be tight and could not move.
A hassle for sure but not that big of a deal.
6th the second winch that came in had a remote that would randomly bump the line back out into Spool out mode. So While I would try to wind it up the line would just start coming back out. I corrected this by taking the first Winch'es Remote and sending back the second Winch'es remote with the defective Winch. The Winch has Not had that problem at all since trading out remotes.
7th on both Units You have to bump the Remote in or out sometimes to get the clutch to engage or disengage. (Not to big of a deal just a little Quirky)
8th Finally the Free Spool is a little difficult. I am 6'-4" and a pretty strong guy, However I have to really put the Muscle into it and really lean all my weight into pulling the line to get it off the drum.
I know that was alot, but if you can get past these quirks as I did the Winch is actually quite Outstanding. The main thing is I think SmittyBilt REALLY needs to up their game on the Quality control department, as well as upgrading ALL fastener hardware.
I have loaded vehicles onto trailers, pulled up stumps and destroyed a mobile home with this Winch. it is Very Stout.
I will come back and give it a 6 month review when that time comes.
IF this unit ends up dying in that time.... I will get it fixed, sell it, and buy the Most expensive Warn I can find.
I hope it Will not come to that though..... and by all the other reviews I have seen.... I dont think it will.
I say Give this Winch a try You Might end up liking it.
| Size | 9500 lb. Load Capacity |
|---|---|
| Material | Alloy Steel |
| Color | Black |
| Brand | Smittybilt |
| Load Capacity | 9500 pound |
| Fastener Material | Stainless Steel |
| Product Dimensions | 22.3"L x 5.4"W |
| Manufacturer | Smittybilt |
| Model | 97495 |
| Item Weight | 78 pounds |
| Item model number | 97495 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 97495 |
| OEM Part Number | 97495 |
| Position | Front |
| Voltage | 12 Volts |
