Chicago Electric Tools 3,000lb--$60
In the Box: Ya know, for $60 we bet somebody is gonna try it, so why not include it in this story? The teeeeny Chicago 3K winch, available through Harbor Freight, is just small. So much so that we included a regular cordless household phone in our photo for scale. That said, the winch comes ready to bolt right to your ATV, er, Jeep. The 6-foot battery cables are already attached to the winch, which is already attached to the mounting plate, which is already attached to the super-cute teensy roller fairlead, which already has the hook and cable set up through it. Also included are directions and a wireless keychain remote.
Quality and Installation: For $60, who can complain too much? The little Chicago winch feels pretty darn sturdy and the roller fairlead is fairly substantial-feeling. We drilled our Smittybilt CJ/YJ mounting plate to match the one on the Chicago winch and bolted it down.
Function and Performance: There's no clutch disengagement on this winch, so to pay out the cable you've got to patiently sit there and hit the "B" button on the wireless remote. We really weren't too gung-ho to max out this little winch and send it flying off its mount or bust the 3?16-inch cable, so all we did was spool the cable in the driveway. We did this operation for all of the winches, but unlike the others, we found that adding a few clicks on the E-brake caused the little 3K winch to stall and quit pulling. True, we could've double-lined the winch to up the pulling power, but probably at the cost of something breaking.
Notes:
*Mounting bolts are teeny. What's the metric equivalent of 5/16-inch?
*Super-light weight, but also lightweight cable and battery leads.
*Had to drill puny battery cable ends out to 5?16-inch to fit over Optima Blue Top terminal lugs.
*About a 2-second delay between letting go of remote button and when winch responds.
*Remote is a pain and you're always nervous you're gonna accidentally sit on the "A" button and cause it to spool in.
*Remote reception spotty and intermittent when you get more than a couple feet away from winch.
Bottom Line: Way-inexpensive and decent for its intended use. Good winch for ATV and maybe your trailer, but not your Jeep.
Gorilla Midnight Series 8,000lb--$339.99
In the Box: Although the packaging is plain, inside the box was everything needed to get winching. The Midnight Series from Gorilla features external solenoid packs and as such we received the winch, cable, forged hook with safety pull strap, roller fairlead, winch and fairlead mounting bolts, battery leads, remote, and external solenoid pack. The winch halves were loose out of the box, so we tightened the Allen bolts to pull the winch back together on the drum.
Quality and Installation: You feel like you're handling a bargain winch when handling the Midnight Series. The winch halves were loose out of the box, but tightened up with a few turns of the wrench. The solenoid pack didn't quite sit level on the winch body despite a few attempts to relocate or bend the mounting brackets.
Function and Performance: The Gorilla 8,000 exhibited the same lack of freespool tension and propensity to backlash the cable when the clutch was disengaged as the Bulldog winch. The cable backlash and lack of drum resistance was the biggest bummer on the 8,000lb Midnight Series. Otherwise, the motor sounds even and strong and, although it heated up a bit with long, continuous use, it pulled without a whimper during our testing.
Notes:
*Nice powdercoated fairlead
*Solenoid wiring color-coded and solenoid pack mounting brackets pre-installed
*Plastic solenoid pack cover had small crack as shipped
*Even after mounted, the motor has a very slight wobble if grabbed and wiggled.
*Winch remote similar type as Smittybilt but with better receptacle plug
*Remote plug cover fits nicely
*Clutch engages and disengages solidly and handle exhibits no wobble
*Good controller ergonomics
Bottom Line: Very good price for stable pulling power, but the freespooling action with the clutch disengaged is an undesirable attribute.