I need help with a winch purchase please. L@@K

[Familyfirst]

I have a 2008 500HO EFI touring sportsman. This beast is almost 800 pounds dry. First off I need winch advise. I have searched this forum with no avail. What pound winch should I get for this big rig. I won't be mudding it or using in extreme conditions. Mostly just trail riding with my 6 year old son. I don't want to be stranded in an area that a which would have pulled us out. Second is what brand? I would like to stay around 200-300 at most with a synthetic rope as well. Lastly what GEN is my wheeler? I see gen 2 all the way to gen 6. Just a noob question. thanks for your advise ahead of time as well. Oh, I will need a complete kit including mounting brackets as well.

Blessed regards,
Rick Feist and family

[Ransom Proctor]

not sure what generation sportsman you have. but i would say you need at a minimum a 2500 pound winch. i have a viper max 2500 for my 850 touring and it does fine and it won't break the bank as compared to a warn winch. that being said warn products are hard to beat. but since i've owned my winch i've used it 3 or 4 times at most. hope that helps....and get the synthetic cable, its nice to have.

[blueline15]

I'll let others handle the "which winch should I get" question. I wanted to make not you do not have a generation. They stopped using the "Gen" numbers after 2004, which was Gen VI machines.

The first Rangers back in the day were called "Series" instead of model year. For some reason, Polaris way back when used "Gens" and "Series" instead of model years to designate their year.For instance, you would have a series 10 ranger, or a Gen VI sportsman, not a 2004 ranger or sportsman. Like I said, that ended around 2004.

I would got 2500# min for the winch. 3500# if you can afford it.

[Familyfirst]

Thanks for the answer on the "GEN" question. As for your viper 2500 pound winch, I see them on eBay for 129-229 depending on the poundage. Did yours come with mounting hardware and brackets for complete assembly? Do you remember what you paid for yours? Thanks in advance, Rick Feist and family

[AKStew]

I have the Superwinch Terra 35 on my 700. I bought the winch on Amazon with a wire cable and it had free shipping. Before installing, I replaced the cable with a synthetic rope. For some reason, it was cheaper to do it that way. I bought the mount from KFI and it's a perfect fit. I've done some heavy pulling and had the winch submersed many times with never a hiccup.

Stew

[Ransom Proctor]

Originally Posted by Familyfirst

Thanks for the answer on the "GEN" question. As for your viper 2500 pound winch, I see them on eBay for 129-229 depending on the poundage. Did yours come with mounting hardware and brackets for complete assembly? Do you remember what you paid for yours? Thanks in advance, Rick Feist and family

i ordered mine from motoalliance directly. can't remember exactly what i paid for it but it came with all the mounting hardware that i needed. go to Moto Alliance and it has a lot more info. you can even see if its cheaper to buy off ebay or from them directly. good luck.

[bobx2]

2,500 lb. winch should be plenty. Had one on my X2 and it was never lacking. As for brand, I prefer Warn, but the XT25 will be at the high end of your range. Around $320. The RT25 is about $50 cheaper and has the steel cable. Tough to beat the quality of a Warn, but there are many good winches out there.
Check out 4wheelonline for the best Warn prices.

[sgtpatiolantern]

I own the Polaris 3500lb winch and also purchased the wireless remote. It may be overkill because I'm not a mud bogger either, but my theory is this; anything that will keep an 800lb ATV + a couple hundred pounds of gear + 400lb owner from hiking out of the forest after a worst case scenario is worth the money in my opinion.

Always buy the strongest you can afford. I bought my winch from the dealer because I can get it fixed there on the cheap if it fails. I am leery about brands I have never heard of. There are many good ones out there, send Thor a private message and see what he can do for you as well. He is a retailer and a very good resource for Polaris aftermarket.

But again, most people consider winches to be safety items, as do I. Don't cheap out on safety!

Peace;

Patrick

[jac42779]

Whatever you do, DO NOT buy from 4wheelonline. It will be about a month before they will let you know that you will not get a winch. I'm waiting on my refund so I can buy one from rockymountainATV for about 20.00 cheaper. If you want more info on 4wheelonline, just do a search on them for reviews and you will see.

[hduc2005]

I just bought a viper elite 3500 from the atv super store (www.theatvsuperstore) all and talk to thro great guy great service I order it on a Wedsneday night and had it in my hands on Friday afternoon. I cant say enough about motoallance or atvsuperstore.