Champion Winch - Island4x4.com

Since getting the rear axle welded and going from 31” to 33” tires I have been more willing to try trails that have on more than one occasion resulted in me needing a tug from someone to get me out of the situation I had gotten myself into. So it seemed I had waited long enough and had to start saving for a winch so I could be more self sufficient on the trail. Luckily enough Champion Power Equipment 800lb winches were on sale for under $450 CAD taxes included. Normally I would have liked to remain with
a proven brand, but at almost a third of the cost of some other brands I took the plunge. Now to review my new winch.

Model: C80195
8000 lbs Electric Winch 12V DC

Stats

Rated line pull: 8000 lbs (36.0 KN)

Motor : Series Wound, 3.6HP/2.7kw (DC 12V)

Gear reduction ratio: 210:1 (12v)

Cable (Dia × L): ø5/16" × 95' (ø8mm×29m)

Drum size (Dia × L): ø2.48" × 9.0 " (ø63mm×228mm)

Overall dimensions (L×W×H): 20.9 " × 7.1" × 10.63" (530mm×180mm×270mm)

Mounting bolt pattern: 10.0 "×4.5" (254mm×114.3mm)

Weight: 72 lbs (32.7kgs)

Initial reaction

After getting home I took the box the winch came in and placed it in the basement. The box advertised that the winch came with a universal mounting plate, snatch block, clevis hook, roller fairlead, and 12’ remote.

Once I removed the contents from the box I did find all the parts listed in the box along with 46 page instruction booklet that contains everything from assembly instructions to exploded diagrams of the planetary gears and the wiring diagram of the solenoids.

Assembly was fairly simple. First bolt the roller fairlead to the front of the mounting plate with 2 of the provided bolts.

Next turn the winch over on the solenoid pack and insert the four nylock nuts into the feet of the winch. Then place the mounting plate on top (inverted) of the winch and bolt together using the supplied bolts. Turn the whole assembly over and the plate is ready to be bolted to the bumper.

NOTE: Not all bumper applications will be a bolt on project. Some may require modifications.

I had to cut the mounting plate down to 30 ¼” to fit my application so.

Test: Street

For this test I had a friend (Desert Dueler) park his Jeep TJ on my cement driveway and I was on gravel (my rig is about 1300lb heavier). I hooked the winch up to his tow hook with about 15” of cable out. We both applied the brakes as I began to winch in. The Jeeps front suspension began to compress until the brakes began to slip. At this point I stopped the winch not wanting to damage the TJ’s brakes. The winch showed no signs of the load and was easily pulling in the TJ.

Test: Off-road

For this test myself and three other rigs (one with the same Champion winch, one testing a new front locker) went to run a local trail that we knew had a couple of obstacles that would provide a decent load for winching. What we didn't count on was that it was going to snow which lead me to drift over to the edge of a ravine.

With this minor occurence behind us we carried on to the trail and testing of the winch. Once at the obstacle (with failed attempt to drive over it) the winch clutch was dissengaged and spooled out.

Once the cable was hooked to a treesaver which was on a tree about 80' from the winch (still had a full 1.5 spool worth of cable) and everyone was clear I began to winch in while applying the gas pedal just enough to turn the tires. The winch performed flawlessly and pulled my Trooper (all 4700lb of it) over the obstacle without so much as a shudder. Spooling the cable back in took a little longer than with some of the big name brands but it wasn't that much longer. The other rig equiped with a Champion winch was a 94 YJ on 31" M/T's owned by JP experienced similar results.

I was also able to winch a TJ up a 20deg sllop covered in snow without any signs of the winch bogging down.

I later managed once again to find myself face to face or bumber to trunk with a tree and wrecked my bumper again. Did I mention it was snowing?

Since writing the first part of this review (Up to street testing) I have recieved E-mails from other Champion winch owners who have explained thier results and satisfaction with this winch. I have also been in contact with Champion Power Equipment and they stated that since thier market tests has met with such success they intend to continue to provide this product in our area. Now we just need to see the 10000lb winch in stores.

Overview:

PROS: Low initial investement, powerfull, rollerfairlead, hook, snatchblock and mounting plate included.

CONS: Slower than the big name brands, would be nice if the universal plate mounting holes matched Jeep/Toyota/ insert your vehicle here.

With an initial investement of less than $450 CAD and all of the equipment that comes with this winch I would no doubt say that it is well worth this price. Now since running it on the trail I would say it is the best deal I have ever gotten. Now I am in now way stating that this winch is the best but for the money I doubt I could do better. In my opionion the Champion Power Equipment 8000lb winch gives you plenty of bang for the buck.
I will provide my final review in one years time and bring you up to date on the performance of this winch.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING WARRANTY, PARTS SUPPLY, APPLICATIONS etc., PLEASE CONTACT CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT DIRECTLY THROUGH THEIR WEB SITE http://www.championpowerequipment.com/

Champion 8000lb Winch

Bang for the buck or waste of money?

by Trevor Baldwin aka wildcat