Smittybilt Winch

[theksmith 5,878]

my new Smittybilt X2O-10k Gen 2 Comp (synthetic) winch came in, this will be the first winch i've ever owned! i ordered from Northridge4x4.com since they are having a 10% off Smittybilt sale right now, so it was $492.00.

 

 

this is a chinese built winch, but so are the new entry level ones from Warn.

 

for the type of wheeling i do and my typical terrain, a winch is a luxury item - so i'd just never pay a ton to have one. if i wheeled back east or in the midwest where nearly every trip involves some bottomless mud hole, i'd probably feel differently.

 

this is mainly for difficult rock crawling trails where i might get in over my rig's capabilities and asking the guy in front of me to pull me through obstacles constantly would get annoying.

 

 

 

a couple issues came up when researching these, which may have been addressed in the current generation. they've also upgraded the warranty to lifetime mechanical and 5 year electrical.

 

the switch on the control box to enable wireless control was a common failure. it looks like Smittybilt now uses a different switch, similar to the waterproof one that people were swapping in as a fix.

 

 

also, on another forum a guy had a mounting bolt fail, letting one side of the winch go and twist up. mine did come with supposed grade 10.9 bolts for the winch mount, and grade 8.8 for the farlead. but, i'm going to swap them out with some locally sourced bolts anyway - cheap insurance.

 

 

also, you used to have to disassemble the entire remote to change the battery for the wireless portion. they now have a little door on the back held tight with a single screw.

 

 

i went ahead and replaced the included no-name battery with an Energizer, and then wrapped the original up in some foam and stuck it in the dead space inside the remote for a spare.

 

 

so has anyone else had experiences with Smittybilt winches - good or bad?

[Ghostrider 16]

Kris, mine occasionally “chatters.” I think it is caused by the contactor having corroded contacts. Someday, I’ll have to remove it and either clean the contacts or replace the unit. Other than that, it has worked great. Your nylon line should probably be replaced every three to five years due to build up of abrasive gunk and UV hammering.

[theksmith 5,878]

i've only used the winch a couple times so far, and just for spooling the synthetic line under load as recommended. i headed over to a fairly flat wash, hooked a tree strap up and engaged the parking brake just a bit to provide some rolling resistance.

 

both times i used the wireless mode for the controller and it worked great. i had heard that some of the cheaper winches with wireless are glitchy and slow to respond to button presses, but no such issues on the X2O.

 

there also doesn't seem to be any problem with the wireless range due to having mounted the control box down inside the metal bumper.

 

 

 

 

however, this little switch to enable wireless mode is apparently still a problem:

 

 

i crossed the swollen Aqua Fria River a couple weekends ago, fully submerging the winch and control box in the process. 3 days later the wireless mode would no longer function. plugging in the controller still worked fine.

 

quick troubleshooting indicated it was just that little red switch. i temporarily replaced it with another switch and all is well. however, when i took apart that one it came with, i found this:

 

 

i have a hard time even believing that a single submersion and 3 days time resulted in that much corrosion!

 

even though Smittybilt has upgraded this switch with a rubber boot on these Gen 2 models, it it's still only splash resistant - not waterproof.

 

inside the control box, the actual solenoid and the wireless receiver modules both appear to be sealed well individually. so hopefully this minor switch death is the only problem i have.

 

i ordered this K-Four "triple sealed" toggle for a permanent replacement.

 

[HeyOK 8]

Have you considered mounting the switch inside the cab?

It will stay dry and probably be easier to reach.

[theksmith 5,878]

Have you considered mounting the switch inside the cab?

It will stay dry and probably be easier to reach.

 

i did consider that when i first got the winch, mainly because i thought someone might mess with that switch in a parking lot - no real harm i figured though besides a minor battery drain...

 

anyway, i decided against that for now simply out of laziness! i didn't want to run yet another wire through the firewall or give up one of my last 2 free switch spots that i've already got wired (saving those for some extra lighting).

 

if this new sealed switch doesn't work well then i'll certainly re-think an in-cab switch!

[theksmith 5,878]

i went to tighten up the winch line last week and found wireless control no longer working. the winch still worked in wired mode. i tried replacing the battery and bypassing the switch on the solenoid box, but the wireless remote still did nothing. i read that you have to replace both the remote and the receiver as they are paired permanently at the factory. i did find the set sells for $55, but no-one had them in stock.

 

then i realized that i'm just barely still within the "5 year limited warranty on electronics" for the winch. i have to give props to Smittybilt customer service, it only took me one email and they had a replacement remote/receiver shipped the next day. the new set arrived in under a week via UPS.

 

 

the new receiver module looks to be potted better than the old one, so maybe it will last more than 4+ years (assuming it was the problem).

 

replacement was easy. take apart the solenoid box with 4 screws, add some new double-sided tape and plug in the 4 terminal connectors. i also added fresh dielectric grease on all the connections.

 

 

 

and i did one mod... the remote is just a little too big to fit in a pocket but i never liked laying it on the ground while pulling line or adjusting the rigging. adding this belt clip solved that issue! i screwed it to the battery door where i could easily see that there were no electronics behind the plastic to hit with the screws.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 23, 2025 by theksmith

[theksmith 5,878]

so i managed to kill another wireless receiver!

 

this time i at least know what happened. i accidentally turned on the wireless feature by bumping the switch on the solenoid box with the car wash brush and then didn't realize it for a few minutes. i guess having it "on" while hitting it with a pressure washer wasn't foreseen by the engineers as a potential use-case!

 

i'm past the warranty this time, and the replacement transmitter/receiver has gone up in price to $75. Smittybilt said they are also on backorder for at least a couple months. so i purchased this pair of X-Bull remotes and receiver from Amazon for $50. there are plenty of cheaper ones, but these use AAA batteries instead of a specialty little 12v cell.

 

 

the new receiver was almost exactly the same as the Smittybilt one, same size/shape and wire colors. the only thing i had to do was change the ring terminals to female spade terminals.

 

 

i swapped the included alkaline AAA cells for some lithium batteries. i've found that the lithium cells survive the heat inside a vehicle during Phoenix summers much better.

 

 

i like that the new remotes are pocketable. they also have a little o-ring seal on the battery door and are presumably weather resistant at least.

 

i have 2 minor complaints with them. first, the red "on" LED light isn't bright enough to see in the sun. the second issues is that the IN and OUT buttons look the same in dim light. they should make them opposite facing arrow shapes, IMO. 

 

to make it easier to tell the buttons apart when fumbling around on a dark trail during a night run, i used a red paint pen on the IN button.

 

Edited August 18, 2025 by theksmith