By: Gary McBain

Product Review: Waterproof 3000 lb Gorilla Winch

The 3000 Ib. Gorilla Winch comes neatly packaged.

In the fall of 2006 I got a chance to try out a 2500-lb. winch from www.gorillawinches.com. I was impressed with the power and performance this bargain priced winch produced. When Tom McCullough from Gorilla Winch contacted me recently and asked me to review his new waterproof winch, I jumped at the chance. The 2500-lb. winch was good, would the 3,000-lb. winch be better?

There is only one reason why one might want a waterproof winch. TO KEEP OUT WATER! I ride in the water when I find an inviting mud puddle. I also ride in the rain, though not by choice most of the time. Being in a northern climate, snow provides another opportunity for fun or work. Many people who put snowplows on their ATVs use a winch to raise and lower the plow. A waterproof winch would be an ideal choice for snow plowing.

The 3000-Ib. Gorilla Winch is 100% water proof great for any type of harsh riding.

The Gorilla 3,000-lb. waterproof winch comes packaged ready-to-install. The package includes the winch, roller fairlead, wiring harness, hook, directions and handlebar mounted sealed thumb switch. Like the 2500-lb. winch, the 3000-lb. waterproof winch includes a free spooling clutch. Installation instructions are included and are helpful in ensuring proper installation. Since I had already installed a 2500-lb. winch a few months prior to this one, I found installation of the new waterproof winch easy. The winch bolted right up to the mounting bracket that came on my Polaris ATV. Mounting brackets for other machines are optional and are available on the www.gorillawinches.com website. Many newer ATVs are already set up for winches so check your ATV before ordering.

To test the new Gorilla, I headed down the spillway behind my house to the river. The temperature hovered around 30 degrees Fahrenheit. My area has had lots of snow in the past couple of weeks and bitter temperatures. My initial idea was to crash some snow banks and pack up the winch with snow. The last few days turned mild and lots of rain melted most of the snow. Instead of playing in the snow I submerged the winch in one of feed streams, then ran out the 30-foot cable to pull myself out. Like the 2500-lb. winch, the 3000-lb. winch had no trouble pulling 1,000 lbs. of machine and me of the water. It is not the fastest winch on the market, but it is a powerful pulling machine.

A couple of days later, low temperatures froze the surface water, which gave me a change to play. This also gave me a chance to take my 3,000-pound Gorilla swimming. Plenty of ice and water had no effect on this beast.

Is the Gorilla 3000-lb. waterproof winch better than the 2500-lb. winch I had before? With 3,000 lbs of pulling power, a reasonable price tag and being waterproof to boot, it may very well be the best overall ATV winch you can buy.

For more information, prices and complete specifications go to www.gorillawinches.com