RUGCEL 13500lb New Waterproof Electric Steel Rope Winch 12V with Hawse Fairlead,2 in 1 Wireless Remote Control, Wired Control,for Truck SUV,Jeep Trailer Winch

Screw all those people who say don’t buy Chinese winches? This thing works amazing had absolutely no problems installing it and everything works perfect. It does not overheat pulling my truck so I’m very happy with this.

This is for the NEW RUGCEL WINCH 13500lb Waterproof Electric Synthetic Rope Winch 12V with Hawse Fairlead, 2 in 1 Wireless Remote,Double color rope.The 1st thing I noticed right away was how well packaged this winch came and how much visually the packaging looked to the Badlands Apex. Having owned an Apex, I immediately knew who they were competing with. That is also where the comparison ended.From appearance only; I prefer the TANK! It’s about 3” smaller in length and a little lighter (not much). The dual color rope is very nice and thicker than the Apex synthetic rope (at least it appears to be). The winch is also slimmer and shorter than the Apex and visually appears sealed up like the Apex. The TANKs wires and control box are also very nicely done. The thermal protective sleeves on the TANK was a nice touch for sure and should also reduce weathering of the cables.I did unwind all the synthetic rope and “stretch” it while rewinding. I did notice the Tank and Apex motors were equally “winch-loud”. The Tanks speed seems to be faster and winding felt more controlled.For about $150 less than a Badlands Apex; you can get the Rugcel Tank. I definitely recommend from first glance as I haven’t torture tested the Tank yet like I have the Apex. The Apex is a 10 out of 10 highly recommend but I have no doubt the Tank will also earn that recommendation.Reminder: the reason most of these “cheap” winches fail is improper install, vehicle weight, utilization, and post trail care. For the “fan boys”, I’ve seen Warn’s fail too. For most folks, a $400 winch will do the job when you need it, especially with these new IP68/69 options. Just for good measure Warn is also a Chinese sourced half “Assembled in America” with domestic and imported parts winch; only you’ll spend 2-5x for it.

I bought this with the intention of infrequent but critical use. I advise wiring up the controller first. Alignment of the control box bolts is a bit off from the threaded bolt holes on top of the winch. The only install instructions are a wiring diagram (useful) at the back of the operating manual. The interrupt switch was a useful surprise - figured out where to put it on the fly. There was plenty of wiring cable to battery for my Jeep Gladiator. My test run was quiet and easy - worked the first time both wired and wireless. The hook clamping to the face plate with just winch taughtness is tidy and cool.

I purchased a rugcel several years ago for my sxs. It did have some quality issues like wording and directional arrows to lock and engage were reversed but it worked for a long time. The new TANK seems to be a much higher quality and quieter but I have not had to use it yet. If I plan accordingly maybe I'll never need to. Installed on a '23 gladiator.

Quality seems excellent and great price. Extremely satisfied so far.

There is nothing good to say about this product. I really expected SOME level of quality from a $1200 winch. Wouldn't pull things with 3 snatch blocks that my 13k with pulled single line. Freewheel lever worked good for about a week. Even then. It was hard to pull the rope out. Shattered the gears internally under a mild load. Not worth a hundred bucks. Can't even find it on the page anymore. Had previous models, and should have known better. First one leaked oil before even removing it from the box. Replacement lasted a couple weeks.

Great product, pull out a tractor out of a 3 foot trench.

This is a nice looking winch at a great price point. Installation was easy and it seems to work fine though I have yet to use it for any significant recoveries and such. My one complaint is the manual. It is a great looking manual but it does not have any installation instructions other than where the electrical connections go. There is also nothing in the manual about how to use/charge the remote control. Also, it appears that Rugcel does not have a website, strange these days.