RUGCEL WINCH 13500lb Synthetic Rope Winch 12V Waterproof Electric Winch,2 in 1 Wireless Remote Control, for SUV, Truck & Trailer - TANK Series

Packaged nicely, appears to be of high quality, installed, had to mount electric box on side and threads pulled out. Have not used it yet. Will update after functional test.

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.

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.

So I installed this winch (13.5K) on a front hitch mount on my 2020 F350 SD - everything looks good and functions properly - the winch by all appearances seems to be very tough and well made. My test pull was just done in the driveway and not in an actual off-road situation, so take that for what it is worth.I ordered my unit with a steel cable as it will be stored in my truck bed under a metal roll-up cover and I don't want a synthetic cable that will deteriorate with the heat build-up in the bed.As far as the cons there were a few but they are minor...(1) the 4 holes on the control box that sits at the top of the unit did not line up and had to be drilled out with a slightly larger bit which is something they should just do from the get go at the factory. (2) the battery cables need to be a bit longer as they barely reach the trucks batteries - I have dual batteries and had to run the positive to one side and the negative to the battery on the opposite side of the truck as both cables would not reach a single battery - another 2-3 feet of cable would be nice and would make for a cleaner lay-out and allow for closing the hood and actually being able to drive while the winch is mounted on the front hitch - for this reason alone I will only give it 4 stars instead of 5. (3) it would also be nice to have a pair of clamps to allow quick attachment to the battery rather than having to screw the cables to the battery terminal posts.SO RUGCEL IF YOU ARE LISTENING - add clamps and some extra wire and you just solved #2 and #3 above at the same time. Basically I have done this myself with readily available parts but it should have come this way from the factory.

Winch was pretty straight forward. Packaged well, Great instructions, easy installation, works as far as I know. I have not put a load on it but it goes in and out and sounds good. The cordless control is nice and works well from a long way away!! It's tucked in behind my bumper and would not be easy to steal!! The only negative I have to say is the red nylon pull strap they give you to pull out the wire rope pulled apart at the stitching the first time I pulled on it?

Quality product, fast shipping, nice working winch.

Had the winch for 1 year, then the free spool/disengage lever froze up and only turns hard and will not lift or return to engage or disengage the winch motor to the spool. This makes the winch mostly useless for normal off road use. All of the screws/bolts are NOT stainless steel, they rust too. The paint has peeled off. Sorry I trusted the reviews, this is junk.7/2025 update - finally got email from manufacture, they sent parts diagram of some winches so I can pick out the parts needed to replace the clutch assembly and get me a price for the parts as the warranty is only 1 year ( winch broke at 11 months but it has taken this long to hear back). I will see what it costs to fix and if it works. Suspect a new winch from a different brand may be what happens.UPDATE - 9/2025 Finally heard from manufacture in China (after posting this review), I listed the parts needed to possibly fix it myself, they charged me for parts & shipping, waited 4 weeks, but sent only some of the parts (from China). Critical parts not sent. Contacted them about this and no response. So be aware if the winch works great, when it breaks your not getting any REAL support or service from them. Save you money and get a different brand. Too bad most (if not all) are made in China.