12,000lb Winches at Harbor Freight for $299 - Coupon inside - Expires 10/31/12

[KIRK!]

Yeah, yeah, I know, Harbor Freight, but for those of us with limited budgets it works. Plus, most reviews I have read have said they work pretty well.

Anyway, here ya go. I'm not affiliated, just on their mailing list.

 

[BIGdaddy]

Having owned a Harbor Frieght (chicago electric), A Smittybilt XRC and now a used WARN M8000 I have these things to say:

-The chicago electric will get the job done slowly and noisily until the case cracks, or something else catastrophic breaks.

-The new smittybilt for the same money (8K LB rating) is a much nicer winch, and comes with great instructions and high quality connectors, etc.

-The used warn, even though its older and somewhat faded is quieter, faster, smoother and simply built tougher than both of the other winches I've had.


Would I pay the $$$$ for a brand new WARN = No way. Is it worth it to wait for a deal on a used one? Absolutely. I got mine for $300.00 of craigslist. It lived on a hitch multi-mount. Probably was hardly used from the way it looks inside.

Just my .02 cents having done the "winch tango" once or twice before.

 

[KIRK!]

I was looking in the 8-9k range, but the recommended size seems to be over 10k. I have been looking on Craigslist regularly and haven't seen a WARN under $900 used.

To be honest I went to Harbor Freight last night and could not bring myself to actually go through with it. Even though I have read lots of great reviews, I know what to expect from HF.

Having owned a Harbor Frieght (chicago electric), A Smittybilt XRC and now a used WARN M8000 I have these things to say:

-The chicago electric will get the job done slowly and noisily until the case cracks, or something else catastrophic breaks.

-The new smittybilt for the same money (8K LB rating) is a much nicer winch, and comes with great instructions and high quality connectors, etc.

-The used warn, even though its older and somewhat faded is quieter, faster, smoother and simply built tougher than both of the other winches I've had.


Would I pay the $$$$ for a brand new WARN = No way. Is it worth it to wait for a deal on a used one? Absolutely. I got mine for $300.00 of craigslist. It lived on a hitch multi-mount. Probably was hardly used from the way it looks inside.

Just my .02 cents having done the "winch tango" once or twice before.

 

[BIGdaddy]

I was looking in the 8-9k range, but the recommended size seems to be over 10k. I have been looking on Craigslist regularly and haven't seen a WARN under $900 used.

To be honest I went to Harbor Freight last night and could not bring myself to actually go through with it. Even though I have read lots of great reviews, I know what to expect from HF.

Honestly, I think the harbor frieght will do the job for as long as it can, but ultimately will be disposable. This, of course, depends on how much you use it. If it's once, maybe twice per year, I see absolutely no reason not to get the Harbor frieght or the smittybilt 8,000 and a snatch block to double your pull rating.

For me, the warn was a good choice because different from a lot of those on this website, I actually use my winch on my land as an agricultural/landscaping implement to pull out stumps and pull down dead tree's, etc. I wanted something that was rebuildable and that has full factory support if I need a part.

I definitely think the harbor frieght winch has solid following for a reason, as long as your expectations aren't too high on longevity.

 

[Purpledawg]

here's a used warn in Sacto
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/pts/3295387061.html

 

[KIRK!]

I saw that one, but it's huge and out of my budget.

here's a used warn in Sacto
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/pts/3295387061.html