Harbor freight winch

[Unrepentant_Sinner]

Well the 9000lb HF winch pulled it off again... ASV track loader took a dump today, tracks locked up, wouldn't move. Backed the trailer up to it, winch drug it up on the deck no problem. Slid the tracks the whole way, not an easy pull, the thing weighs about 9500lbs.

 

[eurosonic]

Thats a bummer man.

I was I the fence on getting that winch but settled for a used Warn M8000. Plenty of parts and support out there if it goes bad.

 

[louisiana]

my parents bought me a hf winch for my bronco 2 for Christmas when I was 17. It failed the very first time I used it. Never had the heart to tell them it broke so quickly. It stayed mounted on the front of that old bronco for 3 years before I replaced it with a warn. Glad to hear I wasn't the only one who hates there crap.

 

[robert]

I've always used Warns (current taco has an XD9000 in the ARB). I do know of several that have failed over the years but by and large they seem to be the best in terms of quality, reliability and customer service. I usually travel alone and that extra peace of mind is worth the cost in my opinion; not to mention the cost of a 4wd wrecker.

 

[mowerman]

3 month warranty sucks anyway - is that a normal length of time in the US?

 

[bfdiesel]

3 month warranty sucks anyway - is that a normal length of time in the US?

On piles of junk odd time frames are normal.

 

[BurbanAZ]

yea i considered the HF winch a while ago and decided against it after reading through fourwheelers winch shootout. I ended up going with an Engo 12k winch and it has been amazing. We have used it a bunch, just abused it a couple times when we had no choice and it hasnt skipped a beat, yanked my 3/4 ton suburban all over the place. Id highly recommend them after the experience weve had with it.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I have several buddies that have bought the 9000lb badlands winch, no complaints what so ever with them and they use the hell out of them. I bought one for use on a trailer. I think it ended up being $200 with a coupon for a 9k winch, figure if it works a couple times it will have paid for itself. Plus leaves me time to rebuild the 8k and 12k Warn's that crapped out on me this fall.

Seems a good amount of people are waiting to rebuild or need to rebuild their Warn winches. They certainly seem to break alot.

I am a frequent HF customer, and have purchased lots of tools there. However, I went with a new WARN 9.5XP winch. I know it cost 3 to 4 times as much as some of the cheaper winches, but I feel better knowing it is a quality product.

I see more Warn winches fail on the trail than any other. Certainly have not seen any better quality from them. Spending alot does make people think they are getting some though. I will never own one due to the failures I have witnessed.

3 month warranty sucks anyway - is that a normal length of time in the US?

My winch came with a 3 year warranty and the minor issue I had was resolved for free with no questions asked other than a picture. Nothing out of pocket.

yea i considered the HF winch a while ago and decided against it after reading through fourwheelers winch shootout. I ended up going with an Engo 12k winch and it has been amazing. We have used it a bunch, just abused it a couple times when we had no choice and it hasnt skipped a beat, yanked my 3/4 ton suburban all over the place. Id highly recommend them after the experience weve had with it.

My buddy bought an Engo after the shootout and it failed out of the box. They did make good on it, but I had to laugh that it did exactly what the HF winch did for the test that made him buy it. Every company has an little issue from time to time.


I researched a bunch and ended up with a 12.5 tuff stuff winch. Seems to be a rebadged superwinch actually. It works great, it was under 350 with extras(gloves, snatchblock, cover). 3 year warranty. Great motor. Fast linespeed. I did put a 7/16 synthetic Viking line on it to save weight. Even with the hawse fairlead and rope, I am under the price of most big-name winches and do not feel like I have any less quality or reliability.