Harbor Frieght winch deal

[RockRanger]

Was just at the local harbor frieght today and they were handing out ads for a big sale October 2-3 one of the things in it was a coupon for the winch for $250 bucks instead of $340. Looks like you may need the coupon to get the price though.

 

[RangerX]

That ad just came in the mail today. 8000 lb winch, not a bad price at all!

 

[J. Kennedy]

Harbor Freight is one of the best deals around. There is not a store near me , but I have used the website. Cheap stuff, but dirt cheap prices. Have you seen the NASCAR style aluminum floor jack for something like $80?

 

[glfredrick]

If you get the winch - also get the 2 year replacement warranty for about $20. If it breaks you get another one - no questions asked.

 

[CarFreak146]

does anybody have this winch?? is it a good winch?? or better yet, what brand is it?

 

[glfredrick]

There have been a few different posts on the board about that winch. Do a search for harbor freight winch...

To answer your question - yes - some people are running that winch.

It appears to be made just like the Mile Marker electrics...

It is an import product...

It is not as fast, nor as strong as a Warn...

But it works...

The upshot of all the discussion has been - you tend to get what you pay for in a winch. If you want a winch that is only used occaisionally that is a tad slow - but works - then this may be the winch for you. If your life depends on it - get a serious name brand - at least 2 sizes larger than you think you need.

 

[CarFreak146]

If your life depends on it - get a serious name brand - at least 2 sizes larger than you think you need.

That'd mean I'd need a 12K lb. Winch!! haha.

--Ryan

 

[glfredrick]

Well... that all depends on what you are doing with it, I guess.

If you are winching yourself up a wall that is taller than the truck and you are alone - then you get what you need. If you are in competition and your winching time/ability counts for your winning score - get what you need.

On the other hand - if you are a recreational trail rider, and the winch is mainly for that time you get a little bogged down - then the HF winch (or any other one) will likely work great for you.

Remember that in any winching exercise, you have to factor in a couple things besides the rolling weght of the truck... Like the angle you are winching. Anything less than straight - which is typical for a winch pull - and you are more like lifting the vehicle instead of rolling it. Add in mud up to the frame and you can easily double the force needed to extract you. Then couple that with the simple fact of physicis that the winch is only at its rated capacity for the inner-most spool of wire (as it winches onto the drum, the diameter of the drum grows and you loose about 900# of winching force with every turn of the drum - that will make an 8000# winch about half of what it was to begin with at the end of the pull) - also if you are hooked on a rock, tree root, upside down, pulling at a weird angle, etc. - it all adds up, hence my statement to use a winch twice as large as you think you need for life-threataning pulls.

 

[CarFreak146]

12Klb it is then

 

[swak6287]

tmaxx winch man. tmaxx winch. proven in australia.

 

[glfredrick]

Mile Marker and T-Max are very similar and are assembled out of the same components and in the same plant in China... Pull the motor and look inside the case - it will likely say T-Max.

That doesn't mean that they are no good... It just means that they are virtually the same piece.

 

[RangerX]

So if HF ~= MM, and if MM ~= TMaxx, does HF ~= TMaxx?
(if A=B, and B=C, then A=C)

 

[rino351]

Hmmmm... I will have to look into this!

 

[RockRanger]

the harbor freight ad lists the motor as a 1.8 hp version. It will be slow considering most of the warn and ramsey winches are 4+ hp. but if what glfredrick says could you replace the motor when it blows up with a more powerful one from a t maxx or mile marker?

 

[glfredrick]

Most of the motors are one of only a couple styles and you can get them from outside vendors like this:

http://dbelectrical.com/winch/winch.shtml

http://www.wms1.com/speciality/winch/index.html

http://www.piercewrecker.com/winch_motors.htm

NOTE: I have not done business with any of the vendors listed above and cannot reccomend them - they are there just to let you know that you can purchase different rated winch motors that will fit your application.

Also note: Adding a higher HP motor may strain some other part of the winch beyond its capacity and cause a safety issue, so proceed with caution.

 

[Josh S.]

I'm sure a bunch of you guys have shopped at harbor freight b4...ummm, would you seriously trust a freakin wich from them? Have you seen the quality of their power tools, grinders, drills, welders, airtools etc?!?!?! The majority of the stuff there is chinese junk in case you haven't noticed. The handtools like wrenches, hammers, axes, jackstands, jacks, etc are not TOO bad, but wouldn't you rather go with WARN or milemarker for something that is kind of important to have high quality? (end trash-talking rant)

 

[glfredrick]

While I tend to agree that HF has some issues with their power tool line, the winch appears to be made by the same people that make Mile Marker and T-Max. About the only differences that I (or others have seen) is in the style of the end caps (which hold the bearings for the motor) and the HP rating of the motor.

There are enough people running the HF winch with no problems that I think it is safe to say that for the average trail-running hobbyest, they are OK.

I've said before in other posts - that you get what you pay for in a winch.

If you are in competition, or in life-threatening situations, get the best and most expensive (and oversized) winch that you can lay your hands on - usually a Warn - if you are a weekend hobby rider, and rarely ever use a winch - and then just to speed up getting hung up on a root or something, get a cheap winch and spend the rest of the money on something that will insure that you don't have to use it around every corner.

To simply blast HF out of the blue isn't fair to the products they sell that are satisfying a need for the price. Is some HF stuff junk? Yup - unquestionably so. Is other stuff pretty darn good for the dollar? You bet - and once you discover which are which, saving the dollars is a very good thing.

 

[rino351]

^^^^ I totally agree!! ^^^^

 

[Josh S.]

While I tend to agree that HF has some issues with their power tool line, the winch appears to be made by the same people that make Mile Marker and T-Max. About the only differences that I (or others have seen) is in the style of the end caps (which hold the bearings for the motor) and the HP rating of the motor.

There are enough people running the HF winch with no problems that I think it is safe to say that for the average trail-running hobbyest, they are OK.

I've said before in other posts - that you get what you pay for in a winch.

If you are in competition, or in life-threatening situations, get the best and most expensive (and oversized) winch that you can lay your hands on - usually a Warn - if you are a weekend hobby rider, and rarely ever use a winch - and then just to speed up getting hung up on a root or something, get a cheap winch and spend the rest of the money on something that will insure that you don't have to use it around every corner.

To simply blast HF out of the blue isn't fair to the products they sell that are satisfying a need for the price. Is some HF stuff junk? Yup - unquestionably so. Is other stuff pretty darn good for the dollar? You bet - and once you discover which are which, saving the dollars is a very good thing.

lol, yah I agree with ya man. Didn't mean to blast HF so hardcore, I guess it was late and I was in a bad mood or somethin haha. I like a lot of their stuff actually. I have their floorjack, jackstands, tool bag, wrench set, deep socket set, wobble extensions, etc etc. I'm sure using one of their winches would be just fine, especially if they had something to do with milemarker.

 

[chico]

How about the 9000 series winch...any info????$399.00