March 11, 200620 yr is it any good? i know most harbor freight stuff is shady, but i saw one on sale and thought you know this has a warranty... if its really bad i can pass on it Did you read the book, or see the movie of Stephen King's "Pet Sematary"? Well, imagine you took a dead Warn and buried it in the old Indian burial ground. Next day, you'd have a HF winch. It would look about the same, but *something* would just not be "right". http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=40764&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName= edit upon further research i discovered this Everything tells me it's identical. Ignore the description on HF's website, it's about 95% incorrect info. This winch, shares the following with the MM electric -No-Load motor amperage draw and rating, -every dimension -weight -rated line speed (the box has all the correct info on it) -identical control components -cable size (100' of 3/8" aircraft cable) -gear ratio (210:1) -freespool switch a few suggestions I have if you get this winch and install it (it even comes with a universal channel mount that's got holes predrilled for the wrangler frame bolt holes): 1 - you gotta install the fairlead first, with the bolt head on the inside of the channel.. looks stupid, but you need to for clearance issues 2 - bolting the winch to the plate is a mofo, get a pair of really long curved needle-nose pliers, will make it much easier to put the washer and nut in the fitted slots on the winche's feet. 3 - make sure to get 2 more bolts for the frame, mine only has 2 right now which i'm going to rectify before the big bear trip. 4 - the solenoid control box mounting holes are in the wrong spot, they interfere with the frame. You will need to move them about 3/4" further outboard to alleviate the interference with the frame and make it possible to bolt all 3 down. 5 - stretch the cable a few times as suggested a few times already in this post to prevent bird-nesting of the cable 6 - i wouldnt spool out more than 60' with a single line if you're in a super-stuck, if the specs are really identical to the MileMarker. I'd much rather do a double line pull at 50', takes longer, but hey, still quicker than digging yourself out or waiting for a tow truck (yeah right) if you're alone. 100' pull would be ok if you're just high centered and only need to be pulled a few feet to get off of it to gain traction, which I suspect is 95% of all winch use (aside from super-stucks in mudholes) Update: I did a little research on everyone's favorite A-Hole board with a black background... and the consensus was that the winch is iffy, and that both the MM and the HF are just refurbed Ramsey REP-8000's with bushings instead of bearings in a few locations(would definitely explain the REW-8000 sticker on it.. ). 2 people claim to have melted the motors, 1 seemed really happy with it but I pm'ed him for a current status report on it's performance and haven't gotten a reply back yet. I am going to look into the bearing upgrade potential ASAP, seems a decent thing to do for a few extra bucks. Still not hurting the pocketbook, and if it could improve the winch's working life, prolly a must do. Not the first time I've reworked a HF power tool, I've still got a $9. angle grinder that still kicks major butt but i did have to disassemble and fool around with the guts after the lockswitch grenaded..
March 11, 200620 yr Ummmm where is the price? Anyway, I know that some models are the same manufacturer as a Mile Marker, not sure on this particular model, but my 2000lb one works just fine and is identical to the mile marker ... using mine with my 4000lb block&tackle, I was able to pull out my brat buried to the unibody in hard-packed snow/ice and I have at least an extra 300lbs of tool boxes, parts and tools so my car weighs around 2500+
March 11, 200620 yr Well for $250, I don't see how you can go wrong ... I just can't see adding annother 100lbs to my front-end tho, each to their own
March 11, 200620 yr Author Well for $250, I don't see how you can go wrong ... I just can't see adding annother 100lbs to my front-end tho, each to their own im wondering why the bigger one is lighter? is the mounting plate really that heavyhttp://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91905 damn is that one extremly slow though. too slow even.
March 11, 200620 yr Did you check out this one too? It's $50 more, and seems to be about the same, but again, it's still alot of weight IMO .... I think some people have tried this one out already too ... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50878&highlight=costco+winch
March 11, 200620 yr http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91780 i like that one a lot, and its light..
March 11, 200620 yr Here's the one I have ... only 16.5lbs!! http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?function=Search and with a 4000lb ($25 on ebay) block&tackel it lifts a 2500lb Brat out of icy/snow up to the frame :banana::burnout: :headbang:
March 11, 200620 yr Author Did you check out this one too? It's $50 more, and seems to be about the same, but again, it's still alot of weight IMO .... I think some people have tried this one out already too ... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50878&highlight=costco+winch no stores anywhere near me makes that very inconvient
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