HF winch......works for me!

[GOVT1911]

I see plenty of discussions on how decent/crappy the Harborfreight winches are. I figured I'd throw in my .02...

I put a HF 9000lb winch on my Toy Jeep right before I deployed. I pulled the cable out and respooled it under tension (pulled my DD Jeep across the yard, receiving funny looks from the neighbors LOL) I then deployed for a year to A-stan and when I got back, the winch didn't work at ALL. I was disappointed, but then one of the Bragg MJ'ers told me to try cleaning all the contacts. Yup, that did the trick!

During WeirdFest, I pulled cable probably 15 times (a couple for self-recovery, the rest helping others out). worked GREAT! No problems at all. Hell, I pulled an F150 that was lifted 6" and on 35's and buried 1/3 up the doors in thick mud right out! (I got to use my new snatchblock on that one too! LOL)

All in all, I'm happy with my HF winch. I beleive I paid like $250 or so for it after it being on sale and using a 20% off coupon. It even came with a winch mounting plate (didn't have to use it since my Rock Hard bumper came winch-ready)

It does seem a bit slower than some winches, but it pulls just fine. figured I'd share my experience with it in case someone is on a tight budget and is looking for a winch.

[irish1371]

yea you will do more maint to a HF winch to keep it going and it wont last nearly as long as a warn,, but if you don't have a grand to drop on a warn then anything is better then nothing

[jeepdreamer]

Some winch is always better than no winch. Wench? uh...I mean...Yes the HF one will work. Would I go race waterfalls with it? No. Would I go solo into the wilderness and rely soley on it to survive? No. But that doesn't mean it is bad. I almost always try and wheel with at least one more vehicle anyway so its an almost non-issue. I usually have enough other self recovery stuff that should the winch (any winch) fail I am still able to extract. The Warn just gives me a lot more confidance it will work, all the time. But for those that don't wheel as much or need the winch as often, I'd say the HF is a good deal. And as to line speed...Blah...When I'm stuck I'm never in a hurry...I take my time setting my lines/snatch block/anchor/whatever...and the pull is slow. Respooling takes a little time but I found if you do a little at a time it works out.

[warrior]

Try "Promark"

http://www.promarkoffroad.com/truck-...covery-winches

[GOVT1911]

I don't want to start a "my winch is better/worse than yours" thread, just throwing my .02 out there on the HF. If you're on a budget and you want a winch that SO FAR has worked very well for me, then check out the HF. Sure I'd have rather bought a Warn 12000lb or one with a compressor, but for less than $250, I'm very happy with what I have!

[jeepdreamer]

And I agree...I have one of their little ATV winches on my trailer to pull up the heep projects. I don't use it enough to ever justify buying a high dollar winch. Plus its kinda "out there" for some dirt bag to steal so I didn't want to loose my @$$ if that happens. It has dragged a few of my wrecks up on the trailer and never complained. IIRC its rated at like 3500lbs? And it was like 76 bucks or something just silly! Way better than wearing myself out with the come-a-long and chain. I keep the manual stuff there just in case the winch dies but so far I'm very happy!