erik litchy Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 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 Quote 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.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyB0y Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 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+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik litchy Posted March 11, 2006 Author Share Posted March 11, 2006 price with cupons and everything is ~$250 depends on the store Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyB0y Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik litchy Posted March 11, 2006 Author Share Posted March 11, 2006 FlyB0y said: 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyB0y Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobmater Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91780 i like that one a lot, and its light.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyB0y Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 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: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik litchy Posted March 11, 2006 Author Share Posted March 11, 2006 FlyB0y said: 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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