Harbor Frate Winches, good, bad, evil?

[Chevy 88]

After reading all the comments I gotta reply both ways. HF wrenches are ehh in my opinion. They have a loose fit on most fasteners. I've had best luck with US made Craftsman most my life. I have an assortment of all brands though.

As for the winch, the Badlands sfuff aint too bad. I have a 12K one on my Jeep, as does my brother. We've both used the snot out of them out wheeling in remote areas of the country and they're still kicking. We've used them to load thrashed 70s American farm cars with no tires or steering up ramps onto gooseneck haulers, yank trees, move rocks, other vehicles, etc. Our bumpers are bent but the winches live on.

We don't ever follow the run/cooldown cycle recommendations either. Which is like, 45 seconds run time, 5 minutes off or something of the sort. Synthetic rope is worth it. The wireless remote is cool, but when the batteries are low it will cut in and out and drive you nuts.

My friend had a Smittybuilt, not a great brand, and it went to hell making all sorts of grinding noises after we winched a SXS out of the Colorado River in Moab. My trailer one is a 80s Warn, still chugging along.

Just my $0.02 worth of stories.

Good info, thanks for sharing your experiences and insight on the topic(s).

 

[bucket]

I have the 5500 long drum...
...Imo anything bigger is overkill for a trailer. At the most your dragging something with a flat or a stuck brake, not trying to pull a duramax buried to the axles out of a hole.

I used to think the same thing, that trailer winches don't ever get worked as hard. But over the years, I've definitely worked my trailer winch very hard on occasion. It's a 10k Champion, which has been very good in the 10-15 years I've had it, other than it often doesn't like to free spool.

But anyway, I picked up a '70 Caprice last summer and it's a good example. It had been sitting in the dirt for the last 20 years. Rear brakes were stuck and the old rotten bias plies were buried in the ground. But the worst part, there were no front wheels, brakes or even steering knuckles. The right side ball joint got hung up on the trailer deck. I had to pull so hard with the winch, the back end of the car came off the ground.

 

[Hilllbilly]

Need one of these

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[Steelbuddha]

Lol read winch as wrench haha my b

I once saw a Jeep advertised as including an "8,000-pound wench."

 

[goldpack]

winch or wench ?

one of my old forum friends had one of these wench power buttons on the dash, to power the winch, next to various outside lighting buttons. his now ex-wife may have confused it if he hit it while in a gas station, if he wanted her to pump the gas.

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[Vbb199]

Im not reading all the above posts but my biggest gripe with them is they have a tendency to hit thermal overload quickly. Ive sucken a 5? 6k? Pound truck in DEEP mud, up to the frame rails (1 tons, with 40" bogger). And used a 12k wrapped around a tree, and got myself out , but it overheated 1000 fkn times.

I have an 8k on my trailer. Ive winched tons of cars with stuck brakes, no wheels, parking brakes on, chunks of shyt with nothing to roll and just digging into the ground.... you name it...

Effortlessly; but again, overload was hit time and time again.
Just make sure you got a beefcake marine battery, like min 750cca for the heavy dooty pulls.

 

[TotalyHucked]

We don't ever follow the run/cooldown cycle recommendations either. Which is like, 45 seconds run time, 5 minutes off or something of the sort. Synthetic rope is worth it. T

There's a run/cooldown cycle?

 

[squaredeal91]

Im not reading all the above posts but my biggest gripe with them is they have a tendency to hit thermal overload quickly. Ive sucken a 5? 6k? Pound truck in DEEP mud, up to the frame rails (1 tons, with 40" bogger). And used a 12k wrapped around a tree, and got myself out , but it overheated 1000 fkn times.

I have an 8k on my trailer. Ive winched tons of cars with stuck brakes, no wheels, parking brakes on, chunks of shyt with nothing to roll and just digging into the ground.... you name it...

Effortlessly; but again, overload was hit time and time again.
Just make sure you got a beefcake marine battery, like min 750cca for the heavy dooty pulls.

I think the breakers they use might be some or all to blame on the thermal overload problem. Maybe if they were all quality made breakers they wouldn't heat up so fast?