Pretty sure all of the badlands came with a break inside the drum. Are you possibly referring to the tensioner bar with springs that you can see on the top side of the winch ? Also, how much rope did you order and what was your cost ?
Harbor Freight Winches (1 Viewer)
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Pretty sure all of the badlands came with a break inside the drum. Are you possibly referring to the tensioner bar with springs that you can see on the top side of the winch ? Also, how much rope did you order and what was your cost ?
Bringing this thread up again, I was just on the HF website and they had 3 different 12,000 LBS winchs listed and I cant tell the difference. Can someone enlighten me?
That's HF for you. I think they use different different numbers of the same item because they may be a different batch or different Chinese factory made them. Something like that to identify them later. But then they get lumped together on the cargo ship over here.
084runnerltd
SILVER Star
My first one I left on the steel cable, more recently I bought one for my H1 and didn't want to take a chance with the rope snapping. I picked up some synthetic line from SE Overland.
CruiseOrlando
Conveniently Enhanced
One has the tensioner on it and less cable... so look at the cable size/length.
I can't remember what the 3rd is.
If you are going to go synthetic (you should), don't get the one with the tensioner.
I can't remember what the 3rd is.
If you are going to go synthetic (you should), don't get the one with the tensioner.
Is it because of friction?
084runnerltd
SILVER Star
Yes, it's not needed....I just removed mine when I put the synthetic line on.
How about the internal break? I understand that's bad for synthetic rope.
You should be able to get a 10 ft or so piece of shield to slip over the synthetic cable, run it down close to the drum before you start spooling and your first wrap will have some extra protection from the heat.
Interesting, never heard about that before. I'll look into it.
Well, got to test my 12K on my Baja trip. It performed like a champ. We had 9 rigs originally starting from Mexacali and at Punta San Francisquito beach, one of the 4runners with a trailer tried unsuccessfully to negotiate the beach when selecting a camping spot. Anyone who's been to this beach knows how steep it is and the sand is extremely coarse. Well, with all the weight of camping gear and trailer, it was a no go and even trax did not help much. We had like 8 of 'em with all the rigs, but all they did was get him out of one stuck and soon as he was off them, he'd sink again. And with gravity at work rig ended up near the water with the tide coming in! He had a Warn 10K on his 4runner so we decided to link our cables together with my 80 up on top and get him out of harm's way. Even tied my 80 to another rig thinking it was needed, but later proved it to be unnecessary. We both started cranking and got him halfway before his synthetic cable started bunching on 1 side, due to the angle of pull. My steel cable was bunching up too. We decided to abandon tying the winch lines together now that he was close enough for me to reach with my cable, alone. I backed up to get down to the lower wraps on my spool and have room to get him up on top. Also, the steepest part of the pull was still ahead. It was a bitch getting my cable unwrapped because it was running in to the support bars, but I eventually got it loose. Hooked cable to his rig and pulled rig and trailer up on top without being tied to another rig. Also, the HF wireless controller worked like a champ through all this and also respooling the line the next a.m. which was necessary 'cause as all you know, that 7/16" line is stiff. With the sand as resistance, it worked well just to hook cable to another rig and reel it in watching that it wraps all neat and tidy. The sweet smell of success and watching the expression on all the Warn owners when they found out it was a HF winch that did the job with out a wimper was cool! I couldn't document while winching and no one else thought to take pics due to urgency to get 4runner away from incoming tide, but here's at least pics of the beach. 1st one you can see tracks down to near the water. 2nd you can see slope of beach better:
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Captn Conch
Life Begins Above Timberline.
I live 3 miles to HF. I buy a lot of stuff from them. There are some items that are not worth a flip but my wrenches, spray guns, drills, reciprocating saw, sanders, tile cutter, dent puller and a little twin tube 2hp 4 gallon compresser and other "junk" I've bought from there has and is performing well. I grease monkey a lot but I am no pro and generally speaking, HF tools don't let me down, But they sure get dissed a lot on forums. Good to hear the winches are getting good reviews. Not all of us can buy Snap On and other pro grade tools, But I don't need to. I bought one of their "little" winches several years ago to winch up my Cruiser top and to pull cars onto my Lowboy trailer..It still does the job and is handy as hell.
My opinion?...Don't beef on Harbor Freight. I just wish I could buy stock in HF....But you can't, they don't play that game.
My opinion?...Don't beef on Harbor Freight. I just wish I could buy stock in HF....But you can't, they don't play that game.
Lots of good Badlands winch bashing in this thread ........Winch Decisions ??
For those of you who followed this thread ....HF Badlands 12 k DIY winch hack waterproof upgrade mod and used it to modify your winch I have posted pictures there of what my Albright solenoid looked like the other night when I finally opened the box.
I routed my box underhood and used some welding lead to extend the pull side wire and to feed it from the battery. It's not as pretty as yours is.
Best pic I've got on my phone.
Best pic I've got on my phone.
@Brake Weight thats actually a pretty good location. For about $30 you could get a remote for the winch and install the receiver right on the inner fender well behind your cruise control box.
I've got a remote, too but have never tried it out. Where it is now I can just leave the hood not fully latched then run the cord through the passenger door or window and minimize the mud on it.
The remote makes a cheap and super easy way to winch from in the cab though without running that wire out the window. Also allows you to get well out of the line of fire if you are standing in front of the truck.
Yep, my HF wireless remote is great. Only thing I've seen that is negative is there's a slight delay when operating. So for real delicate control situations I use the wired controller. Otherwise, it is extremely convenient. The range on mine is longer than the cable on the winch, too.
Living in the Past
SILVER Star
There was another down side where someone left it plugged in and the button got pushed in the glove box and destroyed the winch. I suggest unplugging the receiver from the winch control box when not in use.
