Anyone reccomend ENGo winches?

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RFB

97 FZJ80 LIFTED SC DUAL BATTERIES,37s
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Im looking for a 12K synthetic winch I like the warn, but smittynuilt and ENGO are awfully attractive price wise. Anyone have an ENGo? Let me know how it worked out for you.
 
I have an ENGO 10000. It was installed by the PO. The chrome handle (operating mechanism) is rusted and needs to be replaced. It was manufactured in 2012.

The PO replaced the cable with synthetic line, but didn't install a cover to keep the synthetic line out of the sun. It looks like Amsteel Blue - which doesn't like the sun. I haven't had a chance to use it yet.
 
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I am NOT a winch expert. I have M12000 because it came with my bumper. It is huge sucker. If i had to purchase one i would look at a good 8000 pound one. Also my particular one is really slow. I think sometimes the 12,000 are run really slow the way they are geared.
But there are other people here that know a lot more than i do about these things.
 
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I have a broken Engo 10000 in my storage shed. The brake came apart and jammed up the drum when I needed badly. It was used ten times at most.

It came NIB with an 80 I bought three years ago so I went ahead and installed it. It's cheap an chincey. Like previously mentioned, anything chromed stared to rust soon. The cables were of minimum size and the insulation was thin and crimped on ends were thin compared to the warn I replaced it with. And it sounded like there was gravel in the gear box.

There must be a million threads about winches. The bottom line is; you get what you pay for.
 
I would buy a Harbor Freight winch in half a heartbeat before I ever thought about Engo! People knock HF, but I have 2 of their 12,000 winches, and knock on wood, they both operate great! *Please note- I'm only wheeling a couple times a month, and have never needed it to recover myself..... just some Heeps I take pity on! If your using it all the time, or getting ready to go around the world, then get a Warn! Occasional weekend Warrior...... HF will treat you right!
 
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engo 12000 lb and Harbor Freight 12000 lb is the same winch just different name on it i also have Harbor Freight 12000 lb winch and no problems at all
How many winch factories does China need? ONE! They don't do capitalism.... It's the same factory Mattel toys are made in. Refer to post #4.
I would buy a Harbor Freight winch in half a heartbeat before I ever thought about Engo! People knock HF, but I have 2 of their 12,000 winches, and knock on wood, they both operate great! *Please note- I'm only wheeling a couple times a month, and have never needed it to recover myself..... just some Heeps I take pity on! If your using it all the time, or getting ready to go around the world, then get a Warn! Occasional weekend Warrior...... HF will treat you right!
 
How many winch factories does China need? ONE! They don't do capitalism.... It's the same factory Mattel toys are made in. Refer to post #4.

Not really.... if that were true then MileMarker would hold up as well as a HF. The MM winch I bought lasted 1 pull! So to correct you....... they have 2 factories!
 
How many winch factories does China need? ONE! They don't do capitalism.... It's the same factory Mattel toys are made in. Refer to post #4.

Funny you say that. I spoke with Joel at ENGO while sorting out some wiring. He told me they get them from China, and that they also make Rough Country, Harbor Freight, and a few others whose name I don't recall. Pretty interesting. It's getting swapped for a Warn (or that Canadian one 4x4Labs recommends) after I get a new rear bumper.
 
I had an Engo 9500 on my 100, and I only used it once. I was buried up to the frame in the soupiest mud I've ever experienced and sinking deeper as the marsh settled. It's a very long story, but I had a truck come up with chocks that had metal teeth to anchor into the ground to winch off of and the Engo hooked up single line to the truck as an achor pulled me out. I, along with the group of guys watching, were shocked it worked because of the immense weight/suction of the mud, and I was incredibly thankful I had it. Who knows if a Warn, Superwinch, Harbor Freight, etc. would have been able to do the same, but for the ~$500 I spent on the Engo it paid for itself many times over with that one (and only time I ever used it) pull. I have a Warn now because my 200 already had it installed, but if it was winch-less when I bought it, I would have put an Engo on it.
 
Had a Engo10000 on my Heep years ago, used it few a few times never had a problem (sold). Now I have Aisin OEM Toyota winch on 80 much better build quality and works great.
 
I'm assume your referring to the Aisin? I got it from another MUD member about a year ago. If you keep an eye on the classifieds they come up once in awhile. Mine came with everything, which is why I bought it. I have heard things like the remote winch control are hard to come by and really expensive. Mr T did a good job of building a winch worthy of being on a Landcruiser.
 
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For all interested I settled on a 9500lb Smittybilt.Because the difference in price allowed my to grab a diff breather kit, in the northeast we have rocks and Mud and lots of water crossings .
Diff Breather Kit - BRC Double Blue TOYOTA Hilux Landcruiser Prado

Smittybilt 98495 XRC GEN2 Comp Series 9,500 lb. Waterproof Winch Universal
 
We have been an Engo dealer for several years now and sell several every week. I have some write ups on our site about Engo (ex Mile Marker owners), winch selection... what you need vs what you want....and where winches are made nowadays.

We have had 2-3 warranties on Engo winches, non fatal, components and have sold hundreds of them. For the money they are hard to beat but read my winch selection article for more insight.

And yes, you get what you pay for BUT what do you NEED?

Engo: NEW VENDOR: ENGO WINCHES

Winch Selection: WINCH SELECTION

The winches we sell: Vehicle Winches
 
Engo is a JAC company.

(Just Another Chinese)

The quality is steadily getting better and parts are interchangeable among winches of the same type of other brands.

Not exactly, again, I go over this more in my winch selection article.

engo 12000 lb and Harbor Freight 12000 lb is the same winch just different name on it i also have Harbor Freight 12000 lb winch and no problems at all

No, not the same.

Funny you say that. I spoke with Joel at ENGO while sorting out some wiring. He told me they get them from China, and that they also make Rough Country, Harbor Freight, and a few others whose name I don't recall. Pretty interesting. It's getting swapped for a Warn (or that Canadian one 4x4Labs recommends) after I get a new rear bumper.

That is true, Joel and Drew do private labeling for a list of companies including RC and Cabelas.....lights too, not just winches.
 
We have been an Engo dealer for several years now and sell several every week. I have some write ups on our site about Engo (ex Mile Marker owners), winch selection... what you need vs what you want....and where winches are made nowadays.

We have had 2-3 warranties on Engo winches, non fatal, components and have sold hundreds of them. For the money they are hard to beat but read my winch selection article for more insight.

And yes, you get what you pay for BUT what do you NEED?

Engo: NEW VENDOR: ENGO WINCHES

Winch Selection: WINCH SELECTION

The winches we sell: Vehicle Winches
What do I need? I need my winch to work when I'm in a bind on a precarious granite slab that also Icy and the nearest winching point is 100 feet away and I can't gain access to all my winch line because a set screw that penetrates the drum and, apparently has something to do with the brake, backed out and allowed my brake to bind up rendering my Engo 10000 as useless as tits on a boar. That is when I needed it to work and it left me waiting for a passerby to help and the Rubicon isn't exactly a busy place on. Tuesday in January.

Is engo's parent company American or is all off the money going to China where is stays locked up in gold vaults?

More importantly, how can you help me fix my Engo 10000 so I can at least sell it for a buck or two. No, I don't have a receipt and I'm not the original purchaser as it came new in the box with an 80 series I bought three years ago. It was used perhaps 8 or 10 times.

I replaced the Engo with a lightly used 2003 model Warn HS9500i. The difference is night and day.
 
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