Harbor Freight Winches

[80t0ylc]

Had a chance to swing by HB last night on the way home from work and look at the winch. I see the roller fairhead is not attached to the winch but loose. It also appears most have turn the winch 90 degrees so the bottom now face front. I understand the spacer just confused on where it's bolting up. Ideally you would want the line to be just above the bottom roller so as you spool out the cable moves up towards the top roller. Would think this would give you the least wear on the rollers. So how you bolting this up to old style ARB bumper?

You know, I just noticed something from the photo you provided for the 60 series, which I am not familiar with. I don't think you will need the spacers. The 60 series ARB looks like the taper is only outside the frame rails. Not so on the 80 series. The taper starts almost at the winch mount bolts. Which is why spacers are needed for mounting the longer planetary winches on the 80 series ARB.

So you should be able to mount the feet of the winch directly to the inside surface of the bumper using the 4 pre-drilled holes and the supplied bolts. They should match exactly. The fair-lead will go on the outside of the bumper and the holes in the fair-lead should match up with at least 2 of the winch mounting holes.

 

[Living in the Past]

You know, I just noticed something from the photo you provided for the 60 series, which I am not familiar with. I don't think you will need the spacers. The 60 series ARB looks like the taper is only outside the frame rails. Not so on the 80 series. The taper starts almost at the winch mount bolts. Which is why spacers are needed for mounting the longer planetary winches on the 80 series ARB.

So you should be able to mount the feet of the winch directly to the inside surface of the bumper using the 4 pre-drilled holes and the supplied bolts. They should match exactly. The fair-lead will go on the outside of the bumper and the holes in the fair-lead should match up with at least 2 of the winch mounting holes.

thanks for the information. I was going to make some spacers tomorrow but I will hold off until I get the winch and bumper together. Maybe this weekend. I know Harbor Freight sells a base that is pre drilled to fit the 6K, 9K and 12K winch but was thinking they may have made the base pattern after standard pattern a popular bumper maker used. ARB wouldn't be a stretch.

 

[80t0ylc]

thanks for the information. I was going to make some spacers tomorrow but I will hold off until I get the winch and bumper together. Maybe this weekend. I know Harbor Freight sells a base that is pre drilled to fit the 6K, 9K and 12K winch but was thinking they may have made the base pattern after standard pattern a popular bumper maker used. ARB wouldn't be a stretch.

The base pattern for the winch is already pre-drilled into the ARB bumper. You do not need anything else. It is a standard mounting pattern that most modern winch makers follow. The roller fair-lead mounting can be tricky, though. Older ARB specs were for the Warn roller fair-lead. The bumper came with long bolts that were used to replace the vertical pivot pins in the fair-lead. The curved bracket on the face of the bumper with holes allowed the vertical pivot bolts to give it additional support on side pulls.

The winch mounting bolts can be run through the fair-lead to mount it. If necessary additional holes can be drilled in the fair-lead plate to accomplish this. What you are looking for in alignment of the fair-lead, winch and bumper is: the bottom (1st) layer of winch line spooling off the winch should run straight through as close to center, top to bottom, of the fair-lead as possible. Side to side is already taken care of. The big rectangular hole in the bumper that the winch line runs through can also be used as a guide.

This is for wire rope. A hawse fair-lead is used for synthetic rope.

 

[Living in the Past]

I had a chance to work on getting the it installed this weekend. It would not fit up from the bottom because of a support tube in that area but with the off road lights removed I was able to snake it in between the top and middle bars. Everything bolted up. The fairhead was to low so I brought the fair head home to drill new holes. The pins in the side rollers line up with the ones on the bracket sticking off the front of the bumper. Moving the fairhead up to fit up against the bracket all should be good. The pin size for the rollers is either 5/8" or 16MM. I picked up a couple of 5/8" by 5 1/2" bolts but thinking I should get some longer bolts and cut the thread off so that everything the roller rides on is shaft and not threads. The roller is a stainless steel sleeve with a nylon bushing on the ends. Besides being nylon it is also splined. I'm afraid the thread would cut into the nylon. Thoughts?

While reading the manual it states the solenoids can be rewired to reverse the switch action. So does the brake in both forward and reverse? Could the cable be fed from the oposite direction on the spool and work? The reason I ask is the opening in the bumper is offset to the passenger's side. The winch has very little clearance on the pasenger's side flipping it over would center it better. Not a big deal just wondering.

I see where others have relocated the solenoid box off the winch to protect it from the cable. I have a couple of other electric winches and bunch of PTO winches. Biggest danger I see is spooling the cable off to quick with the released then continue to unspool once person stops pulling the cable. I find the easiest thing to do is pull the cable off slowing or have a second person with a heavy glove put some pressure on the spool. So I moved it between the spool and grill. I also see where some have rotated the handle for the spool clutch back toward the top. Does this matter? With extra lights mounted on the bull bar the best eccess is from the side and the side of the winch is easier to reach than the top. Same with the cable connections to the winch. Anything wrong with the side and not the top?

Biggest complaint I have is the directions should have you connect the negative cable on the winch before installing the winch. The clearance between the terminal and bumper is close. Even rotated to sit on a plate it going to be tight.

 

[80t0ylc]

I had a chance to work on getting the it installed this weekend. It would not fit up from the bottom because of a support tube in that area but with the off road lights removed I was able to snake it in between the top and middle bars. Everything bolted up. The fairhead was to low so I brought the fair head home to drill new holes. The pins in the side rollers line up with the ones on the bracket sticking off the front of the bumper. Moving the fairhead up to fit up against the bracket all should be good. The pin size for the rollers is either 5/8" or 16MM. I picked up a couple of 5/8" by 5 1/2" bolts but thinking I should get some longer bolts and cut the thread off so that everything the roller rides on is shaft and not threads. The roller is a stainless steel sleeve with a nylon bushing on the ends. Besides being nylon it is also splined. I'm afraid the thread would cut into the nylon. Thoughts?........

I agree. Best to avoid having bushing on threads.

........While reading the manual it states the solenoids can be rewired to reverse the switch action. So does the brake in both forward and reverse? Could the cable be fed from the oposite direction on the spool and work? The reason I ask is the opening in the bumper is offset to the passenger's side. The winch has very little clearance on the pasenger's side flipping it over would center it better. Not a big deal just wondering.......

Yes, brake works in either direction. It engages when motor stops. Flipping it should be fine, provided cable exits directly straight forward through bumper and fair lead, not at an angle to get through bumper and fairlead.

......I see where others have relocated the solenoid box off the winch to protect it from the cable. I have a couple of other electric winches and bunch of PTO winches. Biggest danger I see is spooling the cable off to quick with the released then continue to unspool once person stops pulling the cable. I find the easiest thing to do is pull the cable off slowing or have a second person with a heavy glove put some pressure on the spool. So I moved it between the spool and grill. I also see where some have rotated the handle for the spool clutch back toward the top. Does this matter? With extra lights mounted on the bull bar the best eccess is from the side and the side of the winch is easier to reach than the top. Same with the cable connections to the winch. Anything wrong with the side and not the top?

Biggest complaint I have is the directions should have you connect the negative cable on the winch before installing the winch. The clearance between the terminal and bumper is close. Even rotated to sit on a plate it going to be tight.

"Clocking" the handles and winch for convenience to reach controls and/or for clearance of wires or controls is entirely acceptable. I believe some have done this with the Badlands already in this thread. I have not had to do this but maybe some who have can chime in with tips. The last page of directions shows an assembly diagram to help with part orientation.

 

[elephantsCBR]

Does anyone else's remote suck. I used it for the first time really the otherday, and kept having to beat it to make it work. Winch it self worked perfect.

Thanks Cody Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[lathamb]

Picked one of these up today. The price is just too good, especially after i use the cash from recycling my cats and some other scrap metal, and some $ from a small work bonus. Brings the total out of my wallet to about $100.

 

[duggy]

Does anyone else's remote suck. I used it for the first time really the otherday, and kept having to beat it to make it work. Winch it self worked perfect.

Thanks Cody Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

I haven't had a problem with the stock remote, but it got stolen so I had HF send me another one for like $8. I also have their wireless remote and it works great.

I am ditching my wire line soon. It's just too clunky to work with. I'll be upgrading to synthetic line.

 

[Azonic84]

I am going to pick up a HF 12k tonight. I am going to use a steel warn hawse fairlead.

 

[Azonic84]

I went to HF. I just couldnt pull the trigger on a 12k from there. Something in the back of my mind kept telling me not to do it. I am going to wait on a Engo I think, they are getting shining reviews.

 

[geocruiser]

I am going to pick up a HF 12k tonight. I am going to use a steel warn hawse fairlead.

I have an older 10k HF winch, and I use use warn steel hawse fairlead. Works great!

Sent from my Thunderbonner using IH8MUD

 

[Brake Weight]

Winch, remote, and 2 year HF warranty for under $400.



View attachment 705748

 

[BamaPaul]

so has anyone had problems with the synthetic rope? What size have you been using?

 

[Southeast Overland]

so has anyone had problems with the synthetic rope? What size have you been using?

I didn't think the Badlands winches came with synthetic line???

As far as sizes synthetic line sizes you have three diameters that are commonly used on winches for vehicles of our size. Strengths below are for Amsteel Blue Dyneema SK75.
5/16" has an average break strength of 13,700 lbs.
3/8" = 19,600 lbs.
7/16" = 23,900 lbs.

When a line is spliced it can lose 0-10% of its strength due to the splice. This can vary a bit between splices and techniques.

I recommend a line that is at least 1.5x the strength of your winch. When you factor in some winches pull a bit more than their stated strength, and then potential dynamic forces (bouncing), then you can quickly surpass the line's strength. Keep in mind synthetic line is stronger than steel cable...

So for a:

• 8,000 lb winch you can go with 5/16" or 3/8".
• 9,000 lb winch I'd recommend 3/8".
• 10,000 lb winch I'd recommend 3/8".
• 12,000 lb winch I'd recommend 3/8" and a few people go with 7/16". The 7/16" is fine just remember you get less line on a spool with the larger diameter line.
• 15,000 lb winch I'd recommend 7/16" line.

As far as length of line on a winch don't put more line on a winch that what is recommended. If you put too much as you get in a side pull situation you can easily bunch up your line on one side of the winch drum and cause binding issues and possibly more.


Some people opt to go with a bit less line (say 80' on a typical 8,000 lb winch instead of 100') to help avoid the side binding problem. To be safe these buys sometimes carry an extension.

 

[BamaPaul]

Thanks for the info it is very helpful. I know all of the badland winches come with steel rope but I figure there have been at least a couple of people swap over to the synthetic stuff and had some opinions.

 

[Southeast Overland]

Thanks for the info it is very helpful. I know all of the badland winches come with steel rope but I figure there have been at least a couple of people swap over to the synthetic stuff and had some opinions.

There are probably a few who have switched their wire cable from a Badlands over to synthetic. The results should be very similar to other winches with an internal brake.

 

[mgoblue]

Looks like the Badlands 12k is back to $299 this weekend.

 

[skidplate]

I got the 9000lb for Christmas and installed it a couple of days ago. I was trying to figure how to mount it without having to fab something up or buy a new bumper. Got the 25% off coupon and pulled the trigger on the Badlands winch mount. $30.00 and change out the door. I don't think I could have bought the scrap and fabbed something up for that. The only modification I had to do was drill the mount where the tow hooks on the Cruiser are, and used 1" heavy square tube as a spacer between the mounting channel and the truck frame. The only reason I needed the spacer was that the roller fairlead was hitting the bumper so I had to raise it 1". All and all, very simple operation. Mounted the solenoid box next to the winch on the mounting channel behind the license plate. Time will tell on it's durability.

 

[skidplate]

I may have posed this before, but thought this was interesting. This was printed in the in-directions for the winch mounting channel.

 

[80t0ylc]

...... The only modification I had to do was drill the mount where the tow hooks on the Cruiser are, and used 1" heavy square tube as a spacer between the mounting channel and the truck frame. The only reason I needed the spacer was that the roller fairlead was hitting the bumper so I had to raise it 1". All and all, very simple operation. Mounted the solenoid box next to the winch on the mounting channel behind the license plate. Time will tell on it's durability.

Square tube or bar? Looks like they're solid to me. How many bolts and where are they located that mount your winch mount plate to the frame? Can't tell much from the photos.