Harbor Freight Winches (1 Viewer)

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Shack, 80t0ylc, or anyone with an 80 series and ARB with Harbor Freight 12k.I recently got a wrecked ARB and because of the damage Ive cut the side wings off. Currently its just the middle winch cradle. I'm wondering how much of it i can trim off to move the whole cradle back and still be able to fit a winch.

Took a quick look at mine with a flashlight and tape measure. There's about 1.75" clearance from my sheetmetal below the grill to the top crossbar on the HF 12K. Don't know anything about the mounts and framehorns 'cause I haven't had the ARB off since I mounted it 11 yrs ago. Also looks like you'll need to trim the cradle near the sheetmetal under the grill. So I guess it also depends on which winch you want to mount. I guess you can even trim sheetmetal if you really want to. HTH
 
Thanks for taking the time to measure that, Tom. Sounds like it won't be worthwhile to modify it the way I had in mind for only 1.75" more clearance. I definitely don't want to cut the 80 at all.
 
Erik - Let me know if you need any other measurements or pictures. Looks like you have your question answered though.
 
Erik - Let me know if you need any other measurements or pictures. Looks like you have your question answered though.

Thanks Mike. Will do.
 
ERG80, Erik is it? Post up some pix of your work so far on the ARB. I'm sure you'll get some ideas from others on here as to what you might try. Maybe even fabbing some new wings. Don't know what your skills are, but the center part of the winch-ready ARB is a good base for a front bumper on the 80 series, if you're wanting to put a winch on it.
 
ERG80, Erik is it? Post up some pix of your work so far on the ARB. I'm sure you'll get some ideas from others on here as to what you might try. Maybe even fabbing some new wings. Don't know what your skills are, but the center part of the winch-ready ARB is a good base for a front bumper on the 80 series, if you're wanting to put a winch on it.

My goal is to have kind of an ARB/Shortbus hybrid. I'm going to reuse the old wings after i straighten them out and then trim them for more clearance. Ill probably add some reinforcements since the bumper will have lost a lot of its strength. If it turns out well Ill do a build thread in the 80 section.

Basic design right now:
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erg801.JPG
 
My goal is to have kind of an ARB/Shortbus hybrid. I'm going to reuse the old wings after i straighten them out and then trim them for more clearance. Ill probably add some reinforcements since the bumper will have lost a lot of its strength. If it turns out well Ill do a build thread in the 80 section......

Erik, if you can pick up a HF 12K for your ARB hybrid bumper, that'll be a sweet setup for reasonable $. I noticed the difference immediately when I went from the 8K I had before to the 12K I am now using. For a rig the size of our 80s, I'm convinced now that a 12K is hands down much better. Yes, you can get by with a smaller winch and a snatch block. And it seemed like I almost always had to pull from the 1st or 2nd wrap. With the 12K, I'm not having to spool out so far and the power is there on the outer wraps.
 
Erik, if you can pick up a HF 12K for your ARB hybrid bumper, that'll be a sweet setup for reasonable $. I noticed the difference immediately when I went from the 8K I had before to the 12K I am now using. For a rig the size of our 80s, I'm convinced now that a 12K is hands down much better. Yes, you can get by with a smaller winch and a snatch block. And it seemed like I almost always had to pull from the 1st or 2nd wrap. With the 12K, I'm not having to spool out so far and the power is there on the outer wraps.

Thanks Tom, just waiting for a sale on them to pick one up.
 
Hf 12k winch question

Any idea if it will fit a short bus bumper?
 
Any idea if it will fit a short bus bumper?

My HF 12K is 21" long. From what I've gathered in this forum (Winching an Recovery), most 12K planatary style are close in size and mount style. Strongest mount is feet forward, so I guess it's up to the bumper builder and what they're recommending. If its made with a winch mount and rated for a 12K, it should fit.
 
Is the selenoid on HF 12K sealed? I was looking at the tuff stuff 12500lb winch and they have a waterproof ($325) and non-waterproof ($275). The tuff stuff has a 6.65hp motor, but it would be $55 extra for shipping and I would have to wait on it. I like the reviews on this post of the HF 12K and my local HF store has 4 of the newest model in stock. 20% off of $399 with taxes would about $350. I was just wondering if the selenoid was sealed.

I was thinking about a more power puller come-a-along, but with amsteel blue, the more power puller would be about $325 to my door. I could have a solid 12K winch up front for $25 more. No brainer. I'm pulling the trigger this week, just before I head out on my first real Colorado trail ride up Mt Baldy. I'll be a guest of a local bronco club. Should be a fun snow ride.
 
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I just watched the HF promo videos a second time and I guess I didn't catch when they said "fully sealed selenoids." Good stuff. I'm getting one this week and installing it on my boxed in front frame area. It will be on top of the frame rails. I'll post some pics of the install and what it looks like on top of the frame. I might have to mount the selenoid elsewhere like others have done. I'm really excited! Great value for a 12000lb winch!
 
Is the selenoid on HF 12K sealed? I was looking at the tuff stuff 12500lb winch and they have a waterproof ($325) and non-waterproof ($275). The tuff stuff has a 6.65hp motor, but it would be $55 extra for shipping and I would have to wait on it. I like the reviews on this post of the HF 12K and my local HF store has 4 of the newest model in stock. 20% off of $399 with taxes would about $350. I was just wondering if the selenoid was sealed.

I was thinking about a more power puller come-a-along, but with amsteel blue, the more power puller would be about $325 to my door. I could have a solid 12K winch up front for $25 more. No brainer. I'm pulling the trigger this week, just before I head out on my first real Colorado trail ride up Mt Baldy. I'll be a guest of a local bronco club. Should be a fun snow ride.

I just watched the HF promo videos a second time and I guess I didn't catch when they said "fully sealed selenoids." Good stuff. I'm getting one this week and installing it on my boxed in front frame area. It will be on top of the frame rails. I'll post some pics of the install and what it looks like on top of the frame. I might have to mount the selenoid elsewhere like others have done. I'm really excited! Great value for a 12000lb winch!

Yeah, I just watched that video. I also went and eyeballed mine. It does look pretty well sealed up. However, I'm not sure how it would hold up submerged. But, I think for most weather conditions, you could safely assume it was sealed, as they claim. Woody (Site Host), has a HF and has mentioned that he'll have more confidence in the HF winches if his survives a Wisconsin winter :lol:.

Curious to see how your install turns out. Yeah, be sure to post some pix :cheers:
 
The solenoid boxes are not sealed really well. It has a breather hole in it and the cables going into it arent water tight. I opened mine up since i had to make some brackets to remount it and used silicone to seal it up.

If you want to make it water tight you can seal where the 3 cables go in with silicone and plug the hole or enlarge it and add a 1/8" NPT fitting and add a breather hose.
 
the sad thing is they are made in china ,i bought a skid of the 10,000 lb hf winches at an auction there were 24 winches for 110.00 bucks .pulled out a6x6 sunk down 5 inches with3 flat tires and one locked rear tire.used a snatch block and the winch survived,i didnt care because i had 23 spares.have them on lots of our trucks some front and rear and so far they work ok.
 
I guess I don't know what to say about that. $110 for all 24 or for $110 per winch? I think I'd be tempted to post an ad in classified. If they're complete and in good shape you could recoup your investment with 1 sale. Course shipping might kill the deal.
 
I bought the 12000 pounder for $319.00 before taxes with the 20% off coupon. Here it is installed above the frame rails:
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The only issues I had were the owner's manual says the mounting hardware included four M12-1.75 x 30mm for the winch itself and two M10-1.5 x 25mm for the fairlead. It was actually backwards with four M10-1.5 x 30mm for the winch and two M12-1.75 x 25mm for the fairlead. I did not like the bolt heads on the hardware provided (M10's were under 17mm, around 16mm, and the M12's were under 19mm, around 18mm for some reason) and I went out and bought my own. Amazing winch for the price!
 
I don't know why, but I like how you mounted the solenoid pack :D. Looks like your ready for action. Nice job!!! Be sure to post your wins & losses while winching in this thread for us other Badlands owners. How much did your front supension settle after mounting? :cheers:
 
Yeah, I ripped that idea straight off your pictures in page 2 of this thread, so thanks. I was not perfectly precise on my drilling of the 4.5" x 10" pattern, so the winch sits just ever so slightly angled back toward the PS of the vehicle. Again, ever so slightly. It is secured very well though. It already snowed on 2" on the winch and then melted, and I ran it briefly afterwards with no trouble.

It weighs 93lbs and dropped my front 0.75-1". I have the Ironman equivalent of the OME 851's, so I assumed that would be the case. My fenders are cut so high up front, it is really a non-issue. I bought my coils in 2009, and they are nice and crusty/rusty, so I might put some OME heavies up front at some point. I'll try it out this weekend and report back. I'm so glad I found this thread a few weeks back. One of the best additions to my rig yet for an incredibly low price. Thanks.
 

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