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New Badland Apex 12,000 lb. Winch (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter Dragos80
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I’m sorry, but does no one else see the irony of owning a Toyota/Lexus with an ARB bumper and then putting a Harbor Freight winch on it? I mean.....
landwagon
SILVER Star
I get it, but it works well.
I mainly don't trust Harbor Fraud to keep up the QC over the years. I imagine their first few batches will be their best ones. I could be wrong though and a $500 winch like this is tempting. If I found one for half that used I would probably snag it for a portable hitch receiver winch.
If warn wasn't now made in China, you might have a point.
John McVicker
SILVER Star
My understanding is that none of Warns are MADE in China...parts sourced yes, but made in Oregon. Not positive on that tho... this may have changed.
BUT what I’m sure of is you can get parts for all Warn Winches by simply calling Warn...try calling HF for parts for their winches.
BUT what I’m sure of is you can get parts for all Warn Winches by simply calling Warn...try calling HF for parts for their winches.
Pretty sure the Warn VR series is 100% made in China, M#### series has Chinese/foreign parts, and Zeon is made in USA. The Apex competes directly with the VR winches, but can be had for much cheaper. And some replacement parts for the Apex are available now, but I don't think they were yet at launch.
The Warn guy has posted throughout the forum on this topic and sufficiently debunked this rumor in my mind.
My point is you have arguably the best production 4x4s with the best production or custom bumpers out there and then people are mounting the cheapest winch you can find on that rig.
I just find that very ironic.
John McVicker
SILVER Star
Totally agree with this. To me it’s like having a Ferrari, and then buying a set of used tires because they are round, are rubber and will work most of the time. Makes no sense to me.
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A quick look over Warns website and the only winch I could find that is advertised as "Made in the USA" is the M8274. The FTC is fairly strict about these guidelines but even with "Made in USA" the FTC allows small non critical parts like nobs and wires to be imported. So if you want a new "Made in the USA" Warn get the M8274. Safe to assume everything else is a 50/50 USA/Global parts mix so they don't have to slap another county sticker on the side.
"The rest of the Warn winches have a final point of assembly in Clackamas, Oregon." Good enough for me.
Here's the clincher for me, Made in the USA or not. For a Warn winch (and probably a Ramsey), I can send an email, ask about a problem, get a response back from someone who knows the product, and get a replacement part in my hands in a matter of days from a variety of sources (ebay, Warn, Amazon, Authorized Retailers, etc.) For HF, you are talking weeks/months to get a part, and you are on your own to figure out the problem.
I've rebuilt 4 Warns, one of them a 1st gen VR 12000 (Built in China?), and based on customer service alone, I'm sticking with Warn or Ramsey because their product is supported from within the US. I don't think I can get the same assistance with HF, Smittybilt, Superwinch, etc. I tried once with a Superwinch, and was told since they don't sell that winch anymore, they can't get parts.
That's the path I've decided to take. Y'all can put whatever you want on your truck.
Yeap, not saying it's bad. It's just the reality of the world we live in now. I don't blame Warn either. They don't make all the parts that go into their winches and when those parts manufacturers move over seas they can't really do much about it.
FYI, HF has a 25% coupon this weekend that works on the winch. $450 + tax.
Weird, I bought one today and that coupon only made it 449. How is yours 374?
Just saw that myself and came here to post. That's about $100 cheaper than I've ever seen it. That's a smoking good deal, IMO. Everyone I've actually spoken to in person that has owned and used a HF winch has been pleased with it.
APEX Synthetic 12,000 lb. Wireless Winch - https://www.harborfreight.com/apex-synthetic-12000-lb-wireless-winch-56385.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiMzgxOTkwMDkiLCJza3UiOiI1NjM4NSIsImlzIjoiMzc0Ljk5MjUifQ%3D%3D&cid=paid_google|||56385&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&gclid=CjwKCAiArbv_BRA8EiwAYGs23L_9T1drh3i561JOKPsEBddd2ErN4YkZTmk9bQVWcw4p7wUkC9RBTBoCD0MQAvD_BwE
I just saw a price drop on Google. Could be regional. I didn't think they did that. What price are you getting with the link.
Could it be a site glitch? I see $375 on the product page, but it jumps back to $450 when I hit add to cart. Either price is a great value, but $375 is definitely the lowest I have ever seen it. Might be worth chatting with a sales rep to lock in the lower price if it is some kind of error.
It looks like a site glitch. I wasn't able to get an override from the sales rep on the phone. Direct from google shopping it is $450 but if you follow the link I posted above it is still showing $374.99. If anyone has any luck getting that price or an override in-store today please share.
