Pros and cons on Harbor Freight's 12,000 lbs Bad Land winch (2 Viewers)

[Dragos80]

That's the reason I asked. Could not find the answer myself after searching online.
Warn simply states it has the longest duty cycle. Awesome!!!
SB, nothing I can find.
HF, 5%.
SW 2 minutes on/15 min off, so about 13%.

 

[jvazquez53]

I don't have direct experience with the HF winches specifically, but I have messed with other Chinese winches. They all seem about the same to me...which is, they are reasonable and they work, but don't expect them to be really nice. I had a Champion 8000 on my old 4runner that saw a fair amount of use, and it always worked like a champ. It always sounded like a box of rocks when in use though.

I currently have a Bulldog 9500 under my 80. I haven't done much more than play with it, but it also works. It's quieter than my Champion, smooth but very slow.

For occasional/incidental use, I'm OK with cheap winches. (whether HF or any other...all are equal to me, so just get what's cheapest) If you want something you can really rely on, buck up and get a Warn. You can buy 3 or 4 HF winches for the cost of one Warn though, so it really depends on if you have a real NEED for a winch or just a desire.

The only experience I had with Harbor Freight is a orbital polisher I bought from them. After one use I threw it in the trash. Bad quality, poorly made. Looked like one of those cheap toys. I was tempted to buy one of those winches, but I decided for a Superwinch LP1000 that works great.

 

[half k cruiser]

The only experience I had with Harbor Freight is a orbital polisher I bought from them. After one use I threw it in the trash. Bad quality, poorly made. Looked like one of those cheap toys. I was tempted to buy one of those winches, but I decided for a Superwinch LP1000 that works great.

So you passed on the HF branded winch because you had a bad experience with their orbital polisher ? Then you went out and bought a winch that is arguably built in the same exact factory as the HF winch ?

 

[Qball]

So you passed on the HF branded winch because you had a bad experience with their orbital polisher ? Then you went out and bought a winch that is arguably built in the same exact factory as the HF winch ?

Scratching my head with the same question. First of all which orbital polisher did you get, if you gotten the 60 dollar one then you may not of had the same issue because mine is damn good and praised even by auto detail snobs who owns the 350 dollar German polisher.

Second where do you take your super winch when it does bad? HF is usually super good about return and stuff especially if you buy their warranty.

 

[jvazquez53]

Scratching my head with the same question. First of all which orbital polisher did you get, if you gotten the 60 dollar one then you may not of had the same issue because mine is damn good and praised even by auto detail snobs who owns the 350 dollar German polisher.

Second where do you take your super winch when it does bad? HF is usually super good about return and stuff especially if you buy their warranty.

My Superwinch has local dealer support, I had an issue with the connector and was solved in no time. As for the polisher it was a $40.00 one. I got rid of it and bought a Craftsman, problem solved.

 

[Marine7]

So you passed on the HF branded winch because you had a bad experience with their orbital polisher ? Then you went out and bought a winch that is arguably built in the same exact factory as the HF winch ?

Lol.... go figure!..... lol

 

[Marine7]

I once bought some led lights from Amazon that sucked ass...... so now I won't buy their Reef flip flops!! Sound familiar?? Lol

 

[Dragos80]

I hope this helps a little.
Maybe someone has some more info to fill in the unknown (to me) data.

 

[half k cruiser]

When you look at the specs, and the cases you can see just how many of these are made in the same factory. Ningbo Winch & Manufacture Ltd is the main one I believe.

 

[jvazquez53]

Lol.... go figure!..... lol

However, I'm pretty sure that the service warranty from Superwinch is far better. As of now every time I contact them, they help me out. Not to mention the local dealer...

 

[mingles]

FYI - Harbor Freight Black Friday sale mailer I got today has the 12K Badland winch for $277. At that price you can almost afford a second one as a spare .

 

[Tennessee80]

That's gonna be a heavy a** spare back there, better have some good drawer slides! LOL

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

My next winch will be a WARN Zeon 10s Platinum ZEON 10-S Platinum Winch

Recently did a very remote trip with 6 load vehicles and one winch. I was happy to see it was a WARN and by the end of the trip I wanted a new winch, its a true work horse. After an easy 50+ pulls including uprighting a couple of big vehicles and several broken winch lines the Zeon never got warm or showed and sign of fatigue even under heavy short pulls.

Ya there will be a bunch say the cost is high and you could buy several HF winches for the same money I say buy a couple spares and carry them. When you depend on it and possible your life its well worth the one time investment with piece of mind.

 

[ThreeEyedBandit]

Just because this got bumped. I bought one 8ish years ago and installed on my old 80, used the snot out of it. Never maintained with many heavy pulls in the snow, rocks and some mud. I was very happy with it for the money, and wouldn't hesitate buying another if I need.

Winch is still being used on occasion by the 80s new owner for the past three years.

As a side note I bought it knowing it was a cheap replacable item and treated it with ill regard for keeping it alive, yet it kept on trucking.

 

[Rifleman]

My next winch will be a WARN Zeon 10s Platinum ZEON 10-S Platinum Winch

Recently did a very remote trip with 6 load vehicles and one winch. I was happy to see it was a WARN and by the end of the trip I wanted a new winch, its a true work horse. After an easy 50+ pulls including uprighting a couple of big vehicles and several broken winch lines the Zeon never got warm or showed and sign of fatigue even under heavy short pulls.

Ya there will be a bunch say the cost is high and you could buy several HF winches for the same money I say buy a couple spares and carry them. When you depend on it and possible your life its well worth the one time investment with piece of mind.

I agree with Phil, a quality product is remembered long after a cheap price is forgotten, plus, if you buy a quality product, you only buy it once.

 

[Nathan King]

I currently use the Harbor Freight 12000 lbs badland winch. Best bang for the buck out there. I've had more expensive name-brand winches before. I say don't believe the hype. The badland weeks great.

 

[jonheld]

My Warn M12K is now 20 years old, mounted on its second 80 Series, and on its 4th rope (soon to be 5th as my current one is due for replacement).
It gets serviced regularly like any other mechanical item on my truck and has done countless pulls and vehicle extractions over the years, and has saved my bacon on more than one occasion. It's noisy, it's slow, and it always works.

 

[Dragos80]

It gets serviced regularly like any other mechanical item on my truck

This is the most relevant statement so far.

 

[flintknapper]

I currently use the Harbor Freight 12000 lbs badland winch. Best bang for the buck out there. I've had more expensive name-brand winches before. I say don't believe the hype. The badland weeks great.

You must work for Harbor Freight?

 

[Marine7]

The Harbor freight winch on the front of my Cruiser is just about 10 years old, and with regular “maintainanance “ it hasn’t let me down yet!!