You got the Harbor Freight special then....like $299 for the winch. I'd like to know how that works, my guess is since it's a Ramsey castoff, that it's a better winch than the MM.
I look at winch purchases this way....they aren't like tires, where you know you are stuck buying new every few years. My 1974 Warn Bellevue still works great...winches should be looked at as a near-lifetime purchase, and they CAN potentially be a lifesaving device. A 8274-50 is $1000...but over 20 years of ownership, it's relatively cheap. Also, when I need a winch to work, I NEED it to work....not have any concerns about the quality of the build or components, and have a nagging "fear" that it may not free my rig. I have been in situations where getting another rig into position to free mine would have been near-impossible....and a failed self-recovery would have landed me at the bottom of a ravine.
My Bellevue sits on the garage floor awaiting another project to be installed onto....the only reason I pulled that winch was because it didn't have the power-out option...something I had discovered I needed on rare occasions.
