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Current state of winches?

Hooligan said:
A Warn says M12000, but a lot of stickers worn off. Price seem reasonable
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For that money you can get a brand new 10K Smittybuilt with rope
 
Skimmed through this thread and I am surprised at the minimal mention of HF winches. The overwhelming majority around here run Harbor Freight 12000 models. Not the newly released ones that cost more, just the old model. They are so cheap that the argument is why not just get the 12 instead of the 9k. Sure there are plenty of Warns and some Milemarkers floating around, but the HF models are holding up. Yes they are fucking slow, but they work. Finding a used Warn is pretty difficult around here, but when you do, its more expensive than it should be (most of the time).
 
GBG8201 said:
Skimmed through this thread and I am surprised at the minimal mention of HF winches. The overwhelming majority around here run Harbor Freight 12000 models. Not the newly released ones that cost more, just the old model. They are so cheap that the argument is why not just get the 12 instead of the 9k. Sure there are plenty of Warns and some Milemarkers floating around, but the HF models are holding up. Yes they are fucking slow, but they work. Finding a used Warn is pretty difficult around here, but when you do, its more expensive than it should be (most of the time).
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the 9k should be faster than the 12k, so that's the reason not to spend the extra $5.
 
Ive not had real world experience with the axiom 5500 yet

That being said Ive got a axiom 5500 with synthetic rope sitting in the shop showroom along side several other warn models. most people will make a joke about what would you pull with that tiny thing. Next they go to pick it up only to realize its not a lightwieght quad winch. without putting it on a scale id say its close to the same weight as the discontinued warn m6000 equipped with synthetic line
 
PointsNorth said:
Ive not had real world experience with the axiom 5500 yet

That being said Ive got a axiom 5500 with synthetic rope sitting in the shop showroom along side several other warn models. most people will make a joke about what would you pull with that tiny thing. Next they go to pick it up only to realize its not a lightwieght quad winch. without putting it on a scale id say its close to the same weight as the discontinued warn m6000 equipped with synthetic line
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"ATV winch" is in the 20lb range. AXOM 5500S is 29 lbs. Other Warn winches (and comp) are from 75-98 lbs.

Not saying they are equal but are comparable. Strength, line speed, and duty cycles are big factors. If you have the time, a snatch block works on the strength factor. And maybe the bumper doesn't need to be 100lbs+ either.
 
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Bought a Warm M8000 about 6 years ago, Nothing but trouble. Never been submerged in water, but the planetary assembly has rusted up soild on me 2x. I guess rain can get into it. Motor brushes corroded and broke off inside the motor and shorted out on me when i needed it. Signs of water in there as well.

Rebuilt it once again and bought a cover for it. We'll see how it does next time i need it :shaking:
 
have an 8274 and hs9500i and both have been great winches. No load line speed is a deal breaker for me. I hate slow winches. Picked mine up used for cheap. Id look for a used warn.
 
I got a Shittybilt 10K Comp...it's only been tested out while drunk. Either winching other peoples shit or gettin myself outta shenanigans I shouldn't be in...but it continues to work and i've done nothing to it for 3 years now. We'll see how it holds up. Rope probably has 1 more season on it left and that's it.

I've only ran Warn's in the past fyi.
 
Is the nuetral lever broken off?
 
Yotota said:
Timely thread, I've never bought a new winch or even shopped for one as the ones I've had came to me used on trucks.

But I have an old faithful Warn XD9000i on the Taco. 125 feet of steel cable is awesome, but also heavy. I was debating on getting synthetic rope to cut 20lb or so... But then again I could sell this thing for $500 and get a new Smittybilt comp gen3 winch for the same money.

What do you guys think, older used Warn VS new China winch?
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this one has been working great for me sinch 2016. it even came with wireless remote..
 
8274. Got my last one for $500cdn.

I fucking hate that all the good old shit is getting harder to find.
 
I ran the HF 12000 FOREVER (10yrs). Beat that shit into the ground. The only problem was with the remote, which I regularly lost. I finally soldered in a hard switch in the dash and it worked like a champ till I sold the truck. That was in an m998 w/ a ton of mods. I pulled hi centered duces free with a tail strap.
 
I used my 12k HF winch on my trailer finally. I don't know how you guys use these cheap shit winches all the time. It sounded like I was having a hard time pulling a ~6k lb truck up the trailer and took forever. I mean it worked, and is a fraction of a new M12, but a 50 year old 8274 would have done it in 1/4 of the time.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I used my 12k HF winch on my trailer finally. I don't know how you guys use these cheap shit winches all the time. It sounded like I was having a hard time pulling a ~6k lb truck up the trailer and took forever. I mean it worked, and is a fraction of a new M12, but a 50 year old 8274 would have done it in 1/4 of the time.
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I love how you just gloss over the massive price difference as if it's just a minor feature disparity.

Ignorance truly is bliss.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I used my 12k HF winch on my trailer finally. I don't know how you guys use these cheap shit winches all the time. It sounded like I was having a hard time pulling a ~6k lb truck up the trailer and took forever. I mean it worked, and is a fraction of a new M12, but a 50 year old 8274 would have done it in 1/4 of the time.
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You want a fast $1,00 4 ton winch over a slow $400 6 ton winch. I guess you could just buy a newer $1,000 winch and have less to complain about.

I have a smittybuilt 9,500. It came with the jeep. It’s slow. Painfully slow. I have low standards for a $400 winch. It has worked the one or two times I’ve needed to use it so I don’t spend money to upgrade. Maybe later when I hate the thing and I have $1,000 burning holes in my pocket I’ll have a Warn or Superwincj but until then this is it for me.

EDIT: The harbor freight 12000 pound winches are a 210 or a 265:1 gear ratio. WOW! THAT SUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKSSSS!
 
Probably just me but I think 8274 winches are just alright. I think they're cool they just kind of take up a lot of space for what they are. I've had a couple and I would definitely buy another one for the right price, not hunting them down though and it wouldn't be my first choice.

Kind of an annoyance too when it's the only thing on your rig that leaks oil.
 
Only winch i have in use at the moment, am in process of converting another braden from a 12K mechanical to a direct drive hydraulic

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arse_sidewards said:
I love how you just gloss over the massive price difference as if it's just a minor feature disparity.

Ignorance truly is bliss.
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For one, I literally said it's a fraction of a new m12000 warn.

Then I mentioned a 70s 8274, which can easily be had for the same price as a new HF 12k. I bought a super nice 80s 8274 with a cover and jeep mount for $500 and a working 70s model with no remote for $75. They are 100 times the winch of a HF and can be fixed and rebuilt still.

RunningProblem said:
You want a fast $1,00 4 ton winch over a slow $400 6 ton winch. I guess you could just buy a newer $1,000 winch and have less to complain about.
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You get what you pay for. A new 8274 is more like $2800 though :laughing:

I did pick up a 9500cti or whatever new in box for $850. It's a killer winch, super fast and pulls harder than that HF 12k.

RunningProblem said:
I have a smittybuilt 9,500. It came with the jeep. It’s slow. Painfully slow. I have low standards for a $400 winch. It has worked the one or two times I’ve needed to use it so I don’t spend money to upgrade. Maybe later when I hate the thing and I have $1,000 burning holes in my pocket I’ll have a Warn or Superwincj but until then this is it for me.

EDIT: The harbor freight 12000 pound winches are a 210 or a 265:1 gear ratio. WOW! THAT SUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKSSSS!
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I realize some people don't use their winches as much as me. I'm always doing dumb shit like going to the snow alone and have literally winched for hours on end. The HF stuff is fine for trailers, but I'd never put one on a crawler.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
For one, I literally said it's a fraction of a new m12000 warn.

Then I mentioned a 70s 8274, which can easily be had for the same price as a new HF 12k. I bought a super nice 80s 8274 with a cover and jeep mount for $500 and a working 70s model with no remote for $75. They are 100 times the winch of a HF and can be fixed and rebuilt still.
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It's not worth arguing with him, he's God's gift to whatever he decides to yammer about.
 
Squamch said:
It's not worth arguing with him, he's God's gift to whatever he decides to yammer about.
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Anyone have any experience with the warn axon winches yet?

I have a 6k lb viper on my ~2200 lb samurai. And I'm not very happy with it. It's slow, and has broken twice just doing regular pulls. The line it came with is cheap and has broken also.

I don't really want to go to a full size winch for something that wieghs less than some bigger sxs's, but I want this thing to work when I need it.
 
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