$299 again. http://www.harborfreight.com/Off-Roa...tm_source=1002

 

Besides the Harbor Freight reviews, does anyone have anything to say about these?

 

I have had one on my truck and it was a very strong and reliable winch it is now in use one the trailer

 

My buddies and I have been running these for years. For the price they are a good winch. Once or twice a year I take it apart to check and grease everything. I would buy another for my trailer if it didn't already come with one.

 

In one of the major 4x4 magazine winch shoot outs the Badlands crapped out of the box. I think it was 4wheeler last year or 2011...

 

90 Day Warranty? Oof.

 

When I buy stuff from HF, I either only plan to use it temporarily, until I can afford something better. Which is great for tools needed for 1-2 projects. Or if I plan to use something for an extended period, the best thing they sell there is their extended warranties. For a winch, I'd highly recommend it.
I used to build pools and ponds, buying 2-3 service sump pumps a year can add up. I have bought several pumps there and had them outlast higher priced ones. So I started using them in my garden ponds, at least when they pooped out, I could return for new one. The only thing is when you return it, you have to ask for, and purchase a new warrantee.

 

first one i got we burned it up first run.. replacement one has been working fine. 12k. not bad slow coming in but works...

 

An extended warranty wont get you out of a tough spot in the middle of nowhere, just saying.

 

Fairly old thread. I've use one for a while. Not all together bad winches. They are however sloooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww. I'm with zpd426, I wouldn't recommend one for the trail rig if I was running alone and unafraid. As a rear winch or as a trailer winch they are hard to beat.

 

im gonna buy one next time they're on sale

 

you're in luck, there's a parking lot sale coming up next weekend and they're going for $299

 

The harbor freight badland 12k winch was bad out of the box. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to use it for the first 3 months and so am too late to return it or exchange it. I am mechanically inclined and can probably fix what ever may be wrong but before I tear it apart, wondered if anybody on this site has had this same problem. My gut feeling is that there's an issue with the remote controller since I seem to get no response, not even at attempt to work. What's your feelings?

 

You can test it with a set of jumper cables to see if the remote is bad

 

Yes, I know how to bypass the remote. But having said that and that it didn't work, I'm wondering if anybody else has had this problem with this winch? The reason I'm asking is because I need to purchase a second winch for my trailer, so if this is a common problem with this brand of winch, then I'll need to switch brands. I certainly don't want to keep going in the direction I'm headed if there are nothing but similar issues ahead.

 

Not saying to do this but buy another one, get the extended warranty on it. Wait a month and take the bad one back and get a new winch on exchange

 

Yes, I could do that, but when things are so easy to fix, returning for another that might also soon fail would probably take more effort than its worth. I'd really like to either fix this one or find out if this is an issue with this brand of winch. If someone else has had this problem, what did you do to address or fix it?

 

I picked up a 9000 badlands at a scratch and dent for $100. Same deal Out of Box failure. I was able to track down that the switch in the remote was the culprit. After tearing it apart, it appears that the switch is made very poorly with pretty loose tolerances(contacts didn't come within 1/4" of each other). I replaced it with which is a direct drop in and its good to go.

 

That is a good idea, I didn't even open up the remote yet. Did you bother to test the winch to see if the remote was the problem by by-passing it? or did you just assume the remote was the problem and started your repairs there?

 

I did a fair amount of testing. I tested the remote pin out and it failed. I then connected battery directly to the outer lugs and got in/out. Then opened the solenoid box and hit positive to either input on the solenoid and got the THUNK and feed. I then opened the remote to see if there was anything visibly wrong and there wasn't. Then tested the switch and it failed. opened it up and it was clear that it would never have worked. I then jumped the contacts inside the switch and it worked.

YMMV