Winch from Harbor Freight

[Gasengin]

I see Harbor Freight has an 8000# winch with a lot of nice options on it. Does anyone have any experience with these winches? Price is right, but are they any good. I would use the winch on my trailer about 4 times a year.

[Harvey Teal]

Yes, I have a friend who bought one this spring for a very abusive and demanding job. It has proven to be very durable. He paid 250.00 with all the available discounts. I just laughed at him when he bought it....but two weeks ago I bought one too!!! I'll build a 2" square mount, so that I can use it on the front & rear hitch recievers on the truck, on various equipment trailers, on a yarding rig used in the woods, and on the rear of my tractor. The unit comes in two boxes; one box contains the mounting plate which has a hawse plate casting. I will be modifying this plate to add a roller fairlead. If you buy this winch, they will offer you a service contract for a few extra bucks. I think I bought a 2 year service plan, which is certainly affordable given the cost of the winch.
In a way I hate to deal with HF because it supports foreign manufacturers.
But for a savings of $2000 I'm swallowing my pride. If the domestic manufacturers are concerned about this, maybe they can start selling their hardware for affordable prices. Good luck with your project