Winches......

Has anyone tried this winch??? Opinions???

RUGCEL WINCH 13500LB Winch Waterproof IP68 Electric Winch with Hawse Fairlead,Steel Wire Rope, 2 Wired Handle and 2 Wireless Remote (13500 lb Winch)

https://www.amazon.com/RUGCEL-Water...&pd_rd_wg=8GuNu&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m

 

Go with the Harbor Freight winch in this price range. It works surprisingly well for HF quality. A lot of people run the Badlands series winches, and they hold up pretty damn well.

 

I don’t know anything about the Rugcel winch other than it’s cheap. Generally cheap is not good and good is not cheap. I’d say if you have little need for a winch and will seldom use it , it’s the winch for you. If a person wants a winch mostly to look cool, look at me I got a winch, it’s probably the perfect winch.
But if a person is serious about a winch, and will really use it , then stay away from cheap and go with a Warn or similar product. When you need a winch you usually really need it, and failure just isn’t an option.
The Harbor freight winch has mixed reviews. A couple years ago a 4wd magazine did a review on winches. The Badlands winch didn’t work right out of the box. They couldn’t even test it. I have a friend who has a Badlands who uses it frequently to to pull logs to a spot where he can cut them up for firewood. He’s used his hundreds of times without a problem.

 

I never really heard of them either. However, as @Sprig said, it probably depends on use. Probably perfectly fine if you just want the look of having a winch.

I had considered the Badlands winch several times, and heard good things about them. Then I saw this video posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWx8b923cRo&feature=emb_imp_woyt

The guys assessment is spot on. The winch shouldn't fail like that. Harbor Freight may have phenomenal customer service and replace the winch, but failure is not an option if you plan to actually use a winch. Think of it this way, an offroad recovery/tow is not cheap. I don't have any first hand experience, but I've read of $1000 tow bills. I would not be happy with a $1k recovery bill when my $300 winch failed. I wouldn't even really care if they replaced it for me free of charge. Stuck is stuck.

There are some decent sales right now. AutoZone seems to have the best deal on Warn...$734 for a VR EVO 10-S (MSRP $960, IIRC). Smittybilt is probably the cheapest I would go for a winch.

 

Don't buy that.

If you're going to a place where getting stuck could become a life threatening issue(no service, far from help)... absolutely don't buy it.

If you have to depend on it... Don't buy cheap crap.

 

This video of the harbor freight winch failing leaves out some important info.. the dude has an F-250 chained to a tractor and is trying to pull out a tree stump. There's no info on whether or not this exceeded the rating of the winch. Also.. it appears the housing failed and the winch continued to work (gtfo with the 'total fail' hyperbole.) This just looks like another attention starved vlogging "expert" to me.

 

I have the cal ranch one linked below
https://roadarmor.com/12000-lbs-integrated-12v-dc-electric-winch-with-synthetic-rope.html?fbclid=IwAR261xiwgHoOZ0LX6mX-OtNNXJ1QVnW7JUHiPxdX56QH4JeEX46IODWZCa8_aem_AYpMPZT3hvMtmO0EglKj8O50UV3J8Ksf-kl99BLsFm426q-Bln3sJI9evbFbcOHnkWoGkq4gsrugDsGg_e6LuBrilbm514EVj-Wq1BKtfciPu5k4HZemJwAS5-o7G66v8fc


wut

https://www.calranch.com/12-000-lb-12-volt-dc-electric-truck-winch-black.html


Has worked great so far

 

@TomHGZ .. what say you?!?

 

Doesn't the saying go... buy once cry once.

 

Buy once cry once is right. Some things you just don't want to cheap out on. Warn is an extremely reputable company.

 

Not only can it just “not work” but would be extremely dangerous for those near it if it snaps or malfunctions.

 

So people don't have to take safety precautions if they overpay for the top brand name winch? cool.

 

If you're not spending $1000 or more it's made in China regardless of whose name is on it. Harbor Freight is as good as any other. I watched the video. Looked like abuse to me.

 

I didn’t say that

 

I will not buy anything from Harbor Freight. I have learned my lesson on a generator, jack stands, Vacuum. It is all junk. Also, not even cheap if you shop around and can wait for sales.

 

My 12k XPower Winch from cal ranch as been great, and it’s cheaper than harbor freight

 

Any winch can be "extremely dangerous for those near it if it snaps or malfunctions" so I'm not sure what you did say.

Are you saying that with proper use... harbor freight winches are more dangerous than brand names? If that is true then I feel like you just might be able to earn a salary heading up a class action lawsuit with your objective data. Can you link to that data for us?

Forgive me for being an a**hole but I see a lot of Bro posts shaitting on tools that don't match their purchasing decision with zero data to back up their claims (and stories of someone's 2nd cousin and sister that dun blow'd up a hobo freight tool doesn't fly.) I bet those same Instagram Bros buy their panties and dresses at Nieman Marcus because Macy's is too everyday.

 

A little late to this party, but I have 2 of the rugcells, 1 on a jeep one on the tacoma. Have used the one on the jeep multiple times never had a issue. But I do not do a ton of off roading or extremely off roading