Harbor Freight 8000lb cable winch?

Would something like this be worth having in the truck while off road if I don't want to invest in a bumper-mounted electric winch? Could it be used to get unstuck for light off-roading?

 

Yes it's called a come-a-long, and well worth the investment.

 

I've thought about getting that same one myself....

 

I'll just say that mine let me down when I was here. Stupid thing would bind up and flex.
Slight downhill on the passenger side. I would have powered it out in reverse, but big boulder off the passenger bumper as well.



the hand winch worked at moving the boulder, though. One hell of a workout.




After that, I bought the Hi-Lift and the Hi-Lift ORK kit.

 

Maybe try this hand winch if you don't want a elec. bumper mounted winch.
ARB Magnum Hand Winch - ROUGHGEAR.COM

It will still be a workout, but much better than the drum come a long, those things are crap.
You have about 60' of pull without having to reset.
Also you can use it for all kinds of things, add a block to double the load.

 

That thing is cool but not a whole lot cheaper than an electric winch

 

i carry two of the HF 4 ton puller with me. there is a big difference between an 8k cable puller and an 8k winch. however, they have endeed saved me a number of times. however, i have found them to be most usefull when used along side of an actual winch.

Example. used the winch and the come-along to get me out of this sticky spot without a scratch



You can see the com-along off of my rear bumper wing.



so to sum it up, i have found that they are not so great for a strait pull to get you unstuck, but work very well to persuade the vehicle in a certain direction while something else provides the forward motion.

A hi-lift jack and the chain kit for it will provide a much better means of pulling than an 8ooo lb come-along.

 

I agree, a high-lift jack with chain is a more useful item to have, but I must admit I did a recovery once with come-alongs. They will do the job, but worry about the load on the wire cable. Harbor-freight has been known to exaggerate their ratings....

It's Better to have one then to not, however.

 

Come-alongs are great. I use them all the time to lift engines and transmission. But don't trust the H.F. crap. Watched a friend almost loose a hand lifting an engine. The engine was only 2 tons and the H.F. come-along was a 4ton. The thing folded and snapped his hand was almost crushed. I had told him to get a good quality come-along. But he was cheap and did not listen. After he almost lost a hand he did what I had told him and bought a real come-along. Not cheap but safety is more important that money.