3Pooches version 3.5

I think so. I should order that one I linked to. I gotta replace my collection of widow makers. Or maybe for $300 more I'll do the Brannick and stand.

 

So, a little update on the winch. It is working, and I am getting a refund on the purchase price of the second control box.

Some food for thought.

The winch is submersible and can operate under water. The control box cables that connect to the winch has cables that are about 2.5 feet long (guesstimate). The box is not waterproof or even water resistant and recommended to be mounted in a "dry location".

The wireless feature was not built as a complete circuit. They have a little cap you have to plug into the control box to complete the circuit and make the winch operate wirelessly.

Customer service. They have always been quick to answer questions. This was true until I replied to an email with the pics of the old broken box. Radio silence for a week. After trying to that email answered, trying to access support by chat and phone over that week, it took a 1 star review and airing of the lack of communication and pictures of the old control box to get a response. The "owner" said he would go to customer service and have someone contact me. An hour later, the radio silent tech I had been communicating with contacted me. That contact resulted in the refund.

But I have lingering questions that will lead me to not recommend this product anymore, and to go a different route should I need a new winch in the future.

Why design a winch like this and not have a waterproof control box?

If the recommendation is to mount the control box in a "dry location", then why are the cables not long enough to this? (Question asked and will reportedly be brought to the product team next week.) And what exactly do they define as a "dry location"?

Overall the company has been good and the winch worked like a charm, doing what it is supposed to do. We worked it all day at Chris's clearing the new trail and it didn't require the "time outs," it didn't get warm or hot. Granted it was trees and not trucks being dragged around. But what capped all this off was being asked what was wrong with the old box after sending them the pictures of it.

I started a thread to track this and let others know about this. A couple of people that have their winches have been surprised this event.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ironman-winch-beware.827662/page-2

On to the next adventure.

 

I can’t find anything about them, maybe I’m calling it the wrong thing. I saw an

it is kinda built like a shrine

 

Jack Tech? Search for Redline Manufacturing. I've seen a few recommend it, but anyone that's used the Brannick says it's the way to go. Having used an older one, I agree. But not everyone can spend that kind of money for a tool they'll use occasionally.

 

Like 10 years ago I was watching one of those garage shows and they used what looked like two ratchet straps but the had a small box the end of the strap weaved through. The box had a 1/2 drive receiver and the guys one the show compressed the coil in seconds running impacts in the receiver. Never seen the tool again

 

Oh! Sorry, I saw something shiny. I looked too and didn't see anything. I did see a tool that was more for making shock adjustments that used a chain, but that was it.

Plenty of stuff on the redneck method of using a ratchet strap. Not recommended.

 

Is there a waterproof box you could buy from another manufacturer that would work with the winch?

 

I haven't looked that far into it. I put a silicone bead about an inch wide around the seam. The other issue is the length of the cables. I measured them last night at 24". Can't get too far from the winch with that.

 

Tim, someone might sell a universal extension kit. Or it's really something you could do yourself. I think it's 2 or 4 ga wiring and some ring terminals made for the gauge of wiring.

I may go with Warn this time around. I have a time to figure it out.

 

If my math is correct, we have three weeks and counting...

 

@3pooches Chris, I bought this thing to use on a spring compressor. It's made for the OME BP-51s, but it looks like it could work on others. It's supposed to be for adjusting preload, but I bet it could be used for spring replacement.

https://www.lrparts.net/vm80020001-bp-old-man-emu-kit-spring-compressor-tool.html

Obviously, a US distributor is better, but not a lot of folks have a picture.

 

I'm not going to worry too much about it right now. I sealed the box with silicone and put it back where it was. Moving it brings up the issue of where to put it that doesn't involve popping the hood to plug if I need to.

 

That it does. I'm hoping whatever bumper/winch combo I end up with, the plug is easy to get to. The Tacoma drove me crazy where it was. Even ended up bending my bumper because two pins on the plug were bent and touching. Highly recommended.

 

I looked around a bit and was trying to avoid the Warn prices. If there had been more options with the relocatable boxes, I may have gone a different route. This is just so compact and it fit well within the winch plate area.

 

I can’t visualize how it works

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaBtp7f7a7g

 

Neither could I. So the round black piece without the ears is Delrin or polyurethane. It screws onto the bottom of the piece with the ears. It then hangs from the upper hooks on the strut compressor so you can compress levelly from the top of the strut. It's mainly meant for preload adjustment.

 

Do any of you know how hard it is to find a used Porsche Cayman the checks all my boxes??

 

What color are you wanting?