winch

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green anchors

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Ok, so again trying to show my wife the many reasons we need this thing I took her for a nice morning ride. We have a pipe line that runs through our land and after getting through some tough low wet areas, I pull a bonehead move and get her(rtv) stuck to the floor boards. Again she(wife) was not impressed. I tell her(rtv) its ok, Ill get the winch to work and get her(rtv) out so she can take us home. After walking knee deep in some mud(sorry no pics, wasn't a good time) I have her all hooked up and ready to go, rubber matt on cable and all. Nothing.... she(wife) wasn't impressed. A 2000lb winch will not pull a 2000lb piece of metal out of mud(just incase you didn't know that). I know 12000lb may be overkill but Harbor Freight has a badland winch for under $400(I am a financial advisor so yes cheap is good). Does anyone have any experience with these or any thoughts on it?winch.jpg
 
I'm not a big fan of items from Harbor Freight that have moving parts. Too many failures and always seem to happen when you need the item.

I'd consider a name brand winch with 3000# or greater and then have a snatch block handy for doubling when needed.

Oh, and no, I don't know anything about that winch/brand.
 
Thanks for the reply BC. Years ago I bought a Ryobi drill from them and it went south after 6 months. I know you usually get what you pay for. Reviews on line most ratings are good although it is said to be slower than some name brands. Another concern is the weight... 84lbs seems heavy.
 
Another consideration.

If you put a 3-4K winch on and it bogs down or quits when pulling the winch itself is the weak point. You need to do something different (dig, planks or whatever) to pull you out.

If you put a 12K winch on and start pulling, something on the RTV is now probably the weak point. You start pulling and the winch is doing fine but then something rips out of your RTV. That could be the winch mounting plate or who knows what. Actually, a 12K winch won't fit in the OEM slot so what's now the weak point?

I see this mis-match on tractor 3PH implements. People put on too big of implements and wonder how/why their tractor got trashed.
 
Dimensionally, I doubt that 12k winch would fit an RTV. Based on comments from the ole swamper, TwoGuns, a winch is not needed if you've got the right tires installed.

Which tires are you running on the RTV? If OEM tires, might want to upgrade to a much more aggressive tire. There's lots of post on this forum speaking of tires.
 
pepr said:
Which tires are you running on the RTV? If OEM tires, might want to upgrade to a much more aggressive tire. There's lots of post on this forum speaking of tires.
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IIRC, he has OEM ATV.

More aggressive tire or just stay out of the deep mud which is everywhere this time of year with the thaw.
 
bczoom said:
I'm not a big fan of items from Harbor Freight that have moving parts. QUOTE]

...... and I agree with bczoom somewhat about the items with "moving parts". With the exception of the winch.
Do I own one ? NO
Would I buy one ? YES
Reason being. I have seen and witnessed these winches work their ass' off. And never yet seen one go bad. They have some men down here that swear by them. And personally, I know of three winches that are used EVERYDAY. They are used in a towing company that is owned by a close friend. They work them in the back where the wrecked cars are. Seen them and they are strong. They are the 12,000 lb. Also,
Harbor Freight has the exteneded warranty thing. And they honor that well.
More than I can say about Warn or Ramsey. I've had it with both of them companies. There warranty is crap !!!!
I own Ramsey & Warn. They perform good. But they are expensive and do not perform like they used to. There name is all they got going for them now !!!
One thing people needs to learn is. Even though they don't need the winch. They still need to work it somewhat. Run it out and back in often. Don't let it sit dormat.
Always use a snatch block. And as bczoom as stated before. Always drap a safety blanket across the line.
Harbor Freight, They sell channel winch mounts. They also sell receiver mounts for the winches.

There are several "off-road" magazines and Jeep magazines that I recieved in time, that has had reviews on the winches. Believe it or not. The winches that came from Harbor Freight out-performed others. I told the wrecker company of this reading a few years ago. And he can state now how true it is.

Also know of a man who uses the smaller winches on his work trucks to lift
A/C central units in and out with a homemade boom. Works it every day on his work trucks. So it must be something good about them.

Your RTV is a heavy machine. Along with the mud, and it being anchored down when stuck. Yes, no matter what brand winch you purchase. You need a big winch to do the job !!!!

........... two guns
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pepr said:
Dimensionally, I doubt that 12k winch would fit an RTV. Based on comments from the ole swamper, TwoGuns, a winch is not needed if you've got the right tires installed.

Which tires are you running on the RTV? If OEM tires, might want to upgrade to a much more aggressive tire. There's lots of post on this forum speaking of tires.
Click to expand...

Pepr is correct.
The 12K will not fit the RTV. UNLESS you mount on a receiver mount.
BUT BE CAREFUL !!!! THIS IS WHEN YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR THINKING CAP ON !!! DON'T WANT TO DESTROY ANYTHING.... 12k IS A MONSTER !!!!
Carry in back in a Action Pack box. I've thought about that before !!!!
There are several l member who have theirs mounted on receiver mounts.
Not a bad idea !!!!

..........
........... two guns
 
I picked up a Champion 4500lb from Tractor Supply for another purpose yesterday. I am not pulling a piece of equipment out of the mud but rather lifting outdoor furnaces with it. It will barely lift 1300. Not sure if that's because it's dead weight or what but I'd think it should lift that. The cable runs through 3 pullies on the way from the winch to the hook on the stove. I'm not impressed to say the least.
 
A few points to remember.
Winches are rated at pulling weight NOT lifting weight.
Harbor freight has some good stuff and will back up any of their products.
When stuck in the mud remember winches are rated in rolling weight also .If in the mud remember the winch weight rating VS machine weight then take into consideration its not rolling weight so you may be pulling 6000 pounds instead of the machine weight due to vaccume pressure being stuck in the mud.A winch can only do so much in a straight pull.Ive seen just rope and pully systems man poweres pull out humvees from mud and sand.Its always nice to have a good heavy length of rope and some extra block and tackles in your machine if you tread in them sticky areas.Just my 2 cents worth on this.
 
I put a 5000 lb Viper rope winch on my 1100. Always have to be oversize for mud! Mud is strong. I have not buried mine in the mud yet, so never needed it for that. I need it about 1 or 2 times a summer, and my son pulled 4 or 5 cars from ditches and drifts this winter with it. He thinks it is more fun to do that then plow the lane. Sometimes you will need to tie the rtv down as we pull stuff that weighs more then it does.

I think it is a good size for the rtv. Too big will break things,,,if 5000 lbs won't pull it out,, i go get a tractor or dozer. No wish to put a bigger one on it and rip the front end off.

edit: i also own a 12000 lb'er. It is way too big for the rtv. It could be mounted,,,but would look out of place.
 
rapracing said:
I am not pulling a piece of equipment out of the mud but rather lifting outdoor furnaces with it.
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Isn't that kind of dangerous (using an ATV winch for vertical lifting like that)?

It's been a few years since I've looked closely at specs but most ATV winches use dynamic brakes (the gears stop the drum from turning) as opposed to mechanical brakes (a physical brake on the drum). With the dynamic brakes, it's common for it to slowly spool out. Not something you want with a vertical lift application. Be careful out there!
 
PS if it were me I would make a plate setup for the hitch recievers so you can add it and pull from either direction.It isnt to often the perfact anchor point is in front of you.A lot of times its behind you.
 
bczoom said:
Isn't that kind of dangerous (using an ATV winch for vertical lifting like that)?

It's been a few years since I've looked closely at specs but most ATV winches use dynamic brakes (the gears stop the drum from turning) as opposed to mechanical brakes (a physical brake on the drum). With the dynamic brakes, it's common for it to slowly spool out. Not something you want with a vertical lift application. Be careful out there!
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Vertical lift on a winch designed for rolling weight is an accident just waiting to happen.
 
I've been "Jeeping" & Winching" for 35+ years, My experience is "you get what you pay for." I've been using Warns since I can remember and all have lived up to what I've thrown at them. I once purchased a Harbor Freight 12K winch for the inside a a enclosed car trailer thinking "hey, it's in a enclosed trailer, out of the weather, what could go wrong?" After 15 or so pulls of a 3,000 car it burned out. Live and learn for me.

A 12K winch could do serious destruction to a RTV & anyone close by. Normally you wouldn't put a 12K winch on a 2K machine. I doubt the attachment point, frame, wheels and tires are going to withstand that kind of potential pull. Bigger is not always better.

I just bought another warn for my RTV, here's the link:

http://www.nettractortalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15720
 

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Green Anchors
Just got new HFreight sale booklet With that 12,000 lb item $299.99.
I have a 5000 lb Ramsey with rope on my 900 and love it.
Pumpkin
 
Sorry green anchors for the subject jumping around where now vertical lift is being discussed but I guess it ties in since we're all talking about the right size, safety, what's going to break...

As already posted, and we already know what a 12,000# rolling load winch looks like.

Here's a picture of my 6000# vertical lift winch. It probably weighs 500-800 pounds by itself. Cable is easily 1/2". It's on a power trolley to move left-to-right as well as the obvious up and down.
 

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This is a HF 3500 that I set up to be used in either the front or rear receiver.
2014-03-07135510_zps03d64030.jpg


You could do the same with a 5000# and use it on either end that is not buried. When mine gets stuck it's usually the front that is hard to get to so I set it up like this.

If you are interested, I'll post a shot of the wiring and storage on my RTV-900
 
razerface said:
Too big will break things,,,if 5000 lbs won't pull it out,, i go get a tractor or dozer.
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OK. IF the 5K will not pull it out. You go get tractor or dozer to pull it out.
Where would you hook it to on the RTV ????
 
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