Yelm got a Harbor freight

[Oldbrass]

I'm thrilled We just got a Harbor freight in town, don't have to travel to the city anymore.. it's all made in China but I've had good luck with there tools when I worked as a mechanic.. the Snap on tool truck just got to pricy... Well this shows how exciting my life is !!!

[Cofisher]

I’ve used them many times.

[daytime dave]

I have purchased some things there that I can't find any where else. I had a set of their wrenches in my father's barn for years. They came in an organizer pouch that you hung on the wall. I don't know why I didn't take them down before the sale, but I couldn't find another set in a similar pouch. They held up well.

I'm glad you got one that is closer for you if you use it.

[Ernie]

I have purchased several items there over the years and been pleased with most of them. I see the magnetic bowl in your picture and I have 3. Plan to get more as they have proved useful multiple times when repairing equipment and I need to keep track of all the pieces.

[JEBar]

I've had a desire to mount a winch on the front of our 2011 Silverado since the day I drove it home .... as an eye opener, check out the pages of YouTube videos showing The Harbor Freight APEX 22,000 lb Winch .... more than half the cost of some of the old name winches .... an unbelievable number of glowing reviews

[GeoBoy]

Why buy made in China junk, isn’t free COVID-19 enough from China?

[JEBar]

while some things made over there are cheap (at best), not everything made in China is Junk .... I recently learned that the small engines used by Toyota and most other Japanese car manufactures are made in China .... 12000 lb Warn winches cost from $800+ to $2,000 and can no longer advertise as being Made In America ....`I believe that Ramsey winches are still made in the USA .... their 12000 lb line sells for something under $2000 .... with its lifetime warranty, if I needed a winch for heavy, steady use, I'd most likely buy a Ramsey .... the top of the line Badland 12000 lb winch sells for less than $500 .... in the YouTube videos mentioned above, one can watch them pulling a wide range of heavy loads under a wide range of circumstances .... several of the most successful towing companies that rescue vehicles from the sands of Zion and a host of other wilderness areas in Utah and other surrounding states .... they put all of their recovery equipment through much heavier duty use than I every will .... I don't know that I'll ever follow through with purchasing another winch but I still very much thinking about it

[daytime dave]

I've had a desire to mount a winch on the front of our 2011 Silverado since the day I drove it home .... as an eye opener, check out the pages of YouTube videos showing The Harbor Freight APEX 22,000 lb Winch .... more than half the cost of some of the old name winches .... an unbelievable number of glowing reviews

Jim,
I bought the 12,000 lb winch for the sole purpose of taking the camp dock out by myself. I bought the trailer hitch bed that they sell to put it on at the back of the truck, their brand of snatch block and tow strap. As much as I didn't want to take the dock out by myself, it made it entirely possible with ease. (I also used it to put the staircase in as it's brutally heavy) Eventually the winch will be added to my trailer.

[JEBar]

it should serve you well

[cooperhawk]

Jim,
I bought the 12,000 lb winch for the sole purpose of taking the camp dock out by myself. I bought the trailer hitch bed that they sell to put it on at the back of the truck, their brand of snatch block and tow strap. As much as I didn't want to take the dock out by myself, it made it entirely possible with ease. (I also used it to put the staircase in as it's brutally heavy) Eventually the winch will be added to my trailer.

I have a winch on the front of my 4 wheeler and I usd it to take our dock out, but first I strap it to a tree or else the dock will pull the 4 wheeler into the water.

It works great.

[JEBar]

Jim,
I bought the 12,000 lb winch for the sole purpose of taking the camp dock out by myself. I bought the trailer hitch bed that they sell to put it on at the back of the truck, their brand of snatch block and tow strap. As much as I didn't want to take the dock out by myself, it made it entirely possible with ease. (I also used it to put the staircase in as it's brutally heavy) Eventually the winch will be added to my trailer.

did you go with the model that comes with a cable or rope .. .. I'd appreciate your analysis in making that decision

[JEBar]

if I do purchase a winch for our pickup (shown below), I like the looks of the Rough Country Hidden Winch Mounting Plate shown at this link ===> https://www.roughcountry.com/media/cata ... talled.jpg .... its reasonably priced and has a good reputation

[JEBar]

we spent several hours this morning visiting businesses in search of answers to the following questions ....

1 ... rope or cable and what length

2 ... open or hidden mount

3 ... model of winch

4 .... accessory equipment (snatch blocks, etc)

so far, we have resolved only 2

1 ... we will go with a cable .... the rope requires much more maintenance

2 ... although the hidden winch mount is better looking, if/when we get one it will have an open mount .... the reason is simple .... with the hidden mount when you need to do most anything to the winch, you have to take apart most all of the truck's front end


we also learned that nobody who works at our local Harbor Freight can answer the simplest technical question about their winches

[Oldbrass]

Cable 5/16 as much as you can spool . Open mount much easier to work with if you get a snag. If you get a snatch block bring chain to secure it . chain should be rated higher than cable so the snatch block doesn't fly through your windshield if it's overloaded

[clovishound]

Sad, the majority of small engines eg. Ariens, Briggs, Kohler and Simplicity are mostly chinese. Generac still makes some engines in Wisconsin. Tecumseh Is long gone. My son's Kohler whole home lp generator which is 2 months old came on in test mode, 2 days ago blew an oil seal and self destructed. Under warranty, looking for new motor. This was a $12k system. I won't do Chinese and am nursing my 15 year old tecumseh Ariens and hope it takes me to the home.

Back when I used to be able to find lawn mowers on the curb that could be rehabbed and put back to work, I had a hard and fast rule. If it had a Tecumseh engine on it, it stayed on the curb. They were always nothing but trouble, at least in the smaller lawnmower engines. Maybe the bigger ones were better.

[JEBar]

Suggestions appreciated .... as noted, I've looked at who knows how many dozens of YouTube videos dating back to 2018 on the winches and mounting trays I've considered .... buying the materials and having them installed will cost around $1,000 .... while I'm strongly committed to the install, I'm in no rush ....tied to cost is the fact that Harbor Freight's marketing includes rotating significant discounts on various products to get people into their stores .... the sale that ends today has a good discount on a Badlands winch but not the one I'm interested in .... they had a huge discount on it on Black Friday .... I did take what I consider to be a big step yesterday .... that being deciding on the "Westin MAX Winch Mounting System Max Winch Mount Tray " ​https://www.autoanything.com/bumpers/77 ... 3915715​​​ and the fellow who I will get to install it

[Oldbrass]

That's going to look great on the truck

[JEBar]

my CFO (Chief Female Officer) has been involved all along in the search .... with this mod, appearances are much more important to her than it is to me .... its not a bad looking truck but its still a 12 year old truck .... she likes the hidden mount better but has OK'd the Westin .... I'm now researching a LED light bar made to fit on top or possibly bottom of the "Bull Bar" ===> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004A ... M3CX&psc=1 .... once we figure that out, our products research should be pretty well over

[mycle1000]

Love Harbor Freight! quality at low prices-just the thing for a Scot, like me.

[JEBar]

40 years or so ago I owned and operated a small engine repair business .... the main issue I found with Tecumseh was their carburetors .... they were were much more precise than Briggs and were easily fouled by a small amount of dirt/grit .... when they were clean they ran strong and were reliable .... as noted, my experience is decades old, I have no clue how they are today