A winch review from reviewers who have no idea how to install/use a winch 👍

These guys should not be "making" winching videos. They should be "watching" winching videos so they can see how it should be done. Oh my gosh.

You don't go mudding with street tires.

Couple things, some of which have been touched on previously. 1) be sure to stay clear of the winch line and put something on the cable incase it snaps. 2) that winch can pull upwards of 400+ amps at full load. The longer the power feed lines the more the resistance. 14 foot of 0ga wire is technically not "enough" wire to get proper power at the winch for as long of a run as you had, and it didn't look like you had as big as 0ga wire. If the winch can't get the power it needs through the wire, it will get much hotter, and lose torque, thus your unsatisfactory results. 3) for safety always attach the winch cable to a tree saver, at the bottom of the tree. It appeared you wrapped the cable around the tree, this can cause premature failure of the wire rope/kink it. Attaching it high on the tree increases the torque on the root ball, and you can pull the tree right over onto your vehicle. 4). Winches rated pulling power is assuming your pulling with only 4/5 single wraps of the drum (aka the when the rope starts feeding its touching the empty drum. When you have 4 to 5 complete layers on the drum like I saw in your video your torque is massively reduced. You were probably only pulling with less than half the rated power or less just from this. 5) invest in a snatch block/rated pulley. Had you ran a pulley on the tree and ran your line back to your bumper you would have done three things. (1) you would have had more line out off the drum which would have increased the winches leverage significantly, (2) you would have doubled your torque due to mechanical advantage at a expense of line speed, and (3) because of 1 and 2 the winch would have drawn significantly less amperage, wouldn't have been struggling/ran much cooler, and it would have pulled the vehicle out better. Also it's worth noting that it's worth it to wire up everything properly from a safety perspective as well. A 400 amp almost dead short pull on a undersized power cable is a good recipe to melt wires and cause a vehicle wrecking fire. I have seen this happen first hand from a bad winch wiring setup. It's also smart to go off roading with a friend and have a bubba rope or similar snatch strap. It's much quicker to give a quick tug than to use a winch as you did to get out. With that said good luck on your off road adventures.

Thanks for being man enough to post a video we can all learn from.!!! People act like they were born with all the knowledge and never had to learn new things geez. Kudos for being in the arena, fighting!

those are great winches. its not the winch bud. its the operator

this makes my brain hurt soooo many wrongs happening all at once

coming from someone who does a lot of offroading... please please please at least put a jacket over the cable in case it snaps and don't stand as close as you were.

They're young, let them make their mistakes. That's how we all learned many of our lessons.

I have the 12K on my Jeep. I mostly pull logs for firewood when I can't cut them were they lay. A couple of times, I thought I was gonna rip my Jeep YJ in half, and rightly so, probably should have. This winch is a beast IMO.

Lol I have a 9k harbor freight winch pulled my self in a Cherokee and a full size dodge truck never let off the winch for about 10 minutes! still works great

Also, a snatch block could have doubled the strength, tires look horrible, and lastly winches are slow

get another battery dedicated just to the winch that still charges from your alternator..maybe even upgrade the alternator...the snatch block will help alot...oh and TIRES!!! lol

You have to consider that vehicle was in pretty deep. That was a hell of a load. Your winch depending on how much wire you have spooled will have different capacities. It's printed right there by the clutch handle. It tells you how much it's rated at according the layer of wire that's on the spool. Snatch block will help with a tree saver strap.

How come I feel like I just watched a re-run of “Dumb & Dumber”

if the battery cable is longer than 9 ft long you may want to upgrade to bigger wire. and a really good ground

1. please have your engine on so you don't kill the battery 2. don't feather the throttle like that you're going to burn it up much quicker. 3. that ground is crap and is probably what's causing it to smoke and be so weak, it needs to be clean bare metal

When you start stop the motor under load like that it keeps the motor current high try a steady retrieve, throw rocks or logs in the ruts to help lift the tires out of the mud, also using a high lift jack to lift the rear of the vehicle up then push it side ways off the jack puts you on high ground..

With all that cable on the winch, its only about 6,000 lb. Find a farther tree or get a snatch block. Also any winching demo should be tree friendly so purchase a tree saver strap. Thanks for posting.

Would be nice to see how you had it wired. It looked pretty janky to me. You need large battery cables to run the winch motor and a short run, longer run = bigger cables needed.

I’m glad you acknowledged all the things that you learned at the end of the video. The winch brand new comes with a fuse/circuit breaker. The owners manual clearly indicates that the ground cable must be connected directly to the battery and the winch itself. And yes, the owners manual clearly states that using a double line (snatch block) rigging configuration should be used whenever possible. The owners manual states: A double line system should be used whenever possible. It reduces the load on the winch, allowing it to work longer with less heat buildup. It reduces load on the winch in two ways: * It utilizes the lower layers of the wire rope that have higher capacity, and * It halves the load on the winch through the pulley action. Also as pointed out by others, you need to use some type of device for whiplash dampening, just in case the cable fails. The owners manual suggests a blanket or rug. But there are also many others ways to achieve the same results. I admire your eagerness to learn and grow. But you don’t want to jeopardize your safety in the process. I’m not sure about this, but you might be able to find and read the owners manual on the Harbor Freight website. Safety is the #1 priority. Stop whatever you are doing when unsure. It may save your life or the life of others.

You could also get a front mount hitch so that you can move the winch and pull from the front and back that way you pull from wherever you have more traction/less obstacles

I'm using that exact winch on my cj5, 3 years running, no flaws. I'm wondering if that wiring is jacked. Yours sounds bad. My cj5 is a bit lighter than your SUV tho.

Do u save money by having winch in back. Like not buying special bumper

If you guys are digging deep in to the mud with your wheels, how do you expect the which to freely pull the vehicle? Leave the engine running and leave on neutral and try to pull with the winch.

I have the same winch there must be something wrong with yours because I pulled a Z71 out buried to the doors and it didn't even stress the winch

didnt read all the comments to see if it was mentioned, but winches only pull their max rating at a single layer on the drum, so on a warn M12 for example, 1/layer=12000, by the time you get to layer 5 its down to 9200lbs, and just continues to get worse. Its basically changing the gear ratio cause it gets larger diameter. so if your winch is struggling always pull as much cable as possible to try and get to single layer, a snatch block is great because it allows you to get double the cable out for the same anchor point, plus it doubles the pulling power, cuts the cable load in half, at the cost of half the pull speed.

i have a bad lands 9000 pound wench from harbor freight on a 21 ft flat bed and i pull all kinds of vehicles on the flat bed and don't have any troubles like you guys are having.

Same winch, I pulled a car out of a ditch almost vertical at times and never got hot. I used heavy duty jumper cables from the batt. to the winch and it worked great, and yes use a blanket or something to place on the cable in case it dose break.

That's right keep spinning the wheels and digging in deeper. Wow

I have the same winch something is wrong with yours mine doesn't struggle at all and Ive been stuck bad

You guys learned and had fun at same time keep going guys 😀👍

Your battery is dead or not hooked up correctly. I have same winch mine works great.

Are you sure you aren't dropping voltage? That could be why it's getting hot and struggling.

Clicking from the control box? Isn't that the sound of the mechanical ratchet to keep it from unwinding?

It sounds like it’s not getting full power, I think you’re right about the ground not being sufficient. We’ve pulled our trucks out with trailers loaded with firewood with this winch.

I actually work at HF myself. I have been wanting to buy one of the 12ks myself. Just... watch the package. If its beat up, dont get it. As a person who unloads the truck, I see how we handle everything. I have no clue how 90% of our tools and shit isnt broken.

Use a snatch block and double the cable back to the vehicle. That will also double the pulling power. You should also make sure the engine on the vehicle is running to supply a full 12 volts to the winch, because lower voltage will cause the winch motor to heat abnormally. If you're serious about vehicle recovery, the Warn 8274 is the only winch to have.

Iv used my HB winch for 45 min straight pulling heavy stuff. Winch is beast. Never let me down. Having power wires so long of course it's not gonna have all the power it can produce.

My recommendation is run your ground and your power directly to your battery up front you may have to buy longer cables but it would be well worth it make sure you keep your vehicle running and by the way is that a 4x4 you were trying to pull out?

Also look at how many wraps you have on spool that determines power. You only get the full power on wrap 1 , each additional wrap it reduces

I think any winch would have issues with half the truck sitting on the frame / axles but it did a decent job. Probably would have worked a bit better w a snatch block on it

I really recommend getting the Badlands wireless remote control and a snatch block will help alot

Thanks for the video guys. Your ground connection is critical. If it's not 100% solid, you will burn up any winch very quickly.

I have the same winch on my jeep zj and I've never had that kinda issue. I've pulled another jeep up a 45° angle with no problem and drug my jeep with tires locked with that winch. you need to re-ground that winch.

Guys I know this is an older video but one other thing to consider is that the outer layer of the spool is the least effective for pulling and if you combine that with the short duty cycle it will affect performance. If you spool that out really far and double it with an extension strap or extra cable you would double the capacity and extend the duty cycle. Useful info just because I know you have the same Winch on Big Red now.

I thought the clicking might be from a mechanism inside the which locking into place to it didn't release tension when the motor wasn't running.

I think your ground had part to do but the main part of your over heating issue was you can't keep hitting the on switch instead of holding it for the allowed time.

im literally pulling tree the size you cabled to out of the ground with my 9500lb super winch, glad i went with the super winch.

I believe it might be the battery cause I just saw that winch rip a pretty big tree out of the ground in another video

nice video, did u do the second one with the snach block?

Snatch block will double the pulling power and winch will work half as much. Plus the more cable u can pull off the drum the better off u are as it steepens the gear ratio on winch

I have the same winch on my c60 and it pulls my 16k lbs truck around just fine. The large diameter black cord isn't the ground that is your negative contact for the battery. Your winch isn't running at full power. And for every row of line you pull out you loose over half your pulling power. Need a snatch

even thou its a 12000 lb winch it will only pull that on the 1st layer of cable so if the cable is 4 layers then it will only pull around 6700 lb when winding the 4th layer so its best to let all the cable out or use a snatch block which will put its pulling power back up to 12000

i have that exact same winch, i just pulled my f350 out and it was sitting on the front bumper and the mud froze solid, pulled it out like a dozer blade pushing big chunk of dirt

Winch not the problem here. It's not getting enough juice. Run the cables to the front of your car so it runs off that battery and your alternator will recharge. That's how I ran the setup on my truck. Let me know if it changes anything

I have a super winch talon 12.5 I for my ram. Just now getting a bumper built fer it so haven't used it. Buy probably get one of these for the car trailer with it's on batt, And a 2 guage qd wire kit

You are correct on the relays clicking in and out due to low voltage.

You need a very strong battery or 2 to get the maximum pull.

on the box it tells you have 45 seconds of winching and about 10-15 minutes of cooling so your winch lasts you longer, keep what you are doing and you will mess it up fast

Why would you even consider going were you went with all season tires?

You running slicks on that thing?

i got that winch on my trailer i never have any heating problems with it. i got a battery on the trailer to run the winch no charging from my alternator. i just charge it up after a couple uses. ground it better sand paint off the metal.

Check your ground. That minor clicking noise is your ground cables usually I had the exact same winch got stolen in San Diego recently. awesome winch just got another one but its rated at 9k

also the distance from the power source to the winch has alot to do with it too

It mite help if truck is running and hooked to the battery

Get a pair of heavy duty jumper cables, cut the ends off and replace the winch end with a set of slave cable adaptors. These can be found at Northern tool and equipment. Go to the auto parts store and get eye ends for the battery end of the cables. Route the cables through the frame from the battery to the rear end and screw the slave cable adaptor to the hitch. You will have to cut the winches power cables in order to put on the other half of the slave adaptor. This allows your electrical hook ups to be permanently mounted to the vehicle, while allowing you to remove the winch mount.

Yep your ground needs to be way better for starters. I used mine with no issues and I pulled my 11ram 3500 out of some interesting things lol.

First :Got to have good powers connections , both of them. That's the quickest way to smoke ANY winch is run the voltage low. Second :GOT TO HAVE A SECOND BATTERY AND A HIGHER OUTPUT ALTERNATOR like those used for factory plow packages when the vehicle gets ordered originally. The extra amps are your best friend.

I used one to load a car that all 4 wheels were locked up. Doubled the cable by using snatch block and it pulled the car right out of the woods up onto the trailer with no problem. Harder to unload than it was too load

definately wasnt getting enough juice. You might need a second battery in the back close to the winch if the ground doesnt fix it

Any winch works better when you use snatch blocks

Be careful! The mounting plates are only rated for like 9000 Lbs. I had one and we twisted the winch housing because the plate bent

Your supposed to drive the vehicle with the winch?.?.?

Tips: Sand down the paint from the metal before you ground it. Second check online for some used offroad tires.

This is very good information to have. Thank you for your video and your time

Keep up all the videos man!

Tires with tread ?

Sounds like operator error. I've got one on my ATV 3500lbs. Great product

you should try a tractor supply travaler winch Novice Garage

Are those slicks ?

sounded to me like the relay box ground was not installed properly. I hear the chatter from the relay, and that will definitely heat up any electric motor.

it's a great winch but it has cheap wires because I have the same winch and I replaced the wire with a welding leaf wire

I would of had it hooked up in the front first of all. And I have the 12000 pound winch pulls easily been pulling strong and tougher things then this vehicle your showing for sure and no issues definitely the operator for sure.

Love the channel, It did its job.

Is the 4runner not a 4x4?

how much hourse power does the 4runer have

my 94 gmc 3500 4door dually was stuck in 3 feet of slush mud mix. that winch pulled my truck out and up the tree where I attached. no problem.

We live and learn. That said, proper wiring does help with over heating. Always have at least two snatch blocks. I like to work the winch 10-15 seconds then let it rest for 15-20 seconds. This will help keep it from over heating. I'm sure y'all have figured this out now, but people still watching older videos so....🤷

You had so much line could have just double lined it. You should be running a cable direct to battery, for both.

Cool ass drag slicks bro

I'm surprised you got 4Runner stuck. I've tried for decades and was never able to one stuck.

dude please tape up that hot wire where you spliced it before your truck burns down

You hook the cable straight to the battery no fuse in line the winch as a fuse in it what you could do get a set of 8 gauge jumper cables cut the ends off and put some quick connects on that take care of your problem and they are called winch blocks get you two 4000lbs blocks thats all you need .i have one of those 12000lb winchs and i can pull a 21000lb truck with it it all depends on if you know how to hook it up or not

i have the fuse on the "-" side about 15cm from the battery, should it be on the + or is - ok?

id like to see the wiring, are you running to an external battery or the battery running the toyota?

You need a snatch block to double your cable and take the heavy load off of the winch.

Man these guys sure know what they are doing

You have to run the negative and positive wires from the winch directly to the battery (2nd battery recommended). The battery is your fuse and if you don't want the wires to get hot then shorten them up or get larger wire. Consider installing a 2nd battery in the rear of the vehicle if you use your winch on the rear, that will allow a shorter wire run and you can still rig it to charge from the alternator. Be safe and use the snatch block and throw something over the wire winch cable in case the cable or something else breaks as mentioned by others. I once saw a guy killed by a broken winch hook, went right through the back window of the truck and took one side of his head off, bad work day.

You need a snatch block it doubles the torque of your winch if you have a 12000 pound winch it will have 24 thousand pound pulling capacity but it will slow the winch down