Badlands Winch Reviews

[geocook717]

Hello all,

Curious what you all have to say about Badlands winches, good or bad? More specifically, 9 or 12K, or whatever rating that is required for 4runners. I have a 2001 but I didn't necessarily just want the 3rd gen responses, in hopes I may receive more insight.

Are they junk? How do they compare to some other brands, etc?

Thanks in advance.

Geoff from PA

 

[nevada]

Hello all,

Curious what you all have to say about Badlands winches, good or bad? More specifically, 9 or 12K, or whatever rating that is required for 4runners. I have a 2001 but I didn't necessarily just want the 3rd gen responses, in hopes I may receive more insight.

Are they junk? How do they compare to some other brands, etc?

Thanks in advance.

Geoff from PA

I don't personally have one. mostly because of all the things ive read about them. there are tons of people that like them, however id bet equally as many that don't.
I probably also see as many people saying "no problems" as I do people saying, "didn't work".

they are SLOWWW. I know I know. "im not in a hurry...etc".
yeah, I get it. but they are exceptionally slow. you will end up outdriving the cable, which is a major PITA. plus, winding the cable back in after an extraction is excruciating.
like I said, I don't own one of those, but I have owned slow winches before. its not something I will ever do again.

there are better winches for the money. handfuls of them actually. Smittybilt, Rugged Ridge(my favorite), and Engo. those are just a few off the top of my head.

 

[geocook717]

Do you currently have a winch? If so, what brand do you run?

Thanks for the input.

 

[nevada]

Do you currently have a winch? If so, what brand do you run?

Thanks for the input.

i do. I currently have 2. both Rugged Ridge. one 8500, and one 10,500. but, I much prefer the 8500. I will be buying another(possibly a 9500) to put on the front of my truck, and move the 10.5 to the rear.

the 10.5 is about 2x faster than the badlands, but its still too slow for my liking. the 8500 is great. still not the fastest, buts its a great balance of speed, and pulling power for the money. it was under $300 when I got it like 5 years ago.

 

[Bmerr98]

This guy did a review on the Badlands 12,000 lb winch complete with tear down. As has been said, there may be better winches, but for the price it'd be hard to pass up. Had a coupon for this winch for $289, but I think it expired.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN5vAAdKP94

 

[wallytoo]

i picked one up a few months ago, to install on my cj5 whenever i finish rebuilding it. i haven't used it, since the jeep is still in pieces down to a bare frame.

i've wheeled for more than 20 years without a winch, so i didn't buy it to start having winch-fests. i've virtually always carried a 3-ton (or better) come-along, a hi-lift, recovery strap, clevis', and anchor chain. i don't care how slow it is, it will be faster than setting up the hi-lift or come-along.

if i did the kind of wheeling where i constantly needed a winch, i'd pick up an 8274. unmatched speed, rugged construction, proven. but for me, where i might not use it more than twice a year? i guess i'll find out whether the 9000 lb version was worth the $239 i paid for it (i just checked my HF receipt - i paid $229.99 for it with a coupon). sorry, i haven't seen any other winch in that price range/capacity. ymmv.

wally

 

[JKLNHYD]

We ran a Harbor Freight 8K winch for years on my wife's TJ a few years back. When I say we abused it, I rarely did any kind of maintenance on it and I swapped the wire rope for synthetic but it was reliable the entire time we owned the Jeep. Yes it was slow but honestly, winching a 4-5K truck isn't something you want to rush through. Going slow allows you to make adjustments in sketchy situations.

And since we're talking about it, make sure you put together a nice kit just for winching...snatch block or two, d-rings, tree savers, and if you are going to use straps for anything, make sure you buy the ones without hooks on them. That's what the d-rings are for.

Cheers!

 

[Bluesky 07]

FYI, the Badland 12K pound model is $289 through Sunday (regularly $399). Only comes with a 90-day warranty but the store clerk said you can buy a plan for one or two years that provides a one-time replacement if it breaks or even just underperforms.

 

[4Runner fun]

I have two 9k set ups, and another 12k on my Car carrier, SLOW SLOW SLOW,
ok I've got that out of the way, the one on my crawler is not even the newer style and It has been great, granted I'm not a mudder, I don't winch my rig a 100 yards at a time. I do rocks, so most of the time I just need a nudge to get over something. It takes longer to get the cable out and in than actual winch time. Honestly the only reason the crawler has one is because the bumper I bought had a spot for one.

The one on the car carrier gets minimal use, again, slow, but it's been fool proof, I've double rigged it and loaded a 15k shop truck on the trailer and it did well. it's been worth the investment.

So my experience has been good. But the advise of others about other winches is all good info.

 

[Cwright26]

I actually looked at these tonight. I do think $289 is probably a decent deal on them.