Help looking for tips on inspecting used winches

JamesAndTheSahara

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Got any tips on inspecting a Craigslist winch? I have confirmed with the owner I will be connecting it to power to ensure it pulls the line in or out. I will confirm it free spools. Do I need to load test it? I’ll be driving down on black friday to south florida to pick it up. Owner says it works just fine and equipped with cable but that will be replaced in short order.

I will show pictures & the model of the Warn later this evening. Don’t want to jinx anything till its set in stone. ;)
 
Well test as much as you can get away with. It is hard to load test if it isn't mounted, but if it is, I say go ahead and load test. You may want to make sure it releases and pulls somewhat quickly. Luckily if you do buy it, and it has issues, I think everything is replaceable.

Good Luck!
 
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Well test as much as you can get away with. It is hard to load test if it isn't mounted, but if it is, I say go ahead and load test. You may want to make sure it releases and pulls somewhat quickly. Luckily if you do buy it, and it has issues, I think everything is replaceable.

Good Luck!
Thanks for your input!!
 
Yeah I bought a used one for a decent price turns out motor was bad. Took it to warn in Oregon and they put a new motor in it, after shooting the breeze withe th3 guy for 20 min I think I paid $75 for the rebuild and was a happy camper
 
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Yeah I bought a used one for a decent price turns out motor was bad. Took it to warn in Oregon and they put a new motor in it, after shooting the breeze withe th3 guy for 20 min I think I paid $75 for the rebuild and was a happy camper

Pretty cool that Warn is in Oregon, huh? I live in Salem, and I always get excited every time I drive by Warn!
 
needing a cable might be a deal breaker if you want to go to a rope instead of cable by the time you swap the cable and fairlead you can just about get a good winch and certainly a harbor freight 9000 or 12000 lb one
 
needing a cable might be a deal breaker if you want to go to a rope instead of cable by the time you swap the cable and fairlead you can just about get a good winch and certainly a harbor freight 9000 or 12000 lb one
This thread is several months old, I bought the Warn 9.5CTI multimount for $400.00 over thanksgiving. The cable is in fine shape, so I continue to use it. Once I can swing synthetic rope I will, just for its ability to be repaired on the trail and lighter weight hauling it up hills.
 
Sorry somehow it showed up on the recent post on my page I am by far no expert when I was going to replace the cable in my winch I read an article in one of the magazines and I know they are salesman they recommended replacing the Drum and fair lead
 
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Sorry somehow it showed up on the recent post on my page I am by far no expert when I was going to replace the cable in my winch I read an article in one of the magazines and I know they are salesman they recommended replacing the Drum and fair lead
You’re fine it was revived so popped back on the recents page. That is correct on replacing the fairlead. You find cable is very hard on rollers/hawse so to prevent pre-mature synthetic rope wear you use a new fairlead. It’s a judgement call depending on how much it was used.