My latest project involved just a bit of welding type work

[Gary Fowler]

I just finished putting a new 5000# Harbor Freight Badlands winch on my Kubota RTV. The only welding was tacking a backing nut to the mount. IT took me and a friend all morning and part of the afternoon to get it on. The power cables were just barely long enough and caused us to reroute a couple of time to get them to reach. Also the instructions were very vague with only a small drawing of where each cable went. We had to reverse a couple of wires from what the drawing showed to make the remote switches work right. As per there drawing, the IN button actually made the winch go out.
But it seems to work fine now. I guess I need to test it. Maybe spool out some cable and hook it to a tree and see if it will drag my RTV with all the wheels sliding. More on that later. Just glad to have a working winch. After my RTV took a bath in the pond, I have been having problems with a lot of stuff like bearings, U-joints, CV- joints, starter switches, winch switches, starters and winches. I fixed the starter and winch once by taking them apart, cleaning out all the water and lubing them back up but that was a temporary fix. They did work for several months but eventually went bad. I think I have now replaced everything that can go bad so it should be good to go another 10 years now.

 

[JamesW]

I put that same winch on my Kubota sidekick and ended up buying new power/ground cables to run because of those short kit wires.

 

[retired ironworker]

I just finished putting a new 5000# Harbor Freight Badlands winch on my Kubota RTV. The only welding was tacking a backing nut to the mount. IT took me and a friend all morning and part of the afternoon to get it on. The power cables were just barely long enough and caused us to reroute a couple of time to get them to reach. Also the instructions were very vague with only a small drawing of where each cable went. We had to reverse a couple of wires from what the drawing showed to make the remote switches work right. As per there drawing, the IN button actually made the winch go out.
But it seems to work fine now. I guess I need to test it. Maybe spool out some cable and hook it to a tree and see if it will drag my RTV with all the wheels sliding. More on that later. Just glad to have a working winch. After my RTV took a bath in the pond, I have been having problems with a lot of stuff like bearings, U-joints, CV- joints, starter switches, winch switches, starters and winches. I fixed the starter and winch once by taking them apart, cleaning out all the water and lubing them back up but that was a temporary fix. They did work for several months but eventually went bad. I think I have now replaced everything that can go bad so it should be good to go another 10 years now.

and how many beers to get that done in one afternoon?

 

[Gary Fowler]

I think that was a 2 beer each but only after all the work was finished.

 

[Lowensenf]

see if it will drag my RTV with all the wheels sliding

Well, yeah! What does the RTV Weigh? Seems like a capacity equal to teh weight of the vehicle you attach it to would be sufficient no?

 

[Gary Fowler]

The RTV weighs approx 2000# dry but add in some options I have and it might go a couple hundred more. Being able to drag it depends much on the soil condition, how much load it has (over 1600 per spec but it will carry and dump much more than that), the type of tires and most importantly, how deep is it stuck in the mud. I might take more than double the weight to move it out of a very stuck condition. Fortunately, I havent needed to find that out yet.

 

[California]

... and most importantly, how deep is it stuck in the mud. I might take more than double the weight to move it out of a very stuck condition.

Long ago prowling in a used book store I picked up a copy of Moving the Earth. The classic on earthmoving with heavy equipment. Fascinating, I read it cover to cover.

A point from Nichols that comes to mind every time some mentions towing a really stuck vehicle: He said it's easy to pull out a badly stuck truck using something larger - - - but often its axles don't come along with it.

 

[CA_Bgrwldr]

Whatever the

The RTV weighs approx 2000# dry but add in some options I have and it might go a couple hundred more. Being able to drag it depends much on the soil condition, how much load it has (over 1600 per spec but it will carry and dump much more than that), the type of tires and most importantly, how deep is it stuck in the mud. I might take more than double the weight to move it out of a very stuck condition. Fortunately, I havent needed to find that out yet.

A snatch block will double the pulling capacity of the winch.

 

[Stuckinnj]

Just a reminder, you should always ‘stretch’ the winch cable after installation and before you actually need it. Using tree strap, connect the cable to a tree, unspool the cable so that only 2 wraps are left on drum. Apply hand brake to add resistance while spooling up the remaining cable. Ensure each wrap is tightly wound. If done properly, this will prevent the cable from jamming itself into the previous cable wrap. Cable will remain round (no flat spots from jamming between cable wraps) and be tight/stretched allowing full pulling force to be used. I’m sure it’s somewhere in the fitment instructions. Just wanted to highlight. Cable will last a lot longer. Of course you may want to consider synthetic rope designed for winching. Much safer it it breaks.