HOT! Alternative to the Ford Performance Winch at less than half the cost???

Backslider said:
Stuff made in China can and often is of a very high, if not the highest level of quality.
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This can be true but not always. With no available knowledge of the manufacturing process and track record of the company I would go USA sourced parts every time. I have seen examples first hand of both good and bad quality Chinese parts from the automotive sector. The bad stuff is scary bad. They certainly have the capability but need the oversight of companies with experience to help jump ahead of the learning curve and not repeat all the mistakes of the industrial progression over the past 100 or so years.

I get what you are saying and I wouldn't eliminate an option just because it was produced in China, but I wouldn't assume everything from there is acceptable either.
 
Is it safe tl say that if I order the mounting kit from Gorman Tech Services that there is at least written instructions with pictures on how to install this for those of us who have never done it or are they in development and I should wait a little while?
 
Winch is on sale again if anyone needs one!


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MikeMakesWhiskey said:
Looks like a great deal, has anyone have experience with both this and the Warn 107168 bracket setup that can give pro/con of each so I can make a more educated purchase?
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  • The bumper extends out 8 inches
that is not very hidden
 
SgtHawkUSMC said:
I finally got around to welding my kit I got from you tonight. It's only been a few months... When you've had them welded, are all the seams welded fully or are they welded in several spots along each seam?
Also, in the pics you've posted there are small triangle gussets welded in. You ended up getting rid of those in the design right?


Thanks.
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The welds need to be strong enough and penetrate the metal enough to hold under the load of the winch. If you have any doubt, weld it out.

The triangle gussets were part of the 2nd revision of the design, they were eliminated in the 3rd revision as we ended up going to 3/8" plate steel instead of 1/4" plate steel.
 
SgtHawkUSMC said:
Hard part is done. I'm just waiting on a box to transfer the relay, plug and switch into. The one that came with the winch is unnecessarily huge and hard to hide.
I need to grind the spool handle also. I can't get it all the way over to free spool.

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Looks good! You shouldn't have to grind the handle, just loosen the winch and slide it closer to the drivers side frame rail.
 
04sshd said:
Looks good! You shouldn't have to grind the handle, just loosen the winch and slide it closer to the drivers side frame rail.
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There's no moving it. Everything is real tight against the driver side I think. I need to replace the main winch mounting bolts. They're too short to use with the lock washers. When I put the new bolts in I'll see if I can find a little movement.
 
SgtHawkUSMC said:
There's no moving it. Everything is real tight against the driver side I think. I need to replace the main winch mounting bolts. They're too short to use with the lock washers. When I put the new bolts in I'll see if I can find a little movement.
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If you don't have enough bite with the Badlands hardware then yes I would replace the hardware with a linger set. Regular hex head nuts do fit in thr base of the winch. Make sure to use grade 8 or comparable hardware. There definitely should be enough room to slide the winch over so the freespool handle stops making contact with the fairlead.
 
I have brought up a subject once before that some viewers did not like. I have 40 years experience being a mechanic . placing items in front of your radiator is not a good thing . restricting air flow through your radiator will increase your engine temp and cause items to wear out sooner . during the winter with a new truck this will not be noticed . But on those crazy hot days with A/C running on high and other systems taxing the cooling system like traffic or towing trailers and as the radiator gets older and starts to clog you are looking for trouble . I like the effort to protect the electrical but remember it gets hot with its large amp draw . try to let air flow best as possible and always remember the front grill is open for a reason . Please understand I am trying to help in a positive way so we can help each other .
Happy Holidays and god bless
 
It's mounted mostly behind the huge emblem and the thicker part of the grill. It has a few inches clearance behind the box so there's plenty of air flow around it. I haven't lost much of any actual air flow through the radiator.

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04sshd said:
So I posted this on Facebook and I received many comments to come here and post it as well.

EDIT!!! NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE!!! -> https://gormantechservices.com/winch/


I've been working on a winch kit to fit a 12k APEX Badland winch into my Tremor. The kit is near completion and I wanted to show you guys how it looks. If you're not familiar with the APEX Badland winch it's a Harbor Freight 12k winch that was designed to be heads up competiton for the Warn Zeon 12k but at a fraction of the cost. This guy sums it up below-

So I wanted to order the winch kit when I ordered my truck but the $3k price tag kind of turned me off of it. I figured I could do better so that's what I set out to do. Here's a glimpse of what I've got in the works!

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So I've got the design finalized, I sent it over to my buddy to cut out on his water jet. As soon as I have those pieces back we're going to test assemble it and document the install. If everything works well, I plan on offering these for purchase as a "U Weld It" Kit. At the end of the day I expect this to cost less than half of what the Ford Performance Winch kit costs when you're all in.

If you're interested, stay tuned!!!
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I have a SmittyBilt 12K on my Ram and Tremor is coming soon. Interested in hearing about compatibility with your kit...seems doable from this side of the screen lol! Any details?
 
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edit - This demo kit is ***SOLD***

If anyone is interested I have a demo winch kit available, it's been welded and powder coated, it does have some light scratches from handling. Shoot me a message if you would like a pre-welded kit.
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