This Guy Thinks Harbor Freight Winch Better Than Warn

[dragoneggs]

They only way you are getting a Warn winch that is made in the USA is if you are buying an old one. All of the new ones are put together in Oregon but most of the parts are from outside the USA. Same parts that Smittybilt and other companies are using, they just assemble those parts in USA. Warn isn't being truthful and is misleading folks like you who THINK they are buying US products.

I'm fully aware that Warn Zeons are not 100% made in America. I do believe however they are more so built in the US with US labor, than comparable brands.

Very few consumer products these day don't have some globally sourced parts or raw materials.

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[offcamber]

I'm fully aware that Warn Zeons are not 100% made in America. I do believe however they are more so built in the US with US labor, than comparable brands.

Very few consumer products these day don't have some globally sourced parts or raw materials.

If you've ever taken a winch apart you will know that assembling a winch takes about 10 minutes. It's a motor, some gears and a solenoid in a metal case. The difference between "assembled in America" and "made in China" is negligible. If it makes you feel better paying twice as much for something because Warn tries to make you think your money isn't going to the chicoms, then I guess that's on you. The problems with Warn started when they were no longer "made in America" and switched to "assembled in America".

 

[jeepingib]

Interestingly, my wife and I used to watch him a bit, and had the same reaction to his "failure". He wasn't trying to do anything he said in that video, other than try to get a failure out of the winch. Secured his truck to a large tracked vehicle anchor, secured his winch to a large stump fully seated in the ground with no attempt to break roots or anything, loosen dirt, etc., then pulled until something gave. That's not "trying to pull a stump", that's a classical case of irresistible force meets immovable object. It would have taken a whole lot more than 12,000 lbs of force to move that stump.

His eyes were all over the place when he was describing the failure, so he knew he was being dishonest. Not sure why he did it, but we had watched a bunch of his videos over the last year or so, and he was totally disingenuous in that one, and we both reacted to it when we watched it. There was an agenda behind that one.

Plus the failure was really due to the winch plate flexing. Which caused the winch to be able to twist and broke it. A few things led to the failure of the winch plate. It is not strong enough for that load. Which ties into the other cause. That load was much more than the winch was rated for. If you drag a 3/4 ton truck with its brakes set, and have to anchor it, then you shouldn't be doing a single line pull. Time to break out the snatch block. So it was at this point where I decided that his credentials as a former Warn employee didn't amount to anything in my eyes.

 

[Jondrew]

Sadly, Warn has become the benchmark for overpriced winches.

Their VR line is made in China, with quality to match. I bought one in 2016; it started to rust after two weeks. Warn took it back.

I got a Quadratec Stealth-10 this time: it’s well-built, got more features that a Zeon 10, at a fraction of the cost.

Did you get a recall on yours? Did you get it repaired?

 

[ViperJon]

The box leaked, which created a nasty slurry of corrosive crap in the bottom of the box. That slurry turned my ten year old tape measure into a rusty, seized block of metal. I brought it to the local sears store and the manager pointed me to the new ones and said, “leave that here and go get a new one”.

That's probably why they couldn't continue to offer the lifetime warranty. Instead of saying "oops thats on me my fault" and buying another after ten years you had them give you a free one.

 

[Odyssey USA]

My Warn was spooled twice under light tension. Once new and another to check the line and clean it. When I tried to use it 4 months later…I could hold the hook with my hand and keep it from spooling. Tech thinks the brake is out. That’s not confidence inspiring. I have the Zeon Platinum 10S.

 

[aldo98229]

Did you get a recall on yours? Did you get it repaired?

I bought it after the recall.

 

[Jondrew]

I bought it after the recall.

Yea, I never sent mine back. Was never motivated to pull it out.

 

[Whaler27]

That's probably why they couldn't continue to offer the lifetime warranty. Instead of saying "oops thats on me my fault" and buying another after ten years you had them give you a free one.

Nope — but that’s the sort of thinking that killed them, I think — the notion that every transaction should stand alone, no extra corporate good will or loss is tolerable, and short term profits should be maximized, even at the expense of long term sustainability.

I spent many thousands of dollars at Sears over more than three decades — tools, tires, clothing, batteries, a minibike, appliances for three homes, etc — and their total corporate cost of earning my good will was a tape measure, a drill, and a truck battery.

Sears‘ business empire started when Richard Sears was a watch repair guy. He got into the retail business when the shop he worked for received an unsolicited shipment of pocket watches which he agreed to sell. His prompt success encouraged him to order more, which eventually evolved into an enormous manufacturing and catalog sales business.

One of the great Richard Sears stories involves him waiting for a train when a conductor dropped his pocket watch on the concrete platform. Sears picked up the broken watch, noticed it was his brand, and said, “Sears will replace that. We guarantee our watches against falling out of people’s hands and breaking.” Obviously, that remark was tongue-in-cheek, but Sears replaced the watch, even though the company bore no responsibility for the breakage. I’m sure that conductor told that story hundreds of times over the balance of his life. That gesture, and millions like it, earned powerful brand loyalty that built the Sears empire.

My experience at Costco and Amazon has been similar, though mostly vicarious. My hunting buddy bought a vacuum sealer at Costco more than three years ago. It got a lot of use then finally died. He brought it back and Costco said, “We no longer sell that model, but we’ll replace it with this one”. (A better model). That isolated transaction was a loser for Costco, obviously, but Bob spends about $20,000 per year there, and they know it. He’s been shopping there for years and that’s been his only claim. Now, as a result of Costco’s grace, he’s even more enthusiastic and more willing to gamble on a new Costco product, because he knows Costco will help him unwind the sale if things don’t work out. Costco also got the benefit of the rest of the hunting camp hearing Bob’s sealer story, as we’re all more confident in our purchases there. Our kids are long gone, but our family still spends over $1000 per month at Costco, as we have for most of the last twenty years, and I’ve yet to make a claim. It’s a brilliant business model, and a simple one.

I think Sears went out of business because the corporation forgot about the role quality, reputation, service, and brand loyalty played in its success.

 

[Traveller128]

Plus the failure was really due to the winch plate flexing. Which caused the winch to be able to twist and broke it. A few things led to the failure of the winch plate. It is not strong enough for that load. Which ties into the other cause. That load was much more than the winch was rated for. If you drag a 3/4 ton truck with its brakes set, and have to anchor it, then you shouldn't be doing a single line pull. Time to break out the snatch block. So it was at this point where I decided that his credentials as a former Warn employee didn't amount to anything in my eyes.

I tend to ask "why" when someone does something that doesn't make a lot of sense. Did a former colleague at Warn say "do us a solid" and he did that video, or did he have something tick him off? Did he do it for clicks on his channel (revenue)?

His earlier videos showed him using the heck out of it, then all of a sudden he decides to pull it apart. I watched from the time he installed it, and agree that it looked like something flexed under the winch to allow it to crack the case like that.

 

[Whaler27]

If you've ever taken a winch apart you will know that assembling a winch takes about 10 minutes. It's a motor, some gears and a solenoid in a metal case. The difference between "assembled in America" and "made in China" is negligible. If it makes you feel better paying twice as much for something because Warn tries to make you think your money isn't going to the chicoms, then I guess that's on you. The problems with Warn started when they were no longer "made in America" and switched to "assembled in America".

I’m the first to admit I’m not the most talented mechanic, but I found reassembling my Warn Zeon a colossal pain in the ass. I had to crack mine open to replace the 180 degree clutch lever with the 90 degree lever, a process that’s supposed to be easy, but it took me forever to get the alignment right. I wish you’d been here to slap it together for me while I drank a beer. I put the pile of gears down twice
In frustration, but the third time it all fell together easily.

I was under the impression that the Zeons had American-made components, including the gears, but it sounds like that’s incorrect. I’m going to try to cal the guys at Warn tomorrow to see if their top tier stuff really is all Chinese components assembled in Clackamas. If true, that will be another discouraging development, and another nail in the American manufacturing coffin.

 

[BullMoose1776]

If you can afford whatever brand and the name evokes a sense of assurance, then get it. Anything can be "Made in America" with the write stamp or sticker. These debates are as crazy as Coke vs Dr Pepper, clearly RC Cola is superior.

Pepsi isn't even mentioned! HAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[OffroadCalling77]

Nope — but that’s the sort of thinking that killed them, I think — the notion that every transaction should stand alone, no extra corporate good will or loss is tolerable, and short term profits should be maximized, even at the expense of long term sustainability.

I spent many thousands of dollars at Sears over more than three decades — tools, tires, clothing, batteries, a minibike, appliances for three homes, etc — and their total corporate cost of earning my good will was a tape measure, a drill, and a truck battery.

Sears‘ business empire started when Richard Sears was a watch repair guy. He got into the retail business when the shop he worked for received an unsolicited shipment of pocket watches which he agreed to sell. His prompt success encouraged him to order more, which eventually evolved into an enormous manufacturing and catalog sales business.

One of the great Richard Sears stories involves him waiting for a train when a conductor dropped his pocket watch on the concrete platform. Sears picked up the broken watch, noticed it was his brand, and said, “Sears will replace that. We guarantee our watches against falling out of people’s hands and breaking.” Obviously, that remark was tongue-in-cheek, but Sears replaced the watch, even though the company bore no responsibility for the breakage. I’m sure that conductor told that story hundreds of times over the balance of his life. That gesture, and millions like it, earned powerful brand loyalty that built the Sears empire.

My experience at Costco and Amazon has been similar, though mostly vicarious. My hunting buddy bought a vacuum sealer at Costco more than three years ago. It got a lot of use then finally died. He brought it back and Costco said, “We no longer sell that model, but we’ll replace it with this one”. (A better model). That isolated transaction was a loser for Costco, obviously, but Bob spends about $20,000 per year there, and they know it. He’s been shopping there for years and that’s been his only claim. Now, as a result of Costco’s grace, he’s even more enthusiastic and more willing to gamble on a new Costco product, because he knows Costco will help him unwind the sale if things don’t work out. Costco also got the benefit of the rest of the hunting camp hearing Bob’s sealer story, as we’re all more confident in our purchases there. Our kids are long gone, but our family still spends over $1000 per month at Costco, as we have for most of the last twenty years, and I’ve yet to make a claim. It’s a brilliant business model, and a simple one.

I think Sears went out of business because the corporation forgot about the role quality, reputation, service, and brand loyalty played in its success.

All valid points but I think Sears greatest downfall was not taking the internet seriously.

 

[mgroeger]

Don't need a winch if you know how to drive...

?

Disclaimer...
You don't need a winch if you know how to drive on p*ssy trails and obstacles.

 

[Duck Dodgers]

Why y’all hate’n non Warren Zevon?
Lawyers, guns and money

Mods: They said Warn Zeon.

Me: Oh….

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