Badland ZXR 12000 lb Winch Review

The Badland 12000 lb winch has been making headway through the top-ranking winches brands with efficient speed at affordable and competitive prices. Manufactured by Harbor Freight, this heavy-duty piece of machinery furnishes what it advertises; raw power, convenience in every smooth recovery.

Badland ZXR 12000 lb winch is reliable because of its sturdiness and durability even through harsh conditions. This heavy-duty winch is recommended by 98% of customers.

Let us have an unbiased review of Badland 12000 lb winch, comprising features, pros, cons, customer verdict, and a quick installation guide with some common buyers’ questions addressed.

Badland ZXR 12000 lb Winch Specs

Badland 12000 lb Winch (63770 model) is a powerful machine that delivers significant strength over a long time. The 12000 lb waterproof winch has a great extracting power best suited to deal with its robust operation.

Power: 6 HP Series Wound Motor that comes equipped with its system of keeping itself cool, a cycle rate of 5%, enables longer working hours, and avoids overheating.

A three-stage planetary gear system with a geartrain ratio of 265:1 provides faster line speeds, which implies quick work of the heavy lifting. The free spooling feature emphasizes user comfort by cutting downtime and effort.

Heavy Load Bearing: The Automatic Load-holding brake ensures an added safety aspect with an 8.8” x 2.5” spool drum.

Aircraft Grade Steel Cable Line: With 87 pounds, the winch comes with the aircraft-grade 65’ of 3/8” galvanized steel cable.

They are more durable than an average winch cable furnishing the added ability to pull more weight with stability without creating much tension on the core mechanism.

Roller Fairlead: The Roller Fairlead with nylon bushings is built solidly with super smooth rollers that prevent entangling and allow a proper flow of line in the right direction hence adding to the efficiency of winching operations.

Cable Tensioner: The spring-loaded cable tensioner prevents unnecessary tangling of the 65 ft cable during operations.

While pulling a cable or free spooling, the cable tensioner holds the cable tight to the drums by providing constant resistance on every line. Cable Tensioner guides the cable moves back and forth across the drum without brushing against the cable stack.

Waterproof: The Badland 12000 lb winch is IP 66 rated, granting ingress protection from powerful water jets, dust particles penetrating under reduced pressure. This substantial resistance can give you a smooth and efficient operation.

Overload Protection: A productive self-preservatory inline circuit breaker(150 Amps) prevents the device from thermal overloading.

Warranty: With a Warranty of 90 days from the day of purchase, if anything goes wrong with the winch, you can always replace it with a brand new one from Harbor Freight.

Handheld Remote: The winch comes equipped with a 12’ Handheld Remote Control that allows easy operations. It is also compatible with a Wireless Remote Control that you will have to purchase separately at a small cost.

Plug the wireless controller into the winch’s control box, and you get an added 50 ft range of operations.

In this Box: A great looking & sturdy IP66 rated waterproof winch, the wired remote, the steel cable, roller fairlead, solenoid box, circuit breaker, and all the necessary power cables necessary to wire up the winch.

The components you will have to buy separately includes; Universal Winch Mount | Badland Wireless Winch Remote Control | Heavy Duty Waterproof Winch Cover

Pros

• Cost-Effective
• Easy to Install
• Cable Tensioner
• 98% Approval Rating

Cons

• Short Duty Cycle
• Slow Pulling Action

Buyer’s Feedback:

Badland 12000 lb Troubleshooting

No Mounting Bracket

The mounting plate for Badland 12000 lb electric winch has to be bought separately depending upon your vehicle’s custom fittings.

This universal winch mount allows mounting of a winch on any factory and aftermarket bumpers.

Control Box Displacement

Many users find it during recovery when the spool is not in the proper line, the steel cable forces the control box pops up at the tod pushes it off the mounting location.

If you are having this problem, try to mount the solenoid box in a different location.

Winch Cover

Badland winches don’t come with a winch cover, and not all winches are weatherproof. When not in use, having your winch covered can save you from adverse weather conditions, and during a rugged trail, it can keep the mud off from getting into the strands of steel cable, which can be abrasive and damaging.

Try this heavy-duty weather-resistant winch cover, which is ideal for Badland ZXR 12000 lb Winch,

Circuit Breaker Tripping

Some consumers noticed frequent tripping of the circuit breaker. Usually, the circuit breaker provided by the Badland winch has no protection.

We always recommend buying a circuit breaker, which is waterproof, that can be resettable and act as a disconnect at the push of a button.

Remote Cable Interference

The remote cable connection from the control box is interfering with the spring of the cable tensioner.

If you encounter this problem, you can increase the control box’s distance from the winch using some extra washers and nuts to raise it, allowing remote cable free of disruption.

Should You Buy This Winch or Not?

Badland 12000 lb is a powerful and capable winch with excellent pulling power, which works like the top brands like warn & super winch. They are not for everyday use but a very reliable winch when in need.

While this winch provides the most significant pulling power in the first two layers, it has a pulling capacity of 6500 pounds on the 4th layer, which is impressive. The cable tensioner makes the flat spool line, and IP66 grade provides ingress protection against water & dust.

It is a pretty solid winch, but you must pay attention to its duty cycle. For every 45 seconds of winching at full load, the winch needs to be cooled off for 15 mins before using it again to prevent the motor from overheating.

Considering the best benefit to cost ratio, this winch is a must-buy if you are looking at a low price and once in a while usage.

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Badland 12000 lb Winch Installation

Many users found it easy to install the Winch onto their vehicles.

• First, mount the winch in the desired position, placing it perpendicular to its centerline.
• Drill the holes accordingly and tighten the fasteners to the given torque value.
• Next, the Solenoid box gets mounted and secured to the Winch tie bars with brackets and mounting screws. (check the badland 12000 winch solenoid wiring diagram)
• Route the cables from the Solenoid to the battery and the winch, ensuring none of them are in the vehicle’s path of moving components.
• Before mounting, check if the cable has been tightly coiled to prevent damage to the load or yourself when you pull it out for use.

If you feel you can better understand some visual instructions, watch this video.

 

FAQ’s of Badland 12000 lb Winch

Where can I find parts for these winches?

Check our article on badland winch parts for your replacements and upgrades.

How far does this pull in 45 seconds at full capacity?

Up to 100 ft.

What is the Warranty?

The standard warranty is 90 days from purchase. Buying from Harbor Freight for an extra buck, you get a two-year no-questions-asked replacement warranty.

Our Conclusion on Badland 12000lb Winch Review: The Badland 12000 lb winch is made of sturdy materials that make up a high-quality product. Anyone looking for affordable, durable winches usually locks onto Badland winches since investing in one does not burn a hole in the pocket, and the Winch lasts comparatively longer.

Designed exclusively for heavy-duty tasks, the Badland 12000 lb winch delivers commendable power levels at genuinely reasonable prices, a tag that appeals to many winch users.