Badland ZXR 12000 Lb. Winch Review – Weather Resistant Off-Road Vehicle Electric Winch
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You already know the value a winch will add to your off road vehicles, and you want to get one for your truck or SUV that’ll not break the bank. In this case, the Badland ZXR 12000 Lb. Weather Resistant Off-Road Vehicle Electric Winch might be perfect for you.
But before you spend your hard-earned money, you want to know if there’s any truth to the hype around the Badland ZXR 12000 Lb. Electric Winch. Here’s a detailed review guide explaining the features and capabilities of this popular Badland winch.
Last update on 2025-05-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Unboxing
The packaging of the 12000 pound Badland winch is quite standard. Inside, the items are placed in polystyrene foam to absorb impact and vibrations to keep the winch parts safe while in transit.
When you unbox, you’ll get the following items:
- Badland manual
- A heavy-duty hook with a red hook safety strap
- Remote
- Circuit breaker
- Connecting cables
- Nuts and bolts
- Control box
- Roller fairlead
- 12000 lbs winch
For a budget-friendly winch, the Badlands 12000 winch is well constructed and weighs about 84 pounds. The free spool handle is sturdy and strong, and the cable is already spooled onto the drum, which helps save time during installation.
Note: The bolts provided are only long enough for a ¼-inch mounting plate.
Power
This particular Badlands winch 12000 has (as the name indicates) a 12000 Lb. capacity that’s enough to winch trucks and SUVs. The power is generated by a 6HP Series Wound Motor equipped with a cooling system and has a 5% duty cycle rating, which helps keep it cool during long pulls.
And for faster line speeds, the winch 12000lb sports a 3-stage planetary gear system with a 265:1 geartrain ratio. This means that it not only winches heavy loads but also does it fast. With such power and speed, safety is crucial. So Harbor Freight Tools (HFT) decided to add an automatic load-holding brake on the 8.8” x 2.5” spool drum to this HF winch.
Other safety features include safety latches on its hook and a free spooling function. And in case you surpass its maximum safety free spooling limits, the 150 amps self-preservatory inline circuit breaker kicks in to prevent a thermal overload.
Despite the 12000 Lb rating, beware of the drop in the line pull capacity as you move down the layers as follows:
- Layer 1 – 12000 lbs
- Layer 2 – 9550 lbs
- Layer 3 – 8000 lbs
- Layer 4 – 6800 lbs
- Layer 5 – 6000 lbs
Remote
The Badland ZXR 12000 Lbs. The winch comes with a 12-foot wired remote control that allows safe and easy operation. If wired control isn’t your cup of tea, you can purchase a compatible Wireless Remote Control separately at an extra cost. To use the new wireless remote, all you need to do is plug the controller into the winch control box. With the wireless connection, you get an extra 50 feet range of operation.
Cable
The winch cable is made from aircraft-grade steel cable and is 55 feet long and 3/8 inches thick (strong enough to hold 12000 Lbs). (The sibling APEX has a synthetic rope). The steel cable excels in abrasive terrains, including rocks, mud, and sand, since it’s less prone to abrading and fraying. Moreover, it requires little maintenance. Unfortunately, it’s heavy and isn’t as strong as synthetic cables.
The winch has a roller fairlead equipped with nylon bushings to ensure a smoother line-out. At the same time, the fairlead helps to improve the winch’s efficiency. Even better, there’s a cable tensioner above the drum that keeps the 65-foot cable from tangling.
When free spooling, the cable tensioner holds the steel cable tight to the drum by exerting constant resistance on each line. The cable tensioner guides the steel cable across the drum without brushing against the stuck.
Waterproof
Waterproof ratings come in different descriptions from IP65 – to IP69. These ratings describe a product’s waterproof abilities determined under different conditions. The Badlands 12 000 winch. has an IP66 waterproof rating.
With this rating, the winch’s enclosure is protected against high-pressure water jets (12.55mm nozzle) shot from different directions. This capability is tested for 3 minutes at specific conditions, including:
- Water volume – 100 liters each minute
- Pressure – 100 kPa from 3 meters
Badland Apex vs ZXR
While the IP66 isn’t the highest rating we’ve seen on a 12000 lb winch Harbor Freight (the Badland APEX 12000 lbs has an IP68 and IP69K rating), it’s enough to make it resistant to harsh and wet weather without the dangers of a short circuit.
Winch Line Speed
The 3-stage planetary gear system allows the Badland ZXR 12000 Lbs to winch heavy loads fast. Here’s how the system works; the winch motor turns the shaft connected to the 1st sun gear connected to several planetary gears that work together to reduce the gear ratio. The first planetary gears transfer torque through a carrier into a different sun gear which then turns the next set of planetary gears. The process repeats itself through three stages of gears that help multiply power by gear reduction.
- It is budget-friendly
- Performs well in harsh and wet conditions
- Sturdy and durable construction
- Easy to install
- Comes with the cable already wound on the drum
- Safe to use
- The cable doesn’t get tangled
- Despite the 3-stage gear planetary system, the winch’s speed is a little disappointing
- Some users have reported the winch overheats when used for prolonged periods without allowing the mechanical parts to rest
Badland ZXR 12000 Winch not Working
Should You Buy the Badland ZXR 12000 Lbs?
The power it packs produces 90 dB of noise, which is equivalent to the noise a lawnmower makes. These levels are within safe levels, and the human ear can withstand it for 2 hours and 30 minutes continuously.
Overall, the winch is powerful, fast, water-resistant, safe, and easy to install. Depending on your needs, you can use it with a truck or an SUV. Only remember that the line capacity reduces with every layer. But if you have a smaller vehicle, you needn’t worry about this.
Last update on 2025-04-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
