Badland ZXR 5000 Winch Review (2022 Buyers Guide)

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If you’re into off-roading, you know the indescribable joy it brings when you hop on your ATV/UTV for a ride. The fresh air and adrenaline that floods your system from the start are like no other. Unfortunately, your fun may be short-lived when your ATV/UTV gets stuck. A beautiful day turns into a nightmare when you get stuck and don’t have the tools to get you unstuck.

Armed with an ATV/UTV winch like the Badland ZXR 5000, getting stuck will be the least of your problems. Recently, the Badland ZXR 5000 has been receiving a lot of attention. But before you spend your hard-earned money, you need to know if it’s all hype.

Here’s an in-depth Badland winch review to help you decide.

Unboxing

The Badland ZXR 5000 winch comes in decent packaging and with the following accessories:

• Safety Instructions
• Rocker switch
• Cables
• Strong mounting plate
• Handheld remote switch
• Circuit breaker
• Roller fairlead
• ½ inch diameter shackle
• Nuts and bolts

The Harbor Freight winch 5000 and its accessories are wrapped in Styrofoam to protect them from damage during delivery. The Badland ZXR 5000 winch weighs 33 pounds and measures 15.8″ x 4.6″ x4.7″ so it’s compact enough to fit on your ATV/UTV and light enough not to heavily affect your fuel performance.

Power

The Badland ZXR 5000 by Harbor Freight features a 12V 1.5 hp permanent magnet motor with a 5000 lb. winching capacity which is more than enough for recovering UTVs or loading a boat. Permanent magnetic motors have the advantage of being small but packing in power. Despite having the same pull as series-wound motors, the ZXR 5000’s permanent magnetic motor will draw less current from the UTV battery.

But on the downside, the motor may overheat if overexerted. When this happens, the power reduces as the current draw increases. But you should be good when you adhere to the 5% duty cycle specifications provided in the manual. This means you can use it for 45 seconds at maximum pull, but you’d have to allow this Badlands winch a cool-down period of between 14 minutes and 15 seconds of rest before another go.

The permanent magnetic motor is mated to a single-stage planetary gearbox. The single planetary gearbox provides a high torque transmission with ample stiffness and low noise (85 dB) in a compact space – more than you can expect from other gearboxes.

Planetary gearbox designs are simple: central sun gear, internal gear, planetary gear, and a carrier. Power input spins the sun gear, which rotates the planetary gears it meshes with. The planetary gears revolve around the sun since they mesh with the stationary internal gear. Lastly, the carrier sets the spacing for planetary gears. This design gives the Badland ZXR 5000 the ability to deliver high torque without compromising durability and efficiency.

It’s worth pointing out that the ZXR 5000 has an inline circuit breaker that provides overload protection when you get too ambitious in your winching. Moreover, it has automatic load-holding brakes to keep things from spiraling out of control when winching.

To be safe, adhere to the below line pull capacities on different layers of the ZXR 5000 winch.

Controls

Badland ZXR 5000 comes with two controls, the rocker switch and the handheld remote switch. These controls are simple, with Power in and out functions only. The handheld remote switch has a decent length of 12 ft, while the rocker switch is only 8 ft long.

Cable

The Badland ZXR 5000 has a strong 7 x 19 50ft galvanized steel aircraft wire rope. The steel aircraft wire is more durable than synthetic rope. It can handle a great deal of wear and tear in abrasive terrains like sand, rocks, and mud without abrading or fraying. Steel cable also helps Badland price the ZXR affordably.

However, you should be on the lookout for rusting and sharp burrs as the wire rope wears. It’s standard practice to glove up before operating the winch.

Note: As a measure of safety, Badlands had the steel wire pulling capacity at 7,000 lbs., a 2,000 lbs. safety cushioning.

There’s a 4-way roller fairlead that protects the steel wire from friction and excessive wear and tear. It also allows you to winch at high angles. But you may have to keep stopping and resetting the winch to keep it from getting heavier on one side.

Waterproof

Badland ZXR 5000 winch and controls have an IP67 waterproof rating. IP67 means the winch and controls are protected against the ingress of dust and other debris as well as water and liquids, including immersion up to 1 meter underwater. Moreover, the wired remote is protected from high-pressure jets of water.

Badland Winch Line Speed

Because of its powerful electromagnetic motor and the planetary gear system, Badland ZXR 5000 winches ATV/UTVs relatively fast. However, the speed varies depending on the winch layer and the load. The image below clearly illustrates the line speed to expect on the first rope layer.

It’s worth mentioning that the winch features a cam free-spool clutch that allows you to quickly and easily disengage the winch drum and withdraw as much rope as you need for a winch.

Should You Buy the Badland ZXR 5000?

Ruiru Kibet

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I’m Ruiru Kibet, an avid writer and techie that has taken a keen interest in offroading. As I explore nature and troubleshoot with different offroad products and techniques, I’ll share them with you. The goal is dumb it down and help you experience the best of nature.

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