Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[5030]

Bought a Badland 5000 pound ATV winch for my wife's new Kubota Sidekick UTE. Nice winch, my second one (put the 2500 pound winch on my Honda Foreman 400 a couple years back and it always performed flawlessly). The 5000 pound winch comes with a cabled remote and handlebar remote (which I didn't use). Very quiet winch. Hardest part was wiring it to the UTE's electrical system. Used welding cable with Tweco crimp / solder on lugs. Had to literally take the UTE apart to route the cables from the front to the back but the winch works well.

Best part was I bought it with a 25% off coupon. OTD price was 132 bucks. The Warn 500 pound winch retails for over 250 bucks. Good buy on the winch.

While I was there I also purchased the Bauer 3/8" 20 Volt Lithium rechargeable impact wrench, 325 foot pounds break away torque. So far so good. Very light (even with the high amp hour battery). Recharges in 1 hour. I plan on getting the 20 volt Lithium drill driver as well when my high buck DeWalt peters out and it will. I'm on my 3rd DeWalt. I manage to 'find the smoke' in them after a few years and the cost of rebuilding them and the cost of new batteries (they peter out after a while too), is prohibitive.

 

[5030]

Watch for a sale on the HF 20 ton air over hydraulic jack. You'll like your new HF 20 ton press even more.

Harbor Freight Tools – Quality Tools at Discount Prices Since 1977

Good video but you need to lose that yellow cordless impact wrench and get yourself a Bauer 20 volt lithium....lol

 

[Threepoint]

[snip]
While I was there I also purchased the Bauer 3/8" 20 Volt Lithium rechargeable impact wrench, 325 foot pounds break away torque. So far so good. Very light (even with the high amp hour battery). Recharges in 1 hour. I plan on getting the 20 volt Lithium drill driver as well when my high buck DeWalt peters out and it will. I'm on my 3rd DeWalt. I manage to 'find the smoke' in them after a few years and the cost of rebuilding them and the cost of new batteries (they peter out after a while too), is prohibitive.

Maybe it's a regional or targeted-marketed thing in my case, but it seems that HF has recently been advertising more for the Bauer line of 20v lithium-battery tools than their more spendy Hercules line. Has anyone else noticed that? I've been curious to see how the comparisons of those two lines turn out over time.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Good video but you need to lose that yellow cordless impact wrench and get yourself a Bauer 20 volt lithium....lol

Video?

 

[5030]

ooopps, not you. Post #11660

 

[John_Mc]

Very good review. Do you recall the retail price or what you paid for the 7500 backhoe itself?

I do not recall. In thinking back now, it was probably 10 years ago. I bought it used from an equipment rental place. Everything worked, but it was obviously well used. I replaced a couple of hydraulic hoses (not leaking, but heavily weather-checked and/or worn), and one snapped off grease zerk. I do remember it was less than half of the new price, but how much less, I don't remember.

 

[John_Mc]

While I was there I also purchased the Bauer 3/8" 20 Volt Lithium rechargeable impact wrench, 325 foot pounds break away torque. So far so good. Very light (even with the high amp hour battery). Recharges in 1 hour. I plan on getting the 20 volt Lithium drill driver as well when my high buck DeWalt peters out and it will. I'm on my 3rd DeWalt. I manage to 'find the smoke' in them after a few years and the cost of rebuilding them and the cost of new batteries (they peter out after a while too), is prohibitive.

A tip on getting maximum longevity from Lithium batteries: the don't like to spend large amounts of time either completely full or completely empty, so don't store them in that condition for extended periods. Aim for about 50% charge for storage (anywhere from 25 - 75% is good).

 

[5030]

A tip on getting maximum longevity from Lithium batteries: the don't like to spend large amounts of time either completely full or completely empty, so don't store them in that condition for extended periods. Aim for about 50% charge for storage (anywhere from 25 - 75% is good).

Good tip, thank you. One nice thing about the HF Li-Ion battery pack is the 'fuel' lights on them. Easy to see the state of charge. My DeWalt packs don't have that.

 

[Diggin It]

Anybody have the six ton A frame benchtop press?

6 Ton A-Frame Bench Shop Press

I need to straighten some gauge wheel shafts ( https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...d-rotary-cutters-post5538643.html#post5538643 ) but not sure if this will handle that task.

 

[flyerdan]

If you have the floor space, you might want to see if you can score a 12 ton one off craigslist. You might find one for around the same price, and it will allow you to do taller stuff than the bench model. Plus it will have twice the force. If they have one on display at your local HF, take one of your shafts in and field test it.