rant / vent over tigerz11 winch

[baylock]

Ok, this is more of a rant to get it out of my system than anything else, but as the story progresses it might be worthwhile.

On Saturday just gone i popped over to Lilydale (on the other side of the city) to buy a winch and some recovery gear. The next day on went the bullbar and winch.
The first minor issue discovered while installing the winch was that the clutch lever would be completely unusable where it was located on the winch, but as i had done a little research i knew this might be a problem, so the end was rotated around so the clutch was accessible, not the most convenient location i have seen, but at-least i could switch it. as the day ran out of light, that was the end of that days work.
Today while i was at a friends place, we were connecting the lights on the bullbar and he noticed something that had somehow slipped right by me, the 12000lb Grande that i had paid for, turned out to be a 9000lb Grande (big sticker on it that i had missed). Also the free spool is not all that 'free' a lot of effort is required to pull the rope out, but as this is a new winch, i am hoping it is just because it hasn't been worn in yet.

My mate called up the customer service for me as i was working on wiring and trying not to loose my cool, we have sent emails with pictures of the winch, and receipt, and are currently awaiting a reply.

Ill come back and update the thread as we get closer to a resolution.

There is something to be said for making sure you get what you pay for.

 

[Vigilante]

I am positive that if you have paid for a 12,000lb winch they will supply you with one. If the free spool isn't working as advertised then could also by rights take it back. You did the right thing by not calling them your self though - wouldn't be worth losing over these small issues.

I would be very surprised if they don't sort this out.

 

[BJJ84]

I had a similar thing happen when fitting a mates winch to his pootrol. Wasn't a Tigerz11, not sure on the brand, but had to rotate the clutch and the free spool was shit. The clutch didn't bother me as I figured they're built to be rotated and positioned where you want, but the clutch ended up being faulty and we had it replaced under warranty

 

[samcubus]

I've bought heaps of tigerz11 gear in Sydney at superior offroad. Instead of calling customer service go bak to the shop. They should accommodate you.

 

[JASON-D40]

having to rotate the clutch lever is not Tigerz problem, there a generic item to fit many vehicles. My Hercules Tigerz winch was hard to free spool the first few times until I completely spooled it and rewound under tension. Have used mine pleanty of times with no dramas. If the wrong winch was supplied then thats a bugger, but unfortunately these things can happen. Its just a pain removing the bullbar to retify.

 

[tony d22]

Take it directly to the shop, the longer you leave it the more chances they may refuse the swap.
Ask them about the free spool too.

 

[baylock]

Ok, good new, they have agreed to swap out the winch (only, everything else stays in the ute). So time to pull everything apart.... problem is, i have no help at the moment

so, off with the bullbar, with a little persuasion this worked ok, everything disassembled winch out, as i thought it would be ok to just undo the front of the bar, and lower it down, i did that... and it worked... problem was, it got caught on the flares... hum... not good.

so the bar comes completely off.

Putting it back on was fun... not something im looking forward to for tomorrow :/

Anyway i have 2 new questions,
1. Is it possible to install from under the bar??
2. I have been looking around on the free spool issue, and coming across things like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzo6t2TtOLQ
would you guys recommend changing the grease?? if so, what would you recommend??
Some lithium grease maybe??

 

[Aussie Frontier]

Just on a side note with installing your bar. I do my alloy bar by myself by using 2 ratchet straps from the rafters of the garage.I have it so the straps are slightly angled forward of the truck so the bar wants to pull away from the truck.
Have unfortunately had to have the bar on and off a few times and to date no issues and have always used the same method.
I put polishing rags over the wings of the bar so it doesn't scratch anything but if you take your time you can fit the bar by yourself and its actually easier to do as your not trying to hold up the bar as well as put in the bolts .

 

[baitfish]

i did the same thing as aussie did last time i took my bull bar off to fit the intercooler. two large ratchet straps from the roof beams onto the bullbar with just enough tension to take the weight. removed all the bolts plus the wiring for the winch and left it hanging and reversed the ute out of the way, then i put some stands under the bar and let the straps down a few clicks so most of the weight is on the stands. i put it back on in the reverse manner, was a little tricky lining the ute back up with the hanging bar.

 

[baylock]

no garage
Stupid cheep-ass unit

I ended up balancing the bar on the horns with the nuts, supporting it a bit with a jack, and hoping to hell it didnt drop on me...

 

[baylock]

good news every body....
got the new winch unit, ad i have discovered 2 things of note:
1. the 9000lb spools at the top, where the 12000lb spools at the bottom, better for the nav bullbar as the fairlead sits at the bottom of the winch.
2. it is possible to install without removing the bar.... so bloody happy about that

 

[4x4 ST-R]

Good work mate. Tigerz were pretty helpful to me when they sent out the wrong LED light bar. Couldn't imagine them making a bad name for themselves in the customer service department.

 

[baggs]

i did the same thing as aussie did last time i took my bull bar off to fit the intercooler. two large ratchet straps from the roof beams onto the bullbar with just enough tension to take the weight. removed all the bolts plus the wiring for the winch and left it hanging and reversed the ute out of the way, then i put some stands under the bar and let the straps down a few clicks so most of the weight is on the stands. i put it back on in the reverse manner, was a little tricky lining the ute back up with the hanging bar.

hi mate what intercooler did you go with?