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Cover that winch, or let the elements have their way with it?

JAsh1967

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Monday my winch (and bumper) are getting installed and I'm going to be picking up some of the accessories one might need for winching. Such as D-Ring shackles and a rope dampener, but I'm debating a winch cover. The winch is the Harbor Freight Badlands 12K w/synthetic rope and from what I'm reading it sounds like UV (IE, that big, bright yellow ball that's in the sky sometimes) is not friendly to synthetic lines. Further, I'm in Michigan, which means this time of year, plenty of snow which I'm sure given enough time will not be friendly to the winch or line.

So, considering we're talking a lousy $30 or so, cover it? What's your preference?
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HooliganActual

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There is a bit of a risk that covering it allows the rope or cable to "hold" moisture and allow for more exposure to the damaging elements. Honestly, the best thing I've seen done was to cut a piece of sheet metal into a somewhat U shape and slip it over the line/drum to deflect ambient rain and UV. You just have to remember to take it off before you try to use the winch.

Personally, I have used a neoprene winch cover for about 1 of the last 40 years and it was worthles IMHO.
 

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Monday my winch (and bumper) are getting installed and I'm going to be picking up some of the accessories one might need for winching. Such as D-Ring shackles and a rope dampener, but I'm debating a winch cover. The winch is the Harbor Freight Badlands 12K w/synthetic rope and from what I'm reading it sounds like UV (IE, that big, bright yellow ball that's in the sky sometimes) is not friendly to synthetic lines. Further, I'm in Michigan, which means this time of year, plenty of snow which I'm sure given enough time will not be friendly to the winch or line.

So, considering we're talking a lousy $30 or so, cover it? What's your preference?
i covered mine after i saw how badly UV and direct exposure was tearing it up. In my Tundra it was absolutely buried and you couldn't see. when i took it out it looked brand new with a layer of dust. a few summer weeks exposed on my jeep bumper added 10 years of hard use to it, or so it looked. cover really helps. just dont leave it on if you get the winch line wet, you want that to dry out first.
 

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New fear unlocked! Now I get to worry that my neoprene cover is actually hurting my winch line in rainy MD. Sounds like after a good rain I should be taking the cover off to check if the rope is wet and let it dry out some if so.
 

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A decent neoprene cover isn't going to really allow moisture in or bead water from dew or rain. But it will hold moisture on there already as someone mentioned.

For example the covers for my kayaks if there is an inch of water in there and cover it with a decent neoprene cover... three weeks later there will be close to an inch of water and musty nastiness in there. Regardless of how dry it was, how bad it rained or how much dust got kicked up around it.

So it's probably a choice depending on what the environment is like where you are at.

I drive on a lot dusty roads in summer and salty ones in the winter so just to mitigate that I'll end up using one.
 

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HooliganActual

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New fear unlocked! Now I get to worry that my neoprene cover is actually hurting my winch line in rainy MD. Sounds like after a good rain I should be taking the cover off to check if the rope is wet and let it dry out some if so.
Yes, you really should. The cover isn't water proof so you know there will be water underneath. Personally, I found it too tedious to go taking it off and putting it on and taking off and putting it on and taking...(you get the idea).

The reality is that your winch is designed to hold up in the elements. Winch manufacturers know they are making it to be mounted on the front bumper of most of its uses. The MAIN thing you need to be watchful of is the condition of your rope, and depending on how aggressively you actually winch, the likelihood is that you should be replacing the synthetic line regularly; I believe Warn recommends yearly. So is a year's worth of rain going to break down your synthetic winch line? 2 years? Probably not. YMMV but ultimately, you need to decide.
 
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JAsh1967

JAsh1967

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So the cover I've got saved over at Extremeterrain is a canvas cover rather than neoprene, with a drawstring to keep it in place. I suspect I'd still want to let the winch / line dry out if it does get wet before covering, of course.
 

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So the cover I've got saved over at Extremeterrain is a canvas cover rather than neoprene, with a drawstring to keep it in place. I suspect I'd still want to let the winch / line dry out if it does get wet before covering, of course.
Yes.

But seriously, do yourself a favor, the first time you remove it to let the winch line dry out, just leave it on the shelf of the garage.
 

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Monday my winch (and bumper) are getting installed and I'm going to be picking up some of the accessories one might need for winching. Such as D-Ring shackles and a rope dampener, but I'm debating a winch cover. The winch is the Harbor Freight Badlands 12K w/synthetic rope and from what I'm reading it sounds like UV (IE, that big, bright yellow ball that's in the sky sometimes) is not friendly to synthetic lines. Further, I'm in Michigan, which means this time of year, plenty of snow which I'm sure given enough time will not be friendly to the winch or line.

So, considering we're talking a lousy $30 or so, cover it? What's your preference?
I put mine on during winter due to salt and crap. Left it off the rest of the year. I noticed that the rope started to fade after a year or so.
 

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New fear unlocked! Now I get to worry that my neoprene cover is actually hurting my winch line in rainy MD. Sounds like after a good rain I should be taking the cover off to check if the rope is wet and let it dry out some if so.
thats what i do. just stay on top of it.
 

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PuddleJumper

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So the cover I've got saved over at Extremeterrain is a canvas cover rather than neoprene, with a drawstring to keep it in place. I suspect I'd still want to let the winch / line dry out if it does get wet before covering, of course.
yeah but thats all ya need. the main thing is keeping UV off the synthetic line. tbh thats the most damaging.
 

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I have my winch (same one as the OP) installed in remote mode, moving the solenoid/electronics into the engine bay. Mine is "sunk" into the bumper and won't allow a normal cover. I ended up cutting some UV-resistant plastic and making a cover for mine by forming it with a heat gun.

Doesn't hold water, and keeps the sun off the rope

Jeep Gladiator Cover that winch, or let the elements have their way with it? 1708023231377
 

HooliganActual

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I have my winch (same one as the OP) installed in remote mode, moving the solenoid/electronics into the engine bay. Mine is "sunk" into the bumper and won't allow a normal cover. I ended up cutting some UV-resistant plastic and making a cover for mine by forming it with a heat gun.

Doesn't hold water, and keeps the sun off the rope

1708023231377.png
Thanks for this pic. This is similar to what I have seen done and IMHO make the most sense as it protects the rope from UV and doesn't allow moisture to stick around.

? ? ? ?
 
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JAsh1967

JAsh1967

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I have my winch (same one as the OP) installed in remote mode, moving the solenoid/electronics into the engine bay. Mine is "sunk" into the bumper and won't allow a normal cover. I ended up cutting some UV-resistant plastic and making a cover for mine by forming it with a heat gun.

Doesn't hold water, and keeps the sun off the rope
Mine's going to be "sunk" into the bumper as well (Metalcloak) so I'm not sure the cover I'm looking at will work. Although I'm not planning to move the control box like you did, mine's still going to be sitting on top of the winch, mostly because:
  1. I don't know where it'd get mounted
  2. I don't want the guy doing the install of the bumper and winch to get annoyed at me :)
 

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Cover the synthetic line. Keep the UV off of it. Keep the line clean, dirt/mud can cause micro abrasions that wear out the line, like a shoelace.
Some covers are easy to use the winch with, some are not. Having to dig to your winch can be a pain but much safer than having a line fail. If you are heading somewhere where you have a high probability of needing the winch, set it up ahead of time and lace it over the tow hooks. That also gives you the chance to make sure it is actually functioning before heading out. Yep, seen guys need a winch and have a dead one. Knowing that yours is dead allows you to make better decisions.
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