Are Tensen winches any good? I've heard they were but don't know anything about them. How would a Tensen 12,000lb compare to a Warn 8274?
I have my eye on a 12,000.:)

the fact that i've never heard of them might say something, but then again...

a what????:confused:

Originally posted by RCKRATZ
a what????:confused:
One of these......:rolleyes:
2 speed, horizontal mount with the motor 90 deg to the drum......:)

Try sending an email to hermtheoverdriveguy@yahoo.com he helped design some of the tensen winches. They're supposed to be major beef, and he would be the place to get parts for it.

Looks like a healthy winch, also looks like a trailer winch for flat bed trailers, to pull vehicles up onto the ramp/bed

Originally posted by Scoutaholic

One of these......:rolleyes:
2 speed, horizontal mount with the motor 90 deg to the drum......:)

They have been around for a long time....There are several guys that have em here in town also....I have not seen em in action though....

are they still being made/sold?
i have been looking for them and had given up

how does the price compare the the 8274 ?

The company is out of business I know that much.:(
My situation is - I was set on a 8274 but came across a deal on this Tensen. Drawback to the 8274 is it's a upright and I have some overheating issues so I don't want to block the rad. I need to pick between the two.:confused:

How's parts availability for the Tensen? That might be the deciding question.

Tensen has been out of business for many years. I know because I had a winch being repaired by them when they went out of business and never got my winch back. Tensen was eventually bought by Megawinch which also went out of business as far as I know.

If I was you I would pass on the Tensen in a big way. Parts availability is next to nothing and if my experience is any guide the winch won't be reliable. In the time I owned it (about 8 months) it was returned for warranty work twice. The second resulting in my never seeing it again. Also a friend had one with similar results.

That was my experience, hope it helps.

what did it go in for?

It just didn't work. One time all the line was let out and it decided not to work anymore. It wouldn't go in or out. So I call the company and tell them what is going on and they say that it is a common problem and if I send it in they will fix it. I never saw it again, they went out of business while it was there. This was the second time it was being fixed under the one year warranty.

These winches have not been made in about 10 years. My opinion is to avoid them like the plague. There is no support for them so if you do have a problem you are SOL. A good deal on a winch that can never be repaired if anything breaks is not such a good deal after all.

sounds like a solenoid problem,
all winches have that type of difficulty.
so nothing bad like the gears stripped or something actually broke?
your description is real vague and IMO I cant put much weight to it on what you have given me so far.
could have been a simple bad ground
there is so little that can go wrong with the 'hard parts' of a worm drive winch.

You can obviously do what you want and from the sounds of it you are set on this winch. Yes the description I gave is very vague because I wanted to stress the point that there is no suppport if you ever have a problem. The company no longer exists and hasn't for more than 10 years.

A brand new out of the box winch should not have to be returned to the company twice in 8 months for repair. Also if it was just a solenoid problem why would they have not just shipped me a new solenoid? The thing I did not put in the previous post is that you could here the solenoids engage but it did not pull in either direction.

You can and will do what you want. You asked my opinion of these winches. I said I feel they are a bad way to spend money. If you do not agree or wish to ignore me that is fine, I was just letting you know my experience with these.

sounds like you know FA about winches,
thanks for the lack of additional info

Seeing as you obviously know more than I do why do you keep asking me questions?

All this happened over 10 years ago so I'm sorry I don't remember every little detail. Take the lack of info and do what you want as I really don't give a flying fuck.

haha , wow my buddies roomate bought one of these, and the thing has never been used, the other day he tried to sell it to me and i made him read this thread, hahaha

Ben

I'm still doing some research on this but as it turns out there was a major change at some point to the clutch mech. Prone to failures before this change but ok after that.:)