2500# Harbor Freight winch install

[david3921]

I just finished up wiring up my winch on my Rhino. I thought I would add to this post as I followed Jerry's advice (along with other's) and installed the aux. switch. I followed the details in the video from post #12. I added my own wrinkles as I also bought the plow discovered by PANDEMIC. I haven't put the plow together as I've been lazy and it's been pretty cold here in Michigan and it takes awhile to get the garage warmed up. Anyway, below is how I solved one of the issues Jerry brought up here. The winch has only two mounting holes. I solved this by drilling two more holes in the plate to align with the bolts that mount the winch to the spool carriage. See below;

I removed the bolts and went to the hardware store and bought two more, adding the thickness of the mounting plate. It's critical that they are centered and I counter sunk the holes to make sure they clear my mounting brackets.

I bought a switch off Amazon to raise and lower the plow. Once I watched the video, it was pretty easy to wire it up. I used the same colors the box has (yellow, white, and red) so that I wouldn't mix anything up. I plan on mounting the switch next to the key on the dash.

I tested everything tonight and it all works. I just have to feed the wires through, cut the hole for the switch, and get things put back together. As a side note, I did find that the front frame tubes were not the same on both sides. Braces are welded slightly different from side to side. This makes it hard to level the winch mount. I have the front off and am in the process of cutting and re-welding to get everything somewhat symmetrical.

[JerryHawk250]

Nice work David

[david3921]

Thanks, Jerry. You guys made this easy to do.

[JerryHawk250]

Update on the winch. Well after the spillway has been closed for over a year due to high river levels It finally reopened a few weekends ago. We loaded up the Atv, UTV and Hawk and spent the day out at the spillway. Of course my daughter had to test out every mud hole and ditch she came across. She finally met her match on one deep ditch. We finally get to test everything out. Land anchor worked perfect. The winch drug her right out the ditch.
The larger tires really made a difference on the ground clearance. It's amazing what a couple of inches can make.