Jump to content
  • Sign In Changes:  You now need to sign in using the email address associated with your account, combined with your current password.  Using your display name and password is no longer supported.

 

  • If you are currently trying to register, are not receiving the validation email, and are using an Outlook, Hotmail or Yahoo domain email address, please change your email address to something other than those (or temporary email providers). These domains are known to have problems delivering emails from the community.

T-Max winches for $100's less!

mws

By mws,
in General Forums

 Share

Recommended Posts

mws NPORA Old-Timer

mws

Posted
Posted

Was scanning my latest Summit Racing catalog the other day and saw they now offer a private label winch. At a very competitive price.

 

So me get's to thinking, whose winch ARE they private labeling? Another company slapping their name the same Chinese sweat/slaveshop piece that Milemarker and Harbor Freight use? Nope. Looks completely different. Hmmm... More searching....

 

Whoa - those are T-Max winches with the Summit name on them! Last I heard, T-Max were still Australian made and darned good stuff!

 

Check it out!

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.a...15&autoview=sku

 

 

Identical controller, body, hp ratings, levers, appearance. Everything listed and visible is identical to the T-Max. Could this be our score of the year?

 

I ordered one, it should be here next week. I'll report on where it was made and how it looks. I am hoping and praying T-Max hasn't outsourced the materials and manufacturing of their units.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mws
NPORA Old-Timer

mws

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Confirmed!

"T-Max" is cast into the motor end housing.

The owners manual I received is the original T-Max manual - doesn't even mention Summit... Everything is referencing T-Max model numbers and says T-Max in about 82 places...

 

Now here's the funny part: I spent an hour looking at it, and I can NOT find a "made in XXXXX" sticker or note ANYWHERE! Not on the winch, not in the manual, not on the box, nowhere. I thought the US import laws were very strict that all imports must list the country of manufacture? As I see it, one of three things may be possible:

- They are made in USA (no labeling required)

- Australia is exempt from labeling

- Somebody oopsed and forgot to affix the label, and it somehow got through customs.

 

Regardless, this is a seriously beefy unit and appears waaayyyyy better built than the ubiquitous Chinese built 9000 lb unit sold by MileMarker, Harbor Freight, and half a dozen others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
vengeful NPORA Old-Timer

vengeful

Posted
Posted

If it doesn't say...it wasn't made in an Asian country. Probably was made in Australia, I've never seen a "Made In Australia" stamp on anything I got from there, including my Staun stuff. :aok:

 

I'm ordering mine when I get back from Moab :D

 

Gotta save some money for the trip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mws
NPORA Old-Timer

mws

Posted
  • Author
Posted

That would explain it!

 

I also ordered the Summit 9 ton pulley block. The storage pouch has "T-Max" screen printed right on it. And the block has a Summit sticker on it. I wonder what I'll find if I peel the sticker off....

 

And the Summit shackle is yellow and black, just like the T-Max stuff - but it doesn't say anything on it.

 

The moral of the story: We now have a reliable, fast, and pretty darned inexpensive source of T-Max stuff! I ordered it all late Thursday night and had it Monday afternoon. Would be next day if ordered during the week before 3 pm.

 

The winch weighs close to 90 pounds... I wonder what it actually cost to ship? As you all know, with Summit, shipping is included in the $9.50 per order "handling" charge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mws
NPORA Old-Timer

mws

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Good morning!

 

No updates... It's sitting in my garage waiting to be played with. Been a little busy! I bought Ben's (transworldmoto) '88 last Thursday, and then we have been re-roofing the house. Haven't sat down, let alone played with any toys for close to a week now.... And after moving and nailing shingles for 10-12 hours per day ALL weekend, I'm too sore and sunburned to much care about touching anything.

 

:wacko:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 5 weeks later...
vengeful NPORA Old-Timer

vengeful

Posted
Posted

Got a little update from a buddy of mine who just bought one of these...

 

They are definitely T-Max winches. Summit makes no attempt to cover that up except for slapping a sticker on the solenoid box. The Instruction booklet even says T-Max on it.

 

 

What are your impressions so far MWS?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...