I second the Engo over the Harbor Freight, but I'll make an even different recommendation for the new Smittybilt X20 series.
I ran a Harbor Freight winch for about a year. I read all of the negative comments online from people who said Harbor Freight makes junk, but I also read a dozen articles from reputable publications saying it was one of the best values you could buy, so I decided to give it a shot. It worked fine when I installed it and spooled the cable, and I re-spooled once every few months just to keep my skills sharp and make sure it worked fine. The first time I tried to use it in the field, it failed. I had unspooled the full cable and hooked it to some tree branches that had fallen and blocked a major roadway following a freak snow storm, and was disappointed to get just a "click" when I tried to engage it. I had to roll the steel cable up into a big circle by hand and tie it down to the roof rack, and it was still connected to the winch. It ended up damaging the paint on my hood, and I had to limp home with my tail between my legs after I offered (and failed) to be the hero for a bunch of stranded motorists.
I diagnosed the problem as a bad solenoid, and was frustrated to discover that I couldn't order the part from Harbor Freight at all. Even their parts hotline was like "nope, you just need go buy a whole new winch." I managed to find an electrical supplier that had the right solenoid, but they were in England and I ended up spending almost $100 between the part and shipping. I installed the new solenoid and everything worked correctly, and wrote the whole experience off as a fluke.
Fast forward about 5 months when I tried to use the winch up on 2N02 with the group to help recover an old junk car on the trail. I unspooled the synthetic line (I had since upgraded from steel to synthetic) only to be frustrated with the same "click" and no action. I had to roll the synthetic line up by hand and throw it under my hood for the remainder of the trip, and diagnosed the issue as ANOTHER bad solenoid as soon as I got home. This time, I chose to remove the entire winch and threw the whole thing in the garbage. I literally only tried to use it twice, and it didn't work both times. Biggest waste of $400 ever.
I've since replaced it with a Smittybilt X20 10,000, which can be had for $399.99. I actually had a 10% off coupon for 4 Wheel Parts and managed to get it for $360 (they'll probably be running some sweet deals this Saturday the 12th, which is their annual 1 day sale date). This is an amazing winch for the price. It's completely waterproof, has a very high speed gear box (ALMOST too fast, but it's just perfect), comes with wired/wireless remote, and is very affordable. I purchased the steel cable version and swapped it out for the synthetic line I already had, but you can purchase it with a synthetic line already installed for $150 more.
