Trucks, Tech, Reviews, ADV Travel
First look, pairing, setup, and use of the Warn Hub Receiver wireless winch remote.
Made for most Warn winches plus a vision for other brands.
The app was fast and intuitive on my iPhone 8, and displays battery voltage.
Warn has a great and detailed video here about all aspects of the Warn Hub receiver and app.
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James Langan, October 2020
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James Langan
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Factor 55’s, Rope Retention Pulley, RRP, first look at the 2019 SEMA Show.
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James Langan
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The founder and man at the helm of Factor 55 is an engineer with an aerospace background who creates and tests everything right here in the USA, at Boise, Idaho. Factor 55 continues to design and manufacture what are arguably the best Closed System Winching™ and recovery products available. Cutting-corners, and making stuff cheaper or offshore is not an option.
Filling the Pack Mule’s two hitch receivers on the front Buckstop Truckware bumper are two Factor 55 HitchLink 2.0 recovery shackle mounts to facility vehicle recoveries. Key features include:
– Using a receiver as a recovery or tow point
– Lightweight precision CNC machined 6,000 series aluminum
– Weighs only 1.9 pounds. Steel versions weigh up to 8 pounds
– Rated at 9,500 pounds
– Ultimate failure at 51,000 pounds
– Fits standard 2-inch receivers
– Fits common ¾” screw pin shackles/D-Rings
– Anodized or powder coated for oxidation protection
– $80
Oscar The Pack Mule retains the factory Ram 2.5” receiver in the rear, so for the first time I am able to use Factor 55’s HitchLink 2.5 product in the back. Additional features of the HitchLink 2.5 include:
– Will accept both ¾” and 7/8” shackles
– Can be oriented inside the receiver, vertical or horizontal, depending on need
– Eliminates a receiver sleeve to downsize and downgrade a receiver to 2”
– Rated at 18,000 pounds, with Ultimate Failure at 69,000 pounds
– $120
The FlatLink MultiMount ($200) was introduced at the 2017 SEMA Show, but it took me one year to add this fantastic winch line shackle mount to the end the Pack Mule’s Warn synthetic rope. With few exceptions, the hooks supplied with otherwise top-quality winches have been substandard since the introduction of recreational self-recovery winches. According to Factor 55, many are only rated for a working load of 4,000 pounds and will fail around 16-18,000 pounds, though some let go as early as 11,000 pounds. Yikes! (The EPIC Hook on my Warn M16.5ti-S was rated for 18k.)
All of Factor 55’s shackle mounts correct the common hook deficiency, while also facilitating Closed System Winching™ techniques for additional safety. My MultiMount was ordered with the optional Rope Guard ($50), which protects the synthetic rope from impacts, abrasions, and UV exposure. Features unique to the FlatLink MultiMount include:
– Designed for difficult off-camber vehicle recovery scenarios, where two different winch pull directions are often necessary
– Oval Hole opening connects to the pin ends of 7/8” and 1” screw-pin shackles
– Two additional shackle pin-mounting holes provide secure shackle attachment points for multiple pull directions. The center hole provides a secure conventional center pull shackle mount point eliminating shackle side-loading forces at the MultiMount interface
– Winching with a bridle arrangement is possible by using the two outer shackle pin mounting holes in combination with common bridle rigging
– The MultiMount may be folded flat against fairlead surfaces when stowed, resulting in minimal impact to vehicle approach angles
– Maximum Load: 16,000 pounds
– Ultimate Strength: 40,000 pounds
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James Langan
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70th Anniversary Warn M8274-70 Winch
Warn is arguably the most known, respected, and legendary name in the aftermarket four-wheel-drive world. From manual-locking-hubs, winches, bumpers, recovery gear, and more, they have now been building for 70-years. Warn introduced several new products at SEMA in 2018; my favorite is their new M8274-70 winch.
Even those less familiar with four-wheel-drive stuff can spot the traditional, upright design of Warn’s iconic 8274 winch. This legendary self-recovery winch has been a familiar sight on the front bumper of countless Jeeps and old-school Dodge trucks from the Mopar before Mopar Was Cool days or yore. The 8274 has a reputation for speed, reliability, being underrated, while offering 150′ of winch line. There are substantial cosmetic upgrades to the 70th anniversary winch, but Warn did much more than add bling.
Using the 6-horsepower motor from their 9.5xp model, the rated capacity increased from 8,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds. They made a fast winch 25% faster at full-load. It is now the fastest winch under load that Warn has ever made. A Waterproof Albright contactor replaces solenoids for increased reliability and efficiency, and there are other internal upgrades. This is a bitchin’ piece of gear. Guess what; they’re not giving them away.
The existing 8274-50 model was already one of Warn’s more expensive (and best) winches, the current street price is $2,000. The Made-in-USA 8274-70 is limited to 999 units worldwide, and the retail price is $3,200! At the time of the SEMA Show, Warn had already received orders for over one-third of the run. I’m interested, but none of my rigs have bumpers that would accept an upright winch like the 8274… maybe I need a new diesel Jeep JL with a 3.0L EcoDiesel?
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Resource: Warn Industries
Another great new winching product from Factor 55, the LDP, Load Distribution Plate, a multiple-load collection point.
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In just five years Factor 55 has helped revolutionize the self-recovery winching market by intelligently promoting Closed System Winching™ and rigging techniques better than anyone had before. They have done this by manufacturing fantastic products to facilitate safer recoveries, with education, and documenting scientific failure testing.
Everything they make is designed by their small team in Boise, Idaho, and made in the USA. At the 2017 SEMA Show Factor 55 introduced their Rope Guard, a simple yet ingenious item that can be added to existing FlatLink or UltraHook products. It protects the exposed rope at the end of a thimble on the front of a winch. My 2014 Ram runs an UltraHook, so an upgrade may be on the horizon.
The new FlatLink MultiMount was also introduced at SEMA. It allows one to pull/add force to the end of a winch line from more than one direction. I liked the FlatLink MultiMount so much that I ordered one for my 2017 Pack Mule flatbed project as soon as I got home…and I didn’t even have a winch or bumper for that truck yet.
James Langan
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Source: Factor 55