Tool in Action
The Rhino Pull 1000 Portable Electric Winch by Mile Marker, is a great new addition to their large lineup of products. The most critical metric of a winch is how much it can pull. The Mile Marker Rhino Portable Winch can handle up to 1,000 lbs. What is unique about this winch is that it is battery-powered. So even if you need the assistance of a winch in place with no power source, no worries, you can still have up to 1,000 lbs of pulling and lifting power. So let’s jump in and take a closer look.
Mile Marker Rhino Portable Winch Overview
Weighing in at 16.8 lbs, the Mile Marker Rhino Portable Winch certainly gets some points for portability. The bright orange coloring is appreciated since portability often translates to outdoor use. Though a winch is a bit harder to lose than a pen, anything that stands out against the typical green-beige-brown background of nature is appreciated. Another point for the Mile Marker Rhino Winch is its relatively compact design. Taking up only 24” X 10” X 10.5”, this piece of equipment won’t take up much space while giving the operator plenty of peace of mind that this equipment can, literally, get them out of a hole.
Mile Marker Rhino Portable Winch Features
Looking at it all around, you can see that the Mile Marker Portable Rhino Winch is a compact piece of equipment. During its pulling and lifting, the winch offers variable-speed operations and an easy-to-read display panel. The display shows all the codes that are important during operation. The codes correspond to warnings about limits of operations (motor overheating, weight capacity limit, and so on). The winch comes with an excellent user manual that describes charging, battery installation, the aforementioned warning codes, and operation details.
There are safety hooks on each end. One to anchor the winch, and one to connect to your load. The hooks are heavy-duty solid metal with spring-loaded safe locks.
The device is powered by a 2Ah Li-Ion rechargeable battery. The compatible battery charger is part of the total purchase.
I like that Mile Marker gave some thought to the ergonomics of winch operations. Here you can appreciate the large (but not too thick) soft-rubber handle that makes it easy on the hands when carrying the winch around. The solid material and design go well with the “portability” theme.
Another close-up of the handle and associated controls. The aqua-blue direction switch indicates very clearly which way the rope will operate if pressed and engaged in that mode. Lastly, the variable-speed switch or “trigger” provides vital control of the winch speed. And IMO, variable speed is a key feature on any winch.
There is an easy-access toggle switch to turn the winch on and off.
Here we see another closeup shot of the winch control buttons. And notice the round stopping plate to make sure that the synthetic rope and hook aren’t pulled in too far. As the black metal plate hits the red button, the unit will automatically stop.
Our view of the control panel shows it displays important information during operation like rope direction, and remaining battery charge. You will also note the spring on the distal end of the stopping plate. The extra flexibility and softer “landing” provided by the spring as the hook approaches the winch is a smart add-on.
The display screen is up close and personal. Something I note that you may like is the bright contrast. How often has it happened that your phone or other device is simply too dim to read clearly? Here you see it clearly when in direct sunlight; pretty good. Considering that the codes can convey important information and warnings, a high-contrast display panel goes a long way.
The main load-bearing part of the hook and its attachment to the synthetic rope is solid. So you can feel safe pulling or lifting a heavy load.
The winch is equipt with 39′ of synthetic rope controlled by four rollers.
The included remote control is wireless (up to 50 ft), but also connects as a corded remote in case the battery runs out during use. The remote is a convenient add-on that gives the operator an extra degree of control and safety. This isn’t just a luxury. If a winch is pulling a potentially hazardous or hard-to-control load at an odd angle, you will appreciate the margin of safety and distance this feature affords. Using the remote control is straightforward with large buttons and easy-to-read text.
Mile Marker Rhino Portable Winch Performance
While we used this on a wide range of applications, the two I want to talk about are the tree limb and the conveyor belt.
I have no idea how much this tree limb weighed but we were able to move the limb onto the trailer and then back off. It was easy to hook the winch to our chain and move the limb.
This is a big tub grinder used to grind limbs, branches, and trees to mulch. The mulch is then moved by the conveyor belt. On this day something happened and the belt broke. So they used the Mile Marker Rhino Portable Winch to pull the conveyor belt back through the machine. Normally they have to use a front loader. But instead, they just hooked up the winch which was a much more efficient remedy.
Mile Marker Rhino Portable Winch Value
For a total price of $399.99 on the Mile Marker website, the PN 71-1000 winch model is a great value, and it comes with a 1-year limited warranty. You get portability and reliability which both are extremely important in a winch. Plus you get the wireless remote control, a significant safety feature in my book.
Mile Marker Rhino Portable Winch Wrap Up
The bottom line, the Mile Marker Rhino Pull 1000 Portable Winch is a great winch for those who want power, reliability, and ease of operation. Plus being a truly portable solution, well that just makes it a really great winch.
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