[Destroyer]

MJ I've had both. The strongarm is made by Dutton-Lainson, who, just like powerwinch, is famous for thier winches. Both have their good and bad points.

The DL is by far the stronger of the two units. But if you want to operate it remotely, forget it. If you look at the picture of the winch on the link you posted, the white lever on the left side is the clutch. Flip it one direction and you have freewheel, flip it the other way and you have power in and out. The square lever with the two wires in it is the switch. They expect you to slip a small string into the little notch at the to-p and pull the string if you want the winch to operate remotely...It dosen't work. You have to stand there and manually hold the switch closed to make the winch work. It's not a bad thing, don't misunderstand... it's just not as conveinent as the Powerwinch.. The DL unit that i had was for my 25' John Allmand boat. A well built, heavy boat to say the least. The winch had zero problems pulling it onto the trailer and was still working whien I sold it the boat several years later. It would be my number one choice.

The main problem with Powerwinch is they are no longer made by the original company. They were taken over/sold a few years back. Since then their website sucks for parts replacement. If it's not a current model chances are it's no longer on their site. Still, they are a good unit, just not as strong as a DL, which has a well deserved reputation for making strong, quality, industrial winches.

Speaking of Powerwinch, I sent you that main gear you needed a few years back. If I recall you said the center shaft hole size was different and you needed to open it up. I take it you didn't do that. Send me your winch and the gear and I'll be happy to do it for you and send it back to you.