Pierce is a "name" winch. Back in the day, there were several brands that became pretty well known.
Pierce, Desert Dynamics, Ramsey, Warn.....
With the exception of Warn, I think most of them came from one place. Not sure where. But they pretty much all looked alike. The end cap would usually have the name molded in, but most of the other parts were the same.
I have installed and used two Desert Dynamics, which is exactly the same as a Pierce, and they preformed well.
Couple of things you should know. The winch was made in two strengths. 9,000 and 12,000. The extra 500 might be real or a marketing gimmick.
The only difference was in the secondary gearbox.
The winch motor runs a small gearbox, which turns the worm in the worm drive.
This gearbox has three gears. The small gear on the motor shaft, an intermediate gear, and the final gear on the worm shaft.
In the 9,000 winch, the intermediate gear is just a gear.
In the 12,000 winch the intermediate gear is a planetary gear which gives more reduction.
Other than that, the two are the same, and the gears are interchangeable. You could make a 12 a 9 or viceversa by swapping the one gear.
Of course, the 12 is slower than the 9, but for the most part, that is not an issue.
What you need to find out, is the size of the spool, 11 is better than 9 unless you have a size issue on the front of your truck, and whether its 12 or 24 volts.
That last, is not as critical as it sounds. The only difference is the motor, and replacement motors are reasonably priced and readily available.
If its in reasonably good shape, its a good deal. And even if it has problems, it might still be.
If you can inspect it, look for the obvious, cracks or bent parts, and then pull the fill plug on the worm gearbox.
Shine a light in there, penlight works best, and look at the top of the bronze gear.
The teeth should be blunt on top, with about 1/8 inch thickness. If they are nice and sharp, Pass.
Oops, just realized the probable source of the extra 500. They make some motors that are stronger than the ones they used to use, and that is probably where they get the extra oomph.
