Check the motor itself next time. Mine made that same humming noise but it was actually frozen solid, not stripped gears. Had to bring the whole unit inside to thaw.

Ugh, what brand was the cheap one?

Wow, that's a serious number of hours. I hit a similar total last year and it really made me look at my gear differently. My backup regulator needed new seals way sooner than I expected. All those little harbor dives just grind everything down, don't they? My knees started talking to me, too.

Honestly, the weather gets overlooked. A hot day in Phoenix changes everything with that chart, way more than guys realize.

Unreal. Those maps are basically just guessing once the bulldozers show up. You almost need to do night-time recon now before you haul your gear out. Total waste of a trip.