Trailer winch??

[DodgeWarlock]

So I'm starting my search for a winch of some type for my trailer. I've got very little experience with winches, so I'm sort of an open book. I've got a 20ft 14,000lb equipment trailer I use for hauling cars and trucks(and whatever else). The heaviest thing I've had to load so far was 8800lb loaded van and we pushed it on with a tractor(cause I stalled and flooded it while loading it). Usually I'll be loading rollers, but occasionally I might have to drag up a wreck. I'm thinking 4500lb single line would be the minimum(I could double up for 9000 if needed occasionally, right?). I can't afford to spend $400-700 bucks on a winch. Any suggestions? Bad experiences?



Always before, I've had to use a comealong or another truck and a strap to load. I would not mind something manual(no need to power trailer), but haven't seen anything heavy enough to do it right for sale.

 

[Skydiver]

Look into a Gasoline powered winch. Those around here who must use their winch with a flat bed are pleased with the non-electric models. No wires no batteries.



If you do use electric make sure the wire size is larger than required and always have your truck running to increase voltage.

 

[MFalkinham]

I was in a similar situation trying to find a strong but cheap winch solution. But in the end, I just decided to spend the money and buy a 10k pound electric winch.

I have two trailers, so I justified the spending by how I'm going to use it. The winch will be mounted to a 2" solid-steel tow bar, and I'm going to weld a scrap 2" receiver hitch onto the A-frame of each of my trailers. That way I can move the winch to either trailer, or even use it on the hitches of my trucks.

I haven't finished the project yet due to the snow-pocalypse we are having this year, but come spring I'll post some pictures of the results.

Atlas 10,000 LB. Wireless/Wired Recovery Winch

 

[JCrockett]

I was in a similar situation trying to find a strong but cheap winch solution. But in the end, I just decided to spend the money and buy a 10k pound electric winch.



I have two trailers, so I justified the spending by how I'm going to use it. The winch will be mounted to a 2" solid-steel tow bar, and I'm going to weld a scrap 2" receiver hitch onto the A-frame of each of my trailers. That way I can move the winch to either trailer, or even use it on the hitches of my trucks.



I haven't finished the project yet due to the snow-pocalypse we are having this year, but come spring I'll post some pictures of the results.



Atlas 10,000 LB. Wireless/Wired Recovery Winch

I did the same thing. I have a Warn 8000 lb winch that is mounted in the Warn multi mount reciever cradle. I have 1/0 wire ran to the front and rear of both my trucks, which also have recievers in the front bumper. I then welded on a reciever hitch on to the A-frame for the cradle to slide into. The cord is long enough that is just clips into theplug on the back bumper. I also built a roller that gets the cable up over the front bull bar on the trailer. I will have to get some pics if you are interested. I also have 14,000lb trailer, it is a deckover.

 

[2Bear]

.



Howdy,



I would very much like to see photos of both of your setups..... (Crockett & Falkinham) ... . when you can.

I'd like to do something like that when I get my new rig.



Regards,

Ray



.

 

[steved]

The neighbor just bought a 10k winch from Sam's Club for $350... he had a friend weld up a mount (using the crossbar and received from an old hitch) to the tongue of the trailer.

Works pretty slick (it is removable for storage and he can also use it in the receiver of his truck).

 

[JCrockett]

Trailer Winch Pics

Here is some pics of what I did with my 8000lb Warn multi-mount. I just welded 2x2 tubing across the frame and then welded the reciever tube on that and also tied it into the hitch. I fabed up a roller also so the cable will clear the jack and bul rail on the trailer when you start the pull. The roller does rotate, like a roller fairlead. It then just plugs into the plug in the back of my truck, hook up the remote, and start loading your buddies dead Ford PSD. :-laf

 

[2Bear]

Nice job Crockett... ... . looks good.

That gives me some ideas.

Like that back bumper too.



.

Ray

 

[timroberts]

I have a mile marker brand winch 8,000 paid 399. 95 summit racing eq. Mile marker winchs(hydraulic) are what military are using now. Mine works great on my car hauler.

 

[catoiler]

Don't forget you can also use some snatch blocks to double the pull rating of the winch.

 

[Oasis-3]

9000# Ramsey

I have one on my car trailer and it pulls Land Rovers up on the top spots of the trailer I also have the wireless remote just set in the car and push the button :-laf

You can see pix's at this link

oasis-3 2001. 5



Good luck

Cliff

 

[DodgeWarlock]

I had been thinking 4500lb would do it since I could double upto 9000lb. I found a Rand 4500lb winch on ebay for like $170. I was already going to rig a receiver mount and cradle, if only to get it out of weather. Checked out Sam's since we just got one and my wife's work membership will kick in soon. They had the Champion 10,000lb for $366 with cradle snatch block and power cables. It's about the heaviest set up I could move around on my own. One thing I did notice is that the packaging stated that you must use snatch block for anything over 8,000, so I would assume that is the actual winch rating. I'm sure it's overkill for my needs, but I could mount front receivers on my trucks for occasional use there too. (We're planning on getting an Ali-arc bumper for the 01 and I don't know if it can be ordered with a receiver or even modified to carry one. ) My dad's got an old 12,000lb Ramsey worm drive that my Granddaddy used for years. It's a great winch, but too heavy for one person to move. I could probably get the boom and the winch cheap, but would have to leave it mounted on the trailer. The heaviest thing I expect to have to load is my 60 D500 flatbed dump(?8,000lb?) or my 8,800 lb loaded Dodge van which could be unloaded.

 

[rluft]

Nice job, JCrockett. Let me suggest a roller fairlead on the winch to replace the metal one shown in the pictures, or perhaps tilting the winch so the line doesn't have to abrade against the fairlead. I think that would be more efficient and the line will last longer.

 

[JCrockett]

Nice job, JCrockett. Let me suggest a roller fairlead on the winch to replace the metal one shown in the pictures, or perhaps tilting the winch so the line doesn't have to abrade against the fairlead. I think that would be more efficient and the line will last longer.

That is an aluminum hause fairlead, the inside of it has a nice raidius on it. This type of fairlead is reccommended for synthetic line, which I have, the roller fairlead does not work as well with Syn line, it gets bound up in the corners of the rollers.

 

[proflow]

Believe it or not Ive burnt up a handfull of junk Ramsey winches, Definately approve of Warn @ still own many, but the T-Max I bought from Summit is one tough unit & priced right. I once let the cable stack @ broke the case ears (like my Warns) sent it back to Summit in gross multiple pieces with the busted cable boxed seperately. Next week I had a new unit. Granted this is a 12,500 lbs winch, it was pure neglect on my side. I wont say the same for Ramsey-no way-anyday---Proflow. PS: Something smaller , consider using e-track for a universal mount.

 

[MFalkinham]

Well, 15 months has gone by and I've finally finished building my custom trailer winch. Better late than never, I guess. Scope creep set in resulting in a much longer build time than I anticipated, plus other projects kept getting in the way.

The winch box took the longest to build. It is mounted on a solid steel 2" receiver bar which can be removed from the trailer and put on the back of my truck. It has LED stop/tail/turn signals fed into the trailer wiring using a standard 7-blade connector. It also has white LED lights that can be used for night lighting while loading or as emergency strobes for roadside protection. These LED lights backfeed into my LED backup lights on the truck, resulting in additional lighting. The battery is an Optima blue-top. The winch is an Atlas 12k with hand-held remote and a wireless controller.

Modifications to the trailer were also time consuming. The custom 2" receiver mount is heavily reinforced to handle the stress from the winch. I also had to rewire the front of the trailer to cleanly link the winch wiring into the trailer/truck wiring while still making it removable.

The only downside is the weight. It is quite heavy, and really takes 2-guys to move it safely (hence the handles). I'll use my forklift to remove it when I'm alone, although I think it will spend 99% of the time on the trailer.

I have more pictures posted here, and here is a link to a video of the strobes in action...

 

[Oasis-3]

Nice job it looks good.



Cliff

 

[proflow]

Very nice job !!!

A couple ideas for you. Instead of hassling w/the forklift, you could make a small dolly on casters. Also, with that much weight up front, I wouldn't trust that swing away jack for crap. It will swing away, just not when you want it to ! Been there ! #ad
Time to utilize the Optima & use an elec. toungue jack. #ad
Just my thoughts, again-nice job ---Proflow

 

[MFalkinham]

A couple ideas for you. Instead of hassling w/the forklift, you could make a small dolly on casters.

That would work, but the forklift is actually very easy to utilize. I come in from the front before I hook up the trailer and put one fork under either side of the box, hand push the box backward until it's clear of the receiver (the draw bar rides on a support which is hard to see in the pics), and then lift.

Also, with that much weight up front, I wouldn't trust that swing away jack for crap. It will swing away, just not when you want it to ! Been there ! Time to utilize the Optima & use an elec. toungue jack.

Proflow, that's an excellent idea! Geez, I wish I'd thought of that during the planning stages. I have a swing-away jack on each side to distribute the weight equally, but they are cheap and suck big time. Now I have something to put on my Christmas list!!

Thanks for the replies, guys.

- Mike

 

[RVTRKN]

The only downside is the weight. It is quite heavy, and really takes 2-guys to move it safely (hence the handles). I'll use my forklift to remove it when I'm alone, although I think it will spend 99% of the time on the trailer.



I have more pictures posted here, and here is a link to a video of the strobes in action...

I don't mean to be a wet blanket and it is a great set up with a lot of thought process into it, but what about your tongue weight?