Portable Winch Setup

[Odd-job]

The older I get apparently the lazier I get and the less inclined I am for manual labor. Dragging logs with a come along got me thinking about a Warn drill winch which led me to contemplating about making my own portable winch setup. The price tag on the Warn drill winch and low capacity <750 lbs, somehow convinced me I can do better which will probably end up more expensive in the end somehow .

Found this guy's setup which seemed like it was headed in the right direction:

https://milantrailhuggers.com/resources/Documents/Building%20a%20portable%20winch.pdf

Buuttt... at the same time heavy. Guessing well over 50 lbs not including the car battery.

Thinking a 2500lb winch powered off an M12 battery mounted to plate that can go into a hitch receiver, but lower profile than the current offerings. Hopefully keeping it under 30 lbs all in.

Anyone have any feedback or setups for inspiration before I embark on my journey?

 

[mike93lx]

The biggest m12 battery is 6ah and only 65wh (they aren't 12v output, that's a max rating, like Dewalt 20v). That's not running much for very long. Winches need a lot of juice.

You could charge a phone a couple times with it, though

 

[Renegade1LI]

A 12 volt deep cycle would be a better choice.

 

[Jswain]

Still some manual labor, but no batteries required, very portable, and very light.

 

[RTM]

Just as a comparison of battery life: Makita sells a coffee brewer that will make 3 cups of coffee on a 5ah battery.

Makita USA - Product Details -DCM501Z

18V LXT® / 12V max CXT® Lithium-Ion Cordless Coffee Maker, Tool Only

www.makitatools.com

But can drive screws for hours, or drill lots of holes.
cordless tool batteries are great when running their highly optimized motors, not so much for things needing brute power.

 

[GeoBruin]

What about the cordless warn pullzall? It's compact and rated at 1,000 lbs but with a ****** block, that's 2000 lb.

Of course it's not going to compete with a vehicle winch and a car battery but it's much smaller and properly portable.

 

[shawhite]

What will this be attached to and what other than logs as you trying to pull with it. The warn mentioned above is a good option. You could probably cobble something together but I doubt it will be as compact or light as a warn or superwinch portable winch.

 

[logical]

I attach it to a chain and then drive the vehicle attached to the other end of the chain.

 

[flyingblind]

Chainsaw Winch

 

[Odd-job]

Thanks all for the feedback.

The biggest m12 battery is 6ah and only 65wh

A 12 volt deep cycle would be a better choice.

cordless tool batteries are great when running their highly optimized motors, not so much for things needing brute power.

This alone might tank my portable winch idea. While I don't mind swapping batteries, I don't want to be swapping batteries after every pull. Based on the math above m12 6.0's have 65wh vs deep cycle 12v batteries at around 1000+wh? My JNC 770 looks like it is only slightly better at 20ah or 240 wh.

Was thinking there would be enough juice after abusing batteries in power wheels. Granted I wouldn't plan on running the winch all day long, but rather my use case would more likely be a few pulls here and there. Perhaps for heavier use scenarios a deep cycle battery wouldn't be too hard to throw in a wheel barrow.

I already have a 2500 lb Badlands ATV winch mounted on a HF crane. Maybe I can do some more pulling with it to see if I can live with it before committing to a fully dedicated portable setup.

Still some manual labor, but no batteries required, very portable, and very light.

Hmmm, I wonder if I can drill power one... I already do this with my coffee grinder...

What about the cordless warn pullzall?

Looking into buying one got me started on this journey. $450 and NiMH batteries makes all my Milwaukee tools seem cheap. Also only 15 foot line. Plus it seems like this would be another battery platform which I am trying to avoid.

Also looked into the 120v version that I can run off my power supply, but the power supply is 30lbs without batteries.

What will this be attached to and what other than logs as you trying to pull with it.

Trees, trailer hitches, and potentially anything with a half way decent anchor point.

Planning to also use this in the utility trailer for dragging stuff on it, etc.

 

[GeoBruin]

What about something like a 12 volt Marine winch that uses an optional hand crank. You could run it off a car battery, or an array of M12 batteries in parallel, or you could easily make an adapter to turn the hand crank with a drill.

2000 lb. Marine Electric Winch

Amazing deals on this 2000Lb Marine Electric Winch at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[flyingblind]

If you are going to hook it to a trailer just put receivers on it and use a hitch mounted winch.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FXWLI42/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[.45Cole]

I've got a Superwinch winch2go, which is pretty much a winch built into a toolbox, weighting about 40lbs. It's super nice and I take it all the time to load heavy tablesaws and stuff into the back of my truck. It has longer leads and I usually just double the length with garage sale jumper cables. All the junk you need is on the toolbox and with a ****** block I think it will do like 6klbs. Prob gets hot fast so I cycle it when pulling something heavy (like my skiploader onto a trailer).

I got mine used for ~$250.

 

[Zewnten]

What about something like a 12 volt Marine winch that uses an optional hand crank. You could run it off a car battery, or an array of M12 batteries in parallel, or you could easily make an adapter to turn the hand crank with a drill.

2000 lb. Marine Electric Winch

Amazing deals on this 2000Lb Marine Electric Winch at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

These are beasts for what they are. They run at high speeds and I never needed to upgrad the wire size so the amp draw shouldn't be that high.

 

[Jswain]

Hmmm, I wonder if I can drill power one... I already do this with my coffee grinder...

You can quite easy as it's a nut that holds the handle on. Remove handle and tack weld a nut on then use a socket on a cordless impact. Can weld a socket on the handle too if you'd like to still be able to hand crank or keep a ratchet around.

 

[Odd-job]

12 volt Marine winch

Liking this Marine winch idea. The optionality of 12v power, drill, or last resort hand cranking is really compelling.

Checking out Champion winches on Amazon vs HF now. Looks like a 2 year limited warranty vs 90 days on HF with equal pricing and free shipping on Amazon.

 

[ez-duzit]

...
Found this guy's setup which seemed like it was headed in the right direction:

https://milantrailhuggers.com/resources/Documents/Building%20a%20portable%20winch.pdf

Buuttt... at the same time heavy...

That is roughly what you need to do the job. Though the photos that guy posted prove he doesn't know how to use a winch.

A small Harbor Freight winch will save you from cranking on a Come-along. You'll need at least a motorcycle battery to power it, depending on run time.

 

[Renegade1LI]

If you have a heavy duty jump pack you could use that. I use mine for all sorts of temp power and just plug in to recharge. You could set the whole thing up on a hand truck to make it easy to move.

 

[bugnut]

I have needed to move several dead object onto a trailer. After reading something by @Bob Heine the light came on and I grouped together all these object for a very usable solution. They were a pintle plate (60), a winch (35) and a receiver adapter (25). All told about 130 dollars all in. Had to drill a couple holes to make it all mesh but it worked for me. Then mounted them on my trailer, very suitable for my use. My half in Ryobi w/6ah battery will power the winch or I can do so manually. My .02$, good luck.

 

[IndyGarage]

I have a 2500lb ATV winch set up like the one the OP refers to. It's on a receiver mount, so it fits on my truck or on my trailer. It also has a D ring so I can chain or strap it to something. I run it with my jump box - it will run for about 10 minutes before it runs down.

I haven't found much that the small winch won't do. I pulled a 10,000 lb machine onto my trailer with it using a ****** block and doubling the line.

That said I went out and bought a 10,000 lb winch and set it up the same way. Two problems with the bigger winch - First it's just too heavy to lug around much. Second the stupid nylon rope it's got (synthetic rope they call it) came loose from the drum and just spins. I still haven't taken it apart to fix it - Just use the smaller one.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Whichever winch you get make sure it comes with a cordless remote, makes life much easier.

 

[Odd-job]

First it's just too heavy to lug around much

That's my worry too in a "portable" setup. I used to be of the go big or go home mentality, but am starting to change my tune especially when it comes to lugging equipment over rough terrain.

Whichever winch you get make sure it comes with a cordless remote, makes life much easier.

I was thinking about this, but basically had to choose between a hand crank or a cordless remote with this style of a utility winch:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KN2RFFI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I might be able rig up a cordless remote though.

heavy duty jump pack

10 minutes before it runs down

Good to know. Have used my JNC jump pack before, but never enough to run it down.

 

[GeoBruin]

I think OP wound up looking for something that could be 12 volt powered as well as hand cranked, but since he was originally contemplating a drill winch, I thought I would post my little project.

I used a worm drive hand winch, welded the nut to the shaft, then fabbed some plates I bolted through the base of the chassis to give me a place to connect hooks/shackles.

Now I can use a drill with a socket adapter to drive it, but I left enough threads that I can still use the handle that came with it as well. That said, the gear reduction with the worm drive is like 40:1 so it's slooooow to crank by hand. The drill in high speed is much more useful for simply taking up slack.

I have a 50' Amsteel Atv winch line I might swap in for the cable. That would make it even lighter and extend the reach. At the end of the day it's a very compact manual/drill winch with 2000lb single line capacity for not much money.

Cheers!

 

[californiamilleghia]

I have a small Superwinch I bought from Sears back in the 70s , I made a metal plate for the bottom with a hole for a tow ball ,

also added a chain with hook so I could wrap it around a small tree or pole ,

I use a battery jumper pack , or a small size ATV battery ,

The HF winch is a cheap copy of the small Superwinch.

I have pulled dozens of cars onto the trailer and out of backyards.

you could also use a dolly to drag it all to the worksite.

 

[Odd-job]

Got the Champion winch late last week and had a chance to put it through its paces.

Pros & Cons vs HF Badland 2500 ZXR

Pros:

• Nice compact setup
• Battery cables come with nice thick alligator clips to run to a battery
• Thick 1/5 inch cable
• Comes with a trailer hitch plate which doubles as a versatile mount for clevis hooks, lifting straps, etc.
• Hand crank option
• The winch is nice and slow

Cons:

• The winch is slow and you have to be really desperate to use the hand crank. Like as a last resort. Might need to rig up a drill setup for sure.
• 30 ft cable really doesn't go very far.
• No wireless remote
• Probably the biggest deal is the clutch mechanism is a little futzy dial on the side where the hand crank attaches to. Had some issues trying to get the clutch engaged or released every now and then. Also no powered reverse capability.

Being honest with myself I think I might pick up a second Badland 2500 ZXR, for quickly pulling logs I think it is almost superior in every way. Will definitely require a custom bracket or might borrow the hitch mount from the utility winch.

 

[Zewnten]

So on my portabl winch I opened up the case. Filed down some burrs and tightened a few things up and it worked great. They're nothing fancy gears are punched out of sheet metal and some times the QC can be lacking.