Show me your trailer winch

[Wardrum]

I want to install about a 6,000# to 9,000# capacity winch on my trailer and have a couple of questions about how to mount it and power it. Should I mount it on the deck or elevate it 8" to 10" or so? I would like to be able to remove it so I can keep it out of the weather. What is the best way to do that? And finally, how should I power it? Would it be best to mount a battery on the trailer for the winch or just use long jumper cables to the truck battery? I have room on the tongue for a tool box to put the battery in if needed. Any suggestions (and pics) would be appreciated.

 

[IHI]

Holy cow, why such a heavy winch?? open trailer i assume since your concerned about the weather??

Here's the one in my 28' enclosed just in case....actually used it recently after tearing the top of the engine off to winch car back into's it's house

With my 20' open trailer i have a truck tool box mounted on the front of the trailer, then mounted that trailers winch inside the truck style tool box, along with the deep cycle battery, and relay's/hand controller. Then i just mounted a roller fairlead to the truck tool box where i wanted the cable to come through....not much weather at all gets in there, rain nor blowing snow..not enough to be concerned with anyhow, been like this for 8 years and everything still works just fine.

Just run bracing between trailer floor joists to tie everything together for winch mounts, ground battery to trailer frame so everything works right.


If you want to make this removeable, which i contemplated for a little bit, get a reciever hitch, and fab that under the deck, then you'll just have to make a mount for the winch to sit on/bolt to that will sldie into the reciever in the trailer. Put the handcontroller and battery leads on quick connects and your done.

 

[nissan_crawler]

 

[tfi racing]

I agree,that's a pretty heavy winch,but if some is good,more is better!
You will want to mount a battery on the trailer,the truck battery won't likely keep up especially with the potential voltage drop because of the cable length,you will need to run a charging circuit from the truck,its nice to have a fresh battery and charging voltage when using the winch.Its a good idea to mount it all in a tongue box,to protect it from the elements and from "walking" away on you.I only have a #2500 lb winch and battery in my enclosed trailer,it pulls my 2900lb race car in effortlessly,I would suggest at least a #4000ish for an open trailer,the ramps are usually a lot steeper.

 

[sammerdog]

Don't know why you want to see my trailer winch, but here ya go....

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo283/sammerdog556677/trailer_trash-1.jpg

 

[nissan_crawler]

Don't know why you want to see my trailer winch, but here ya go....

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo283/sammerdog556677/trailer_trash-1.jpg

Dictionary, use it.

 

[rsanter]

I would either mount it to a reciever that you weld to the trailer (that way it could be removed for storage) or mount it in an enclosure on the front of the trailer.

by the way, if anyone is interested, I have a 10,000lb winch for sale. it came off an electric tow truck setup

bob

 

[Wardrum]

Holy cow, why such a heavy winch?? open trailer i assume since your concerned about the weather??

Yep, open trailer (duh, should have said that ).

I mostly pull dead cars onto the trailer but once in a while an old farm tractor. The tractors can get pretty heavy (8,000# +) so I thought it would be nice to have a little extra winch capacity.

 

[Wardrum]

Crawler, please explain the functions of the controls in the red box. TIA.

By the way, is that an old ammo box? Very cool.

 

[nissan_crawler]

Crawler, please explain the functions of the controls in the red box. TIA.

By the way, is that an old ammo box? Very cool.

Yes, it's an ammo box.

Rotary switch is the battery disconnect, obviously. I got one from a marine place, so it has a 300 amp capacity for heavy pulls.

The switch with the green light is for the little light in the panel (and loading lights I have yet to install on the trailer), helps to see at night.

One red switch is hooked to a circuit breaker, and goes from the positive wire on the trailer harness to the trailer battery to charge it.

The other red switch is trailer hazard lights. If I have to leave the trailer on the road at night for some reason, I can turn on the flashers so people don't hit it.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I had a post in free parking about all my trailer mods, but it seems to be gone?

 

[OldCarGuy]

A 4,500 pound capacity winch I added in my enclosed trailer nose. I bolted it to a 12" I beam. Making for a better cable angle when winching in a dead car or equipment. I also made the wood cabinets. And mounted the bicycle rack.

View of winch that I mounted on my tilt-bed trailer. Also the spare tire mount and tool box that I added...

I mounted the winch on an I-beam high enough for the cable to clear the trailer bed when tilted.

Here is how I winched my 6,000 pound shaper on my tilt bed trailer.

 

[mad57]

i bought a harbor freight special 10,000lbs winch i welded a 2in receiver (male) end on the included base plate drilled it for hitch pin, then welded a 2in female end on my trailer , i take it off when need to keep it out of the weather, i use my jump pack to power it works great for the dead cars about 2 on/offs then it goes low. been working for yrs good luck mike.

 

[Wardrum]

Yes, it's an ammo box.

Rotary switch is the battery disconnect, obviously. I got one from a marine place, so it has a 300 amp capacity for heavy pulls.

The switch with the green light is for the little light in the panel (and loading lights I have yet to install on the trailer), helps to see at night.

One red switch is hooked to a circuit breaker, and goes from the positive wire on the trailer harness to the trailer battery to charge it.

The other red switch is trailer hazard lights. If I have to leave the trailer on the road at night for some reason, I can turn on the flashers so people don't hit it.

Crawler, thanks for the explanation. Making the trailer hazard lights operable when the trailer is disconnected is an excellent idea.

 

[Wardrum]

View of winch that I mounted on my tilt-bed trailer. Also the spare tire mount and tool box that I added...

What make, model and capacity is the winch on your tilt-bed trailer? I'm amazed at some of the machinery you haul; that must be an excellent winch to pull those pieces onto your trailer.

By the way, how is your new trailer holding up?

 

[kvom]

The tractors can get pretty heavy (8,000# +) so I thought it would be nice to have a little extra winch capacity.

A pulley arrangement will multiply your pulling power if you decide to go with a smaller winch.

 

[OldCarGuy]

What make, model and capacity is the winch on your tilt-bed trailer? I'm amazed at some of the machinery you haul; that must be an excellent winch to pull those pieces onto your trailer.

By the way, how is your new trailer holding up?

The winch is a Dayton 5AA17 from Graingers. Single cable pull rating is 3,000 pounds. When you double the cables using a pulley its’ capacity goes to 4,500 pounds.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/5AA17

The new trailer is fantastic and so far the paint is holding up very well too. The then sales manager at Loadtrail gave me a free axle upgrade to 14,000 pounds from the previous 10,400. Now I’m not worried about some of the heavier loads I put on it.

.

 

[V8nuts]

Don't know why you want to see my trailer winch, but here ya go....

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo283/sammerdog556677/trailer_trash-1.jpg

that is great....lol lol lol

 

[HOTFR8]

I still have a handwinch in my enclosed car trailer. Many times I have considered an electric winch but have just never needed it. Most Items I winch in with no problems. Most times I just drive in and use it to hold the car with the floor tie downs in place.

I would like to know how I could make my hazard lights work with out the tow vehicle hooked up. That is a great idea.

 

[nissan_crawler]

Well, there are two ways.

The easy one is to just wire them in with battery-switch-flasher-lights. The issue here is if you hit the switch with the tow vehicle hooked up, you're backfeeding things.

The way I did it...involves diodes, but prevents any stupidity.

 

[HOTFR8]

Thanks Nissan Crawler.

 

[Tom Fuehrer]

I also use a SuperWinch, similar to Oldcarguy on my open car trailer. It has worked great, even to drag cars out of the mud onto my trailer.

I would like to add a remote control to is so I can load a car more quickly. The process now is slow - winch, go adjust the steering wheel, winch, go adjust the steering wheel - etc.

I also have mounted a Solar Battery Charger on top of my battery box. I never have to worry about a dead battery.

Tom

 

[dcovey]

I also use a SuperWinch, similar to Oldcarguy on my open car trailer. It has worked great, even to drag cars out of the mud onto my trailer.

I would like to add a remote control to is so I can load a car more quickly. The process now is slow - winch, go adjust the steering wheel, winch, go adjust the steering wheel - etc.

I also have mounted a Solar Battery Charger on top of my battery box. I never have to worry about a dead battery.

Tom

Here is a remote control from Northern Toolhttp://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category_6970_85683+302024+771328?cm_ven=PPC&cm_cat=I-search%20(Google%20Adwords)&cm_pla=winches&cm_ite=remote%20winch%20control

This is the one I have Tommy Johnson I think he was the first (at least to me)
http://www.tommyjohnsonjr.com/wireless.htm

Tommy is a drag racer so I gotta go with him..

Dave