Stupid winch question?

[Isaac-1]

As some of you know I just bought an 18 ft car hauler, and one of the first modifications I plan to do is add a winch. I found a deal on a 3,000 pound UT3000 Superwinch on Amazon for $110 with free shipping, which I hope will be enough for my needs (I also have a Superwinch winch in a bag which uses the mechanism from their 2,000 pound LT2000 winch) , this leads to my question regarding winch mounting. All winches I have seen are mounted with the line feeding underhanded from the bottom of the spool, is it ok to mount a winch the other way around so it feeds overhanded off the top of the spool? I ask becuase if it is ok to do this I can mount the winch on the centerline brace and feed it between the deck and the bump rail, this will let me place the winch in a slightly more protected spot and not have to fabricate an elevated mount.

Ike

p.s. I know this will make the cable run close to the deck, so I plan to add a low profile fairlead style roller at the top of the dovetail.

 

[kbs2244]

Sure. it will work.
Your push and pull bottons will be reversed though.
But it is not hard to open the switch box and reverse the wires to correct that problem.

 

[Jbullfrog]

It depends on how the winch is driven and whether it is geared down or direct drive.

 

[Steevo]

Sure. it will work.
Your push and pull bottons will be reversed though.
But it is not hard to open the switch box and reverse the wires to correct that problem.

Why would the push and pull buttons be reversed?
If I read the post correctly, he's just flipping the winch around. That won't affect the rotation of the motor or the drum.

 

[87FoRunner]

you will just have to switch the positive posts connected to the motor.

 

[akdiesel]

Why would the push and pull buttons be reversed?
If I read the post correctly, he's just flipping the winch around. That won't affect the rotation of the motor or the drum.

It seems it would be easier to simply flip it but it looks like he wants to reverse the drum itself.

If reversed, would the brake work in both directions?

 

[Long haul]

I wouldnt run the cable over the top of the drum (make it feed off the top instead of the bottom). The housings of the winch are made to put the stress of the load as close to the mounting points as possible, by running it off the top youre putting a lot strain on the housing.

 

[trbomax]

IMO, a 3k isnt enough anyway. Ive had 2 different car haulers (both with ramps,one w/a dovetail) . Both had 8k ramseys on them. The one w/o the dovetail would work hard when the load was comming over the "hump" but always made it. My current rig is for equipment/cars and is a hyd tilt. I cheaped out and put a 6k HF on it and there are a couple spots during a pull that it gets dicey. You will probably end up running a line back w/ a ****** block a lot of the time with the 3k, and then the cable will be too short.The smaller dia rope on the 3k would make me nervous too. To answer your original question though,mount it the way it was intended,inline with the mounting brackets and so that it pulls straight thru the fairlead.

 

[Bubbles]

He's right, I have 3.5k on my atv, on side by sides we usually go at least 4k

 

[trbomax]

Another thing is that there will be times if you are doing a recovery that you will NEED all of that 100' of rope on a bigger winch,and if you do ever have to ****** block it off to another object to get an angular pull , 100' may even be iffey.

 

[evs1]

you will just have to switch the positive posts connected to the motor.

Don't do that. The winch is grounded to the trailer and to your vehicle. Switching those leads is the same as reversing your battery leads, not good.
Run the cable the way the winch manuifacturer built it. If it is too close to the deck, instead of a roller fairlead take a piece of 3" or larger pipe, cut it into fourths lengthwise, and weld it to the trailer right at the breakover of the dovetail. You can haul or drive things over this all day instead of a fairlead that is going to stick up in the way all the time. Make your roller pipe the whole width of the trailer because most of the time the things your going to be loading won't be centered on the trailer deck.

By the way, I had a Warn 6000 on my equipment hauler and there were times that it was a little marginal even with a ****** block and double line.

 

[trbomax]

Another thing to invest in is a good set of recovery chains. I have 2 w/j hooks and combination hooks,and 1 j hook harness,also with combination hooks.The harness makes it much easier and safer to winch a vehicle or anything else onto the trailer.

 

[tonym]

I have been fixing tow trucks for a long *** time..I would not go any lower than 8k.....also...the electric ones dont seem to pull whats on the sticker most the time when you get up there in the weight

 

[trbomax]

I have been fixing tow trucks for a long *** time..I would not go any lower than 8k.....also...the electric ones dont seem to pull whats on the sticker most the time when you get up there in the weight

Thats because they are rated with 1 turn of cable on the drum. As the cable spools on , the drum becomes bigger in dia,and the final "pulling ratio" is raised. The other thing is they are rated with around 13.2 volts on the motor,the vehicle chargeing system needs to be operateing at max rated output. If you were to check the voltage at the motor with the winch pulling and no chargeing takeing place,it would probably be around 11 volts or less. Takeing all the above into consideration,a 6k "rated" winch may only be delivering 3500 # of actual line pull.

 

[Sh1thead]

Another thing to invest in is a good set of recovery chains. I have 2 w/j hooks and combination hooks,and 1 j hook harness,also with combination hooks.The harness makes it much easier and safer to winch a vehicle or anything else onto the trailer.

Please clean up that drum ... nothing annoys me more than a rats nest of wire rope on my winches, once it gets a flat spot or kink you just killed your ability to safely and confidently make a pull/recovery.

 

[trbomax]

Please clean up that drum ... nothing annoys me more than a rats nest of wire rope on my winches, once it gets a flat spot or kink you just killed your ability to safely and confidently make a pull/recovery.

It is pretty nappy isnt it? We used it 4-5 times this winter at zero degrees and horizontal snow,dont have much desire to make it pretty when its like that! It will be rewound thursday,Ive got to go to detroit to pick up a roller.

edit) I spend more time actually useing my equipment up here that makeing it pretty then sitting around admireing it!

 

[Sh1thead]

It is pretty nappy isnt it? We used it 4-5 times this winter at zero degrees and horizontal snow,dont have much desire to make it pretty when its like that! It will be rewound thursday,Ive got to go to detroit to pick up a roller.

edit) I spend more time actually useing my equipment up here that makeing it pretty then sitting around admireing it!

Congrats on being able to make your equipment help earn your living or your hobby but truth of the matter is a clean spool is not a cosmetic issue but just proper operation. When your personal well - being as well as others directly depends on your rigging whether its recovering a overturned tanker in the ditch or pulling a car up a 3 car wedge you have a tendency to develop a respect for the equipment that allows you to operate and hopefully return home safe and in one piece. Not trying to start a flame war but hopefully this post will somehow help you realize how such a trivial thing can cause a major failure at the wrong time. Stay safe and best of luck.

 

[DGC15]

I have an 18 ft with dovetail with a HF 6000# winch. I run the battery cable to the front of the truck and clamp on the battery. I ground to the frame at the back bumper. It works real well. I have pulled several cars and trucks on to the trailer with no problems. I do wish I had a roller across the back of the dovetail sometimes if it is a low car.

 

[Sh1thead]

I have an 18 ft with dovetail with a HF 6000# winch. I run the battery cable to the front of the truck and clamp on the battery. I ground to the frame at the back bumper. It works real well. I have pulled several cars and trucks on to the trailer with no problems. I do wish I had a roller across the back of the dovetail sometimes if it is a low car.

Ever thought of using a service truck plug in for jumper cables to get that power to the winch? Some battery cables and the hardshells I mentioned you could make a quick disconnect for when you want to use your winch. Just a thought.