Electric winch

[JSP]

Has anyone ever tried fitting an electric winch to the trailer instead of a handled winch?

[jyasaki]

Not uncommon, but it's not as straightforward as it first seems.

You need some fairly beefy wiring to the winch, and a current source that will supply enough to run it. In general, this means a fused cable run back to the tow vehicle's battery (though I suppose you could add a battery to the trailer, as well, and wire that up to charge from the tow vehilcle.)

Trailer parts, if used often, are subjected to a lot of salt spray, salt air, and the occasional dunking/splashing, as well as rain water, rinse-down water, etc. Make sure the winch you get is seriously waterproofed.

Dutton-Lainson and Powerwinch seem to be the more popular over here.

Also advisable to get a winch with a manual backup in case power fails or the winch quits working.

Luck;

jky

[CJL]

I'd be interested to learn how you get on with this as it's something I've been considering for some time. I don't suppose the 12v socket in the boot of my car is quite up for a winch though!

C

[Jon H]

I have a 12 V winch attached to my tow bar.

Beefy connected goes straight to the battery

Works great for pulling anything

[MarkM]

I use a Powerwinch ST712, not with a steel cable but a strap, 'cause a cable gets all mixed up and you can't pull it out again.
Can take the winch off, see picture.
Use a thick cable with a 60 Amp. fuse direct to the battery.

[Jeff]

Fitted a Dutton Lainson ('Strongarm')as JKY mentioned. Good piece of kit and no problems after 2 years of regular use.
My 2006 My Volvo XC70 had the baatery in the boot so very simple to wire up a mating Anderson connector at the rear to coonect to the winch. New 2009 MY - and they have 'progressed' to putting the battery under the bonnet; which meant a couple of hours running a cable from the battery to boot
Jeff
.... also specified a strap rather than wire like MarkM

[JSP]

Thanks everyone, that's exactly the kind of thing I had in mind. My van's a good 16-17ft LWB so I don't fancy running cables through. Maybe get a leisure battery and keep it in the boot.

[paul holder]

i have a 6.5 ribcraft with a 200hp on the back + dive tanks & weight belts ect .the trailer is rollercoaster .the slip is 15 deg.the area is subject to tides & wind .the hand winch was far to hard & slow
take weight of boat + out board + other equipment=total
each lay of the drum reduces the pull by 10%
therefor if total =1000kg & 5 lays off the drum you require 1000+10%+ect =1700kg.
i went for superwinch from machine mart .
i have 2 x 120 amp batteries in series giving 24 voltt therefor 1/2 the current & charge these from the mains ph

[codprawn]

The main problem with straps is that they degrade with UV - those covered designs look perfect!!!

[havener]

Other option is to have a pully on the boat with the cable run back to the winch post, thus creating a menchanical advantage to ease load on the winch.

[JSP]

Thanks for all the replies to this. Still trying to work out how to do it as I don't want to be lugging a battery on and off the trailer and there's no where to fit one in the boot.

Codprawn, I was told to stay away from wire rope because if they do snap they effing SNAP!!

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by JSP

Thanks for all the replies to this. Still trying to work out how to do it as I don't want to be lugging a battery on and off the trailer and there's no where to fit one in the boot.

Hi JSP
It really isn't that difficult to run a cable from engine to boot > you only need a single (+) from the battery to the connector ( 60a Anderson type is good) and then a short lead from the connector to earth in the boot area. Use a flexi 6 or 8 swg cable
Jeff

[JSP]

Thanks Jeff,
Car is VW transporter shuttle LWB and 17ft long and with seats and rubber flooring it would be hard to route. I could take it under the car though.
I'm not to hot on Electrics. Couldn't I rig it up so I could plug it into the the Towbar jack? I've only got single electrics though.

[havener]

Originally Posted by JSP

Thanks Jeff,
Car is VW transporter shuttle LWB and 17ft long and with seats and rubber flooring it would be hard to route. I could take it under the car though.
I'm not to hot on Electrics. Couldn't I rig it up so I could plug it into the the Towbar jack? I've only got single electrics though.

I would think that winch current draw is far above that for which towbar jacks are rated, after all they're only really there to carry a low current to the lights. The actual cables are tiny.

[JSP]

Bugger, would have been a nice easy option!
Really don't want to start routing wires through the car. I'm hoping to change it next summer.

Looks like getting a battery plate fab'ed on the trailer and some kind of light weight box to keep the elements out then. Cheers for the help Havener

[John Kennett]

How about a cheap jump start power pack and an Anderson connector?

John

[JSP]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

How about a cheap jump start power pack and an Anderson connector?

John

I think John's on to a good one there! Bloody cheap too. Nice one, could get a winch, jump start and all the bits for less than a ton! great stuff.
Cheers John

[BogMonster]

Slightly OT but as somebody mentioned straps - I use some Dyneema-Bowrope intended for 4x4 winches on my trailer winch and its much better than the old wire rope and supposedly UV resistant too

[codprawn]

The reason i don't like wire is that it tends to jam itself on the drum and go between the other layers - rope would be the same. A strap is so wide it can only go on the proper way.

[bedajim]

Originally Posted by codprawn

The reason i don't like wire is that it tends to jam itself on the drum and go between the other layers - rope would be the same. A strap is so wide it can only go on the proper way.

I agree with the wire part, but the 4x4 recovery rope is the best for a powered winch with a roller fairlead. The straps tend to fold over and you don't want to put your fingers near to a powered drum to try and sort it