trailer winch

[floater212]

I have a 3500lb. boat that's 21' long my trailer has bunks which I put the Teflon slides on to help when putting boat back on. so here we go.... 2 months ago I had shoulder surgery and was told NO MORE CRANKING BOAT ON .. EVER. so now here's my question; which winch should I use on my boat? I have seen nice 2 speed cable and some 2 speed strap winches, then there's the big money electrics ...anywhere from $200 cheapies to the $900 power winch ( plus cost of a battery and a box to mount it on the trailer, makes it easier and no damage to truck if anything goes wrong). what do you use for your boats 3500lbs or bigger? my boys will appreciate easy.

 

[dingbat]

Re: trailer winch

#5500+ boat. Rule #4200 single cable electric winch wired to truck battery. Going to a Warn #6000 when the Rule bits the dust.

Hand cranking sucks. Trailer mounted battery's have a tendency to walk. Inexpensive winches fail at the most inopportune times. Double cable operation is industry lingo for slower than heck. Select your system accordingly

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: trailer winch

Yeah, two speed reduction gear winches are nice, BUT---God invented electricity for a reason. Spend the money and get a decent power winch. You will never regret it. BTW: Before you complain about the cost, figure out what a day's running costs you in gas--power winch doesn't look so bad now, does it?

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: trailer winch

power winch, wired to the vehicle (or use the long cables and clamps). To make it work well use a couple of people. You don't have to sink the trailer as much to winch it on and it goes on easier.

 

[pullin]

Re: trailer winch

I have a Sea Ray Cuddy 230. I think it weighs about 4500 lbs when loaded and full tanks. I use the 5000 lb winch in the picture to haul it aboard the trailer. We have a really steep ramp in our subdivision so I wanted a lot of winch to haul it up. Like you, I can't do it by hand anymore. The picture is before I finished dressing up the wiring. Even at 5000 lbs pull, the winch is barely able to haul the boat aboard. I realize this isn't exactly the setup you're considering, but I figure any information is good. Hope this helps somewhat.

 

[floater212]

Re: trailer winch

WOW, that's too cool but a little bit of overkill for me. nice job!

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: trailer winch

my 2 c..... 2/1 ratio for weight.. ie- 4000lb boat, 2000 winch needed. Strap is my choice. electric is nice.. until it stops working...a good quality hand cranker is my vote. unless the user is phyiscally unable to manage the hand crank..

 

[dingbat]

Re: trailer winch

my 2 c..... 2/1 ratio for weight.. ie- 4000lb boat, 2000 winch needed.

Might work with a manual winch where you can crank your shoulder off. Electric winches are fixed output and rated with an empty spool. By the time you get the cable back on the winch your looking at 1/2 the rate pull, usually less.

I go a minimum of 1:1 and even then I've run into issues. All it takes is a stuck roller, or a steeper than normal ramp and the required torque could easily go up 25-30%.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: trailer winch

the Power Winch brand has a crank handle as a back-up for power failure (and sometimes to assist) and it's not that bad to crank if you have to--BTDT.
They also provide a chart for which winch works best with different boat sizes. You can also put a pulley at the bow eye and double-winch, which doubles the power but also makes it take twice as long. For many, that's not an issue, but at a zoo ramp it might be.

thus, oversizing your winch may result in such a reduction in speed that it doesn't work; likewise many non-marine winches are painfully slow. Look at Power Winch's specs to see if a non-marine winch's speed is comparable.

 

[oldandintheway]

Re: trailer winch

Power Winch also makes a model with remote control. I really like it.