Winch system for a trailer or truck?

[Agnes]

Does anybody have any pics of a winch system that they use with a trailer or truck?

Curious to see what others may have developed to load up the big heavy pieces of wood and get them into a trailer or truck for that matter?

I know the Wood Doctor had to think of something.

Here is a pic of my trailer

 

[mga]

a few years ago some old man down the street gave me a boat trailer. thing was rock solid and all 2" tubular steel. i cut the neck down and made the bed out of PT 2 x 6's and the best part is the bed even tilts!

it had a hand winch on it which i left it on there. that winch has saved my back many times and it's dragged some big logs onto that trailer.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Does anybody have any pics of a winch system that they use with a trailer or truck?

Curious to see what others may have developed to load up the big heavy pieces of wood and get them into a trailer or truck for that matter? I know that Wood Doctor had to think of something.

Here is a pic of my trailer

Agnes, can you try again to show a picture of your trailer? I only see a red X, and pehaps others only see that as well. Thanks, and believe me, it is not easy for anyone to load big logs onto either a truck or a trailer.

 

[Agnes]

I fixed the picture so hopefully you can now see the picture.

 

[stihl sawing]

It's a mile marker 8000lb. Bought it off the internet for a real good price. It works okay but it is so slow. Takes forever to pull something up. No where near as fast as my warns. I got the other end wired to the truck and tied to the hitch so all i gotta do is hook the two together and it's working off my truck battery. The battery cable on the winch is wrapped around it so you really can't see it good, It is about six feet long, Enough to reach the hitch and the other connection.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Agnes, your trailer bed is about half as high as my truck tailgate is from the ground. The absolute simplest thing you could do is to use a short flat round as a stair, just back of the trailer bed. Then flip the large round on top of it and turn it end over end onto the trailer.

That way, you only lift about half of the weight of the large round until it's on board. Sounds goofy, but it works.

I have a tough time doing that on my pickup because my tailgate is 32" or so above ground. By comparision, your trailer bed cannot be much more than 18", so a flat, stable, log stair should work rather well.

BTW, I wish I had your trailer. That's a beauty!

 

[Agnes]

Wood Doctor excellent advice and believe it or not I have done that in the past to load the big old rounds of oak in the trailer.

Once I used an old door as a ramp with a big round laid flat under the middle of the door so it could hold the wait of the wood as we rolled it up the "make shift ramp"



stihl sawing I like the winch setup and I was thinking of something simliar....

How do you attach the winch cable to the wood? I was thinking of using a 8x10 board or boards with a "moving dolly" that way I could use the winch to attach to the dolly and the winch would pull the dolly that was loaded with a wood round, which rode on the 8x10 board(s). If this makes any sense? :monkey:

Hey maybe I'm overthinking this whole thing...... :angry2:

Not that I'm lazy but just trying to save the old back so I can do this a long time to come.



Yeah the trailer works great and I'm very happy with it so far. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[stihl sawing]

I hear ya about the back, I just wrap the cable around the log or most of the time i will use a chain to go aroud it. If the rounds are not too big i will roll them up the ramp by hand. Nothing fancy just wrap a chain or the cable around whatever your pulling up. The chain will prevent you from bending your cable up. You really don't need a dolly as the winch can pull it up a ramp with ease. Providin you get a big enough winch. But i think an atv winch would even work.

 

[danrclem]

It's a mile marker 8000lb. Bought it off the internet for a real good price. It works okay but it is so slow. Takes forever to pull something up. No where near as fast as my warns. I got the other end wired to the truck and tied to the hitch so all i gotta do is hook the two together and it's working off my truck battery. The battery cable on the winch is wrapped around it so you really can't see it good, It is about six feet long, Enough to reach the hitch and the other connection.

Stihl, I'm going to put a winch and removeable sides on my car hauler so it can do double duty. I thought about wiring my winch into my truck so I wouldn't have to have an extra battery. I wouldn't think that any existing wiring could pull the load of a winch. Did you take your wiring all the way to the battery or did you tap into some existing wiring?

 

[stihl sawing]

Took it all the way to the battery, Yeah any existing wires will not work. You will also need some heavy cable wire as it is a long way.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Agnes asked. "How do you attach the winch cable to the wood? I was thinking of using a 8x10 board or boards with a "moving dolly" that way I could use the winch to attach to the dolly and the winch would pull the dolly that was loaded with a wood round, which rode on the 8x10 board(s). If this makes any sense?"
---------------
The winch is so strong (I use a hand-cranked winch) that all you need to do is make sure that the ramps don't slide. No dolly is required. Tie the log with strong rope wrapped around it two or three times. Then hook the winch to the rope.

Crank away and the log will slide right up the ramps, even with the flat side down. Sometimes I tie the ramps tight to the hitch under the bumper to be sure they do not move as the log goes up.

 

[Backwood]

I have a battery under frame, above axles. As long as I charge it before every trip it does ok.

If it is already sawed up I will also use a short piece as a step and walk in in the back of the truck.

 

[mga]

I have a battery under frame, above axles. As long as I charge it before every trip it does ok.

If it is already sawed up I will also use a short piece as a step and walk in in the back of the truck.

nice idea ya got there, backwood.

 

[avalancher]

I have a portable warn winch that I use almost exclusively now on my trailer. It has a mounting plate and a set of chains, 30 ft remote, and its hooked to a deep cycle battery. I have found that it works great because it allows me to move the winch around the trailer, pulling from each side, pulling from the back or front, etc where ever the wood is at.
I use a heavy 4X8 steel ramp and the wood slides up it with ease.
Next time I am in the woods I will take some pics so that you can take a look.
Winch pulls 3700lbs single line and hasnt failed me yet. Anything heavier and the trailer starts dragging before the wood moves anyway.

 

[Wet1]

I have a battery under frame, above axles. As long as I charge it before every trip it does ok.

If it is already sawed up I will also use a short piece as a step and walk in in the back of the truck.

Neat setup, why not put a deck on it?

 

[Wet1]

I have a portable warn winch that I use almost exclusively now on my trailer. It has a mounting plate and a set of chains, 30 ft remote, and its hooked to a deep cycle battery. I have found that it works great because it allows me to move the winch around the trailer, pulling from each side, pulling from the back or front, etc where ever the wood is at.
I use a heavy 4X8 steel ramp and the wood slides up it with ease.
Next time I am in the woods I will take some pics so that you can take a look.
Winch pulls 3700lbs single line and hasnt failed me yet. Anything heavier and the trailer starts dragging before the wood moves anyway.

I haven't looked into winches, but I don't think I've seen a portable winch. How does it mount/attach in different locations? Cost? Sounds interesting...

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I haven't looked into winches, but I don't think I've seen a portable winch. How does it mount/attach in different locations? Cost? Sounds interesting...

Many Warn winches can be set up to be portable. You just need the mounting plate.



OR, you could get a Lewis winch.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I have a battery under frame, above axles. As long as I charge it before every trip it does ok.

You need to wire that in so you can charge it off the truck while you're driving. You'll need some 10 gauge wire, a quick connect, and a battery isolator, like this:

http://www.donrowe.com/battery_isolator/isolator.html


Another explanation:

http://www.jerrylabella.com/ship_shape2.htm

http://www.custombatterycables.com/battery_isolators.htm

 

[avalancher]

I haven't looked into winches, but I don't think I've seen a portable winch. How does it mount/attach in different locations? Cost? Sounds interesting...

Okay, this is kind of a crummy picture, I ran out back and snapped one on the trailer with my cellphone.
the winch mounts to a plate that you buy seperate and can be powered by its own battery that I keep in the trailer or you can buy leads that you attach to the underside of your truck to the vehicles main battery.
The winch has two chains from the mounting plate that allows it to hook on to where ever you need. I can pull wood up over the sides with a ramp, up the back, and have even used the winch on the front of my truck to get me out when stuck. Just plop the battery on the hood of the truck, hook the chains to the bumper and cable around a nearby tree. Works great.
I also have the optional 30 remote, allowing me to walk the cable out to the log with the remote in hand, attach to a log, and pull the wood alongside the trailer. Buck and throw the wood into the trailer. No more hauling pieces to the truck.
Cost is about 400 bucks for the winch, 50 bucks for the plate, and 30 bucks for the optional 30ft remote. The winch comes with a short 15ft remote if you dont want to shell out the bucks.

 

[danrclem]

Took it all the way to the battery, Yeah any existing wires will not work. You will also need some heavy cable wire as it is a long way.

Thanks