Portable recovery winch.

[fishtail]

I'm going to get this winter a winch for pulling vehicles onto my trailer and other uses, I guess. Portable to keep it out of the elements when not in use. I know this has been done in the past.

What works and what doesn't? I've seen some mounted to a plate with hole to fit over a receiver hitch ball.

I'm thinking about this winch:

http://www.amazon.com/Superwinch-158.../dp/B0030E5HS8

Should be big enough to pull any disabled variant of the M715 onto my trailer. I know lugging this around won't be easy.

Any comment?

Scott

[maskale]

U have to have something hold the trailer while u winch something onto it. So don't think ur plate with a hole will work to well. U need your truck to hold the trailer.

IMO half the truck weight is plenty to pull up on a trailer, as far as the winch goes. But if u just want a big one then sure, go for it. I would attach the winch directly to the trailer, permanently, after all winches are usually in the weather.

[Mikel]

I have put a 10K winch under the bed of my M715 and it's been one of the most useful upgrades. I can lift stuff, drag vehicles onto trailers and even use it for self-recovery. I highly recommend it.

[randyscycle]

I had a car trailer with a winch on it. A 10K lb Mile Marker is what I used, but it was probably overkill. I had it on one of those mounts with the receiver type mount and welded a receiver onto the front of the trailer. I stowed the battery in the toolbox on the tongue and used the extra 12V wire in the 7 pole plug to charge it when on the go. It worked really well, but it was heavy when you needed to remove it.

For just pulling rolling vehicles onto a trailer you don't need much. Dead weight or disabled stuff that's hard to move needs a full capacity winch.

[fishtail]

The truck would still be connected to the trailer. I would run power from the truck's battery via quick disconnect cables and some nice fat 4/0 stranded copper cable.

Is there any problems to draw that kind of current from the vehicle's battery even while the vehicle is running?

Scott

[kaiser715]

I put a Harbor Freight 8k winch on my flatbed. On sale, and with a 20% coupon, it was about $220 at the time. Had 100' cable, and I cut it to about 50' -- just long enough to double with a snatch block if I really needed to. Made it a little lighter for moving.

I mounted it to the trailer with a receiver tube....welded a receiver mount to the front of the trailer, and make a plate for the winch that had a 2" x 1/4 square tube. Actually, I have only removed it from the trailer a couple of times.

I run long jumper cables from the winch to my truck battery -- military slave cable with clamps on one end.

[Barrman]

I have a Ramsey 8K on my trailer. I did the big wires with welding lead quick connects from the truck battery. It didn't work like I wanted and caused all kinds of trouble one day when a motor on the trailer leaned against a solenoid shorting it out and causing truck electrical problems.

I would suggest a battery on the trailer for the winch. That way you won't kill the truck if something stupid happens going down the road. You won't run your truck battery dead out in the middle of nowhere and you won't be stuck with that one truck to pull the trailer for recoveries.

I also ended up putting just a regular 12 gauge wire from the trailer plug constant 12V lead to the battery for charging going down the road to a recovery. I pull the winch lead and bolt the charge wire in. Switching that around when I use the winch.

Another thing I did which helps is drill a 3/4" hole at the back of the trailer for a tractor pin/snap ring to hold a snatch block. That way if getting the vehicle requires around a tree, over a ditch, through the woods. I am still pulling toward the end of the trailer I want the vehicle to end up at.