12 volt electric winch

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Had experience with this at the Waukee swap meet number of years ago. Bought a Cockshutt 40 with single front on the auction. Three flat tires had been pulled sideways so the tires were folded. Rolled okay UNTIL the folds came around then it was like someone threw a 8x8 under the tires. 7500# hydraulic winch, need to snatch block to get on the trailer. Keep in mind when it was on the trailer I tied the snatch to one side and skidded (single line) the rear half of tractor to center the load.

Buy as strong a winch as you can afford!!

HTH

JT

I built this set up for my 16 ft trailer. It is a 5,000 Ramsey Winch. I have pulled 5,500 pound trucks with flat tires up the 6 ft stock ramps that hook on the back of the trailer with a single line pull. Much stronger with the pulley. I also run the cable back to the rear of the trailer and put a chain across to hook my pully to to pull the truck back off. I made a chanel iron support for it and put the battry box also on the hitch. Works great and has a 12 ft remote control so you can watch as it comes up for problems. Got the winch from Northern Tool for around 500.00 complete with control but had to make the mount for it. Mark H.

Mechanical advantage for an inclined plane - your trailer ramps - is slope / height. So given that you're going to need a mechanical advantage multiplier of at least 2.8xxx for a winch which can lift 3500lbs up a 100% grade (straight vertical) to raise 10000 lbs up a grade -- and assuming the top rear of your trailer is 3 feet - you're going to need a slope, or ramp, of at least 9 feet in length ... or 10 to 12 feet to play it safe... and that's my guesstimate.

Steve

Steve ,

Better check your math , 100 % grade is

45 deg angle,( something to do with the tangent

of the angle) ?

george

I think the basic Archemedes type physics stuff is more or less true - or give me a lever and a fulcrum in the right place and I can lift the world approach. As I understood the rating system for electric winches, the pound rating scale meant the device can lift X pounds straight up - the infinite tangent. Made me think about and look up that info too. Seems these things draw mega current when they approach their rated pull, and the current draw climbs in a nice curve or logarithmic fashion. The winch guys point at shortcomings in your battery and alternator. And in practical terms a long ramp with a big load will deflect a bit thus increasing the force required. Getting stuck in a wall of mud says you're facing an infinite tangent - straight up - with a negative mechanical (dis)advantage which is a lot different than a smooth grade, or even straight up.

Given all that, it's easy to see why there are a lot of different opinions based on experience (heck mine has always pulled what I wanted up the ramp I gave it - is my actual experience). So I still stick by my mechanical advantage formula - and notice that the guys who say this and that will or won't work aren't noting what size ramp to lift to what height and how much current they can supply to their winch. Another thing to note is the HP rating of the winch motor versus its speed, and its current draw at rated pull. If it turns out to be 300 amps or so - you know you're going to need a bigger alternator and/or spare battery system. Sorry - life ain't simple.

Steve