[AT] [External] Re: 12,000 lb winches

[Gunnells, Brad R]

HF sells a receiver mount for winches. What you did was going to be my approach as well. I’ve got a 16’ utility trailer so not as heavy as Dean VP’s so won’t see loads that heavy. But once in a while I’ll buy a car that doesn’t run (or retrieve one that did!). Having a winch would make life easier than a come-along and chain.

By using the receiver mount I can remove it and store it out of the weather easier, and as you mention could put it on the back of the truck for other purposes if needed. I was going to go with the HF model as they’re often on sale and more reasonably priced. May be one of those things I only use a couple times in a decade. Plus, one could put a snatch block to double up the line and lessen the work the winch needs to do. I would presume that would help with lifespan as well.

Brad

From: AT <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com> on behalf of Stuart Harner <stuart at harnerfarm.net>
Date: Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 8:31 AM
To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Subject: [External] Re: [AT] 12,000 lb winches

Here is an el-cheapo HF 12,000# winch that I bought a few years ago. It was on a really good sale and I had been thinking that someday I am going to need a good winch.

It came with a really nice  long jumper cable type cord with a quick disconnect but no mounting plate. That was sold separately.

I made the red plate to fit my receiver hitch. Advantage, it will work on someone else's vehicle if needed. I also made the black receiver from an old piece of scrap channel iron. The front rail on my trailer won't let me mount it dead center and for some reason I decided that I may have the need to remove it if some situation dictated, so it is just bolted on. It will work left or right of center.

I swapped the cables around putting the short end with the quick connect on the winch, leaving the long end with the quick connect and battery clamps loose. This also allows for portability to other vehicles.

My thinking on the capacity and duty cycle is that capacity is the maximum pull the winch can exert on the cable. The cable is rated higher than that. Line speed is listed both at full load and no load. Unfortunately all sales material lists the no load speed for promotional purposes.

Anything that rolls even if it weighs 12,000# will never need that much force to move it, even on an incline up a ramp so the winch will never see a max pull situation. I think the short duty cycle listing is for full load, but at any rate, you need to monitor the motor temp until you learn how much it can take. One of the biggest factors will be battery cable size/voltage drop.

Admittedly I have not had a need to use mine so in this case it is just my theory. Hopefully others with more experience will chime in.

Stuartn 4/18/24 00:40, Dean VP wrote:
Since my accident I am unable to turn my head to the rear nearly as much as I was able to in the past which wasn't all that good before as I've gotten older.  But,,,,  I still want to load tractors on my 20' tilt 10,400 lb GVW equipment trailer but in a little safer way than before.  I tend to load tractors on backwards so I can get more weight on the tongue since JD Two Cylinder tractors have about 70% of their total weight on the rear axle. My heaviest Two Cylinder is a JD 720 LP Standard which weighs close to 8000 lbs. So... my idea is to get a 12,000 lb Winch mounted to the very front of the tilt bed and winch tractors on rather than back them on. My thinking is to have a cordless remote so I could sit in the seat of the tractor while it is being pulled on so I could steer a bit if necessary.  I do have removable fenders and the bed is 102" wide through the whole 20' except between the tires so I don't have to be perfectly centered.  Now thinking of Winches i have decided that even though my heaviest tractor is 8000 lbs I will be pulling up a slope so I need the extra pulling capacity and I want the extra capacity to get a better duty cycle.  If one looks at the specs of various winches Duty Cycle is not even mentioned or conveniently hidden but if one digs deep enough you will find worrying specs of winching 45 seconds under full load and then have to wait 15 minutes.  That is not compatible with my needs.  Especially when typical winching speeds of 20 FPM are applied to a 20'
trailer.  Initial looks at some higher priced winches gets better Duty Cycles that appear to be acceptable. Then the winch specs are based on which level the tow cable or rope is at which gets really confusing. I am leaning toward getting a rope as opposed to a steel cable just simply because how nasty steel cables can be. If necessary, I'm willing to replace the rope occasionally if it wears out. I'm thinking of using a steel plate that has a right angle that wraps around the front end of the bed frame bolted in and then bolt the winch and plate though the bed. I haven't found a commercial plate that does that so may have to fabricate one. But given all those parameters, I am interested in what ATIS members have found to work for them. Or whatever brands are suggested for Winches and recommendations on how to mount the winch on the bed of the trailer.  I don't want to spend more than necessary but I also realize I can't lowball this. .Any comments, suggestions and help will be appreciated.





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