OT - Trailer Winch

[carpetfarmer]

Finally got a winch mounted on my trailer (its been a long time in the making). Originally I bought an aluminum toolbox that I was going to mount it in, but it was just way too bulky and figured it would get smashed somehow...no matter how careful I was. Sooo...what do you guys use for winch covers? Vinyl, neoprene, other? Want something halfway snug fitting and durable - Harbor Freight 12,000 lb winch. Why can't Harbor Freight just make covers for their winches?!

 

[tomturkey]

Would be interesting to see and hear what others have done. My trailer is a bumper hitch so I created a reciever at the front so my winch (HF 12000) gets put in the shop when not needed and can be used on the pick-up hitch also. gobble

 

[jon f mn]

Your winch should be designed to be outside and not need a cover. Any cover would just be for cosmetic reasons and for that a canvas cover would do and are available cheap.

 

[chuck machinist]

I like that idea TomCMHaven’t heard anything on WHO as of yet

 

[Hazyhillfarms]

I have a very nice Ramsey winch on my trailer that doesn't get used much. After 10 years, the motor was set up tight due to condensation and snow melt finding away into the motor. Fortunately it was an easy rebuild. Anyway, I now have a piece of conveyor belting covering the winch to allow it to shed rain, snow & ice. Seems to work well, but it's better if you run it every so often to get rid of any moisture.

 

[carpetfarmer]

It'll probably only get used a couple times a year, so that is worth noting. Just looking to extend the life of the investment as long as possible, and keep the cable from rusting into one solid rust wad (I do intend to oil it as well).

 

[carpetfarmer]

That's what I've been looking at, just not real sure about fitment as none of them list Badland as a fit and a lot of them don't give the dimensions. Another consideration is that I remote mounted the control box, so I don't have that extra height which some of them are designed to fit.

 

[carpetfarmer]

My buddy was trying to get me to do that, and I considered it but that would be a lot of leverage on that top cross piece. It is 3" x 5" x 1/4" and I have already boxed it in on the back side with 3" x 3" x 3/8"

 

[EP]

This is what I did. I run a chain from the welded hook to the trailer hitch, for extra support. Put some sheet metal on the beaver tail to keep the cable from digging up the deck. I've pulled in excess of 10000 lbs with no trouble bending anything. It is only mounted on the trailer when I need it, then back in the shop. Plus I can put it in the pickup hitch and have a hitch made up to mount on tractor drawbar too.

 

[carpetfarmer]

I've had this winch for over a year...just haven't had time to get it mounted properly until a couple weeks ago. In the meantime, I whipped this up one day just in case I needed the winch before I was able to get it mounted. Ran a chain across the trailer and hook it into the hooks. I did end up using it a couple of times, but I didn't really care for that particular setup...not to mention the thing is pushing 100 lbs of akwardness. I am a young guy of decent build, call me lazy or whatever you please, but I wasn't too fond of lifting, loading and moving it around all the time (1x into the truck, 2x from the truck to the trailer, 2x from the trailer to the truck, and 1x from the truck back into the shop)...per load. Similar to your setup but not the same.

 

[EP]

Can't argue with that!