electric trailer winch - basspro shop ?

[TerryMSU]

Hello:

I am looking at a Trac Small Craft Trailer Winch from BassPro shop. This is a new winch (new in catalog) from them for $99.98. Has anyone had any experience with this winch from them? The boat is a 15ft aluminum flat bottom boat weighing about 1000 lbs. Do these things usually have a manual override (a crank, for example)? Anything else I should know? I have some physical limitations, that is why I am wanting a winch for a boat this small.

Thanks,
Terry

 

[Silvertip]

Re: electric trailer winch - basspro shop ?

Not familiar with the winch but most do have a manual crank should you have a power failure of sorts. Keep in mind the less expensive winches are "power in" only. You have to release the clutch and pull the cable out manually. If you have some physical limitations in that regard, you may want to up the ante a little and get a power in/power out winch.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: electric trailer winch - basspro shop ?

Well I checked with them and this one apparently does not have one (at least not included). Some of the reviews on that family of winch are a bit questionable. They also have a similar rated winch from master-lock that is also a bit lower cost and it does include a handle. Reviews are mixed, but mostly good.

It is Item 38-527-930-00 in the bass-pro web site. Description is as follows...

"This heavy duty 12 volt electric winch is ideal when you really need to get it done. Equipped with 2000 lbs of pulling power, this winch can be temporarily mounted to a ball mount or attached to a flat surface with mounting plate. Designed with powerful rack and pinion gears, a convenient carrying handle is built-into the winch housing. A remote control, power battery cables, back-up hand crank and hook with safety latch are all included."


The amazon description is a little better...

"Amazon.com Product Description
No need to buy a winch for each vehicle or trailer, this portable DC-powered unit mounts to any hitch or flat surface to haul in that boat, vehicle, trailer, and more! The winch can be temporary or permanently mounted to either a ball-mount hitch or a flat surface. A parallel-shaft gear ensures efficient power for rolling wheeled trailers and vehicles up to 6,000 pounds, pulling things up to 5,000 pounds through water, or dragging items up to 2,000 pounds. The winch shuts down automatically if overloaded. And, a toggle remote control lets you control the action from a distance. The winch is equipped with a 20-foot cable that reaches easily from the front of any truck back to a standard trailer--a nice feature for towing the boat in snug up against the trailer."

Anyone have any experience with that winch on a small boat?

Thanks,
Terry

 

[b.gagnon]

Re: electric trailer winch - basspro shop ?

I bought the masterlock one and it was a total piece of junk! I have a 17' aluminum boat and it could barely handle it. The retrieve is also extremely slow and made it very difficult to keep the boat straight when there was current or wind. I would suggest that you save your money and buy a Powerwinch.

 

[JB]

Re: electric trailer winch - basspro shop ?

Hey, Terry. You have a PM

 

[JimVa]

Re: electric trailer winch - basspro shop ?

Any more information on the Trac winches?

Thanks.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: electric trailer winch - basspro shop ?

When it comes to the manual override on any of the electric winches, they all seem to leave a lot to be desired. They tend to be much slower and much lower geared than needed. I had to hand crank a small boat with a name brand boat winch once, it took an hour of cranking with a very short handle which they supplied. It got the job done but it was more work than if I had a manual winch installed.

With a boat that small, it won't take much of a winch to do the job, but I'd make sure that it works when it's needed. I really don't see much functional difference between the higher dollar 'marine' winches and those sold by places like Harbor Freight. HF does have one which has a full size handle for manual operation. All of the plastic housing type marine winches are similarly built and lack any serious durability. On a standard winch, the motor engages the spool via a linear drive or planetary gear drive, on most boat winches, the motor just drives the main gear via a smaller drive gear. Most boat winches have a friction clutch as well to release the load all at once, not really a feature I am all that fond of.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: electric trailer winch - basspro shop ?

I ended up sticking with the manual winch. In my case, some lubrication on the roller shafts on the trailer helped a lot. Also, lubricating the winch helps some. Both need it again already.

TerryMSU