Power winch

[travism]

I am considering adding a power winch to my trailer setup. I have a 24' express cruiser that weighs about 6,000 to 6,500 lbs. My wife got wacked by our manual winch so my FIL is offering to pay for the power winch. Who am I to refuse?<br /><br />Anyway, I'm looking at a Powerwinch RC23 or RC30 model. The thing that bothers me the most is not seeing one in action before choosing a $400 winch. Also, cable winches always seem to bind up with a loose spool, but powered ones may be more smooth? And lastly, the spec'd 8' or 14' per minute speed seems a bit slow to me. I'd say I usually crank it onto the trailer the last 10' or so.<br /><br />So I'm looking for opinions on power winches, Powerwinch brand specifically would be nice, and whether my concerns are justified or not (binding spool, speed).<br /><br />Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Power winch

If you are looking at several models within the same brand, be sure to check the gear ratio. The lowest gearing (higher numerical ratio) provides the greatest pull but slowest retrieval speed. Its also easiest on the motor. For example, using the same motor on two winches, the winch with a 250:1 gear ratio with pull more than a winch with the same motor but with a 200:1 ratio. The 200:1 will retrieve faster.