Power winch

[JoshOnt]

How crazy am I for thinking it would be a good idea to put a power winch on my boat trailer? I have a 16' boat so not too big but the 2500 lbs winch on it is a royal pain to wind in and out. So I went out and bought an electric one but am now seeing I might need a separate battery for and I need to find a dry spot for that and the solenoid on the front of a boat trailer. Well that is not possible short of making a water proof housing for it. Suggestions on ways to make it possible? I have a ez loader roller style trailer if that makes much of a difference.

 

[Frank Acampora]

No Title

No matter what size the boat, like power tilt and trim, once you have a power winch you will never want to be without it.. No need to put in a separate battery and solenoids. Just use a length of #10 wire and two alligator clips to attach to the tow vehicle battery. You CAN add in a fuse on the positive wire. I use this set-up om ny 21 foot cuddy cabin. Although the reduction of the power winch is such that I CAN winch up the boat by hand, Now that I am 70 with health problems, It certainly is not fun.

You must use #10 wire as The winch can draw up to 30 amps and smaller wire will overheat, especially at the connectors. Leave the tow vehicle running while operating the winch.

In this one, I simply could not find #10 speaker wire (which is color coded for pos and neg) so I salvaged some wires out of a junk I/O boat.

Yeah, it is a little bother to open the hood and attach the wire but WAY EASIER than hand cranking.

 

[gm280]

If I were going to install a power winch, I would also take the time to install a capable connector by the trailer light connector to power the winch as well. (fused of course). Then you can simply plug in when you need the winch and unplug when you don't need it. Just install the wires at the battery and run them back to the connector. It solves having to run wires every time you need to use it. JMHO :noidea:

 

[Frank Acampora]

Yeah, I thought of that and investigated but the Silverado 1500 does NOT have a 30 amp capable connector on the built in seven pin plug. Thus the long wire.

 

[moi]

I tapped off of my Chevy Equinox battery through a 30A fuse and ran a hot lead under the car to the back bumper. Car chassis for negative/ground. Added Andersen style connector, with mate added to winch harness. Works like a charm for my 14 foot Sylvan Sport Troller.
:happy:

 

[H20Rat]

30 amps at 20 feet of 10 gauge cable puts your final voltage just a bit over 10v, and the wire is going to be WARM if you run it for any length of time. Probably not hot enough to melt the covering in that length of time, but no matter what, 10 gauge is horribly undersized for a winch cable going to the vehicle battery.

(granted, if your boat is light it isn't going to draw 30 amps...)

 

[moi]

30 amps at 20 feet of 10 gauge cable puts your final voltage just a bit over 10v, and the wire is going to be WARM if you run it for any length of time. Probably not hot enough to melt the covering in that length of time, but no matter what, 10 gauge is horribly undersized for a winch cable going to the vehicle battery.

(granted, if your boat is light it isn't going to draw 30 amps...)

Of course a winch motor doesn't normally draw anything near 30A​ and there is no heating of the cable. Set-up runs like a charm.


​

 

[Brian 26]

A 16' boat on a roller trailer should move easily, I'm thinking one of your rollers is seized or the gearing on your winch is out of whack.

I've seen a few people at the ramp with power winches and always thought - why not just back the trailer in deeper.... I rarely crank up a boat more than a foot or two. However I do realize there are special circumstances (ramp depths, odd trailers, shoulder/arm injuries etc)

 

[JoshOnt]

A 16' boat on a roller trailer should move easily, I'm thinking one of your rollers is seized or the gearing on your winch is out of whack.

I've seen a few people at the ramp with power winches and always thought - why not just back the trailer in deeper.... I rarely crank up a boat more than a foot or two. However I do realize there are special circumstances (ramp depths, odd trailers, shoulder/arm injuries etc)

It is just that it takes a long time to wind the winch in the 4 or so feet I need to. Ramps here are way too shallow. None of the rollers have issues well other than rubbing off on the hull.

 

[Brian 26]

So if I'm hearing you right it's easy to crank but takes a lot of revolutions? That sounds like the gearing is incorrect, a higher gear ratio with yield more line in per crank. Do you have a strap or rope? Does it fill the spool? If not you could try buying a new strap that is long enough to fill the spool, this will give you a higher gear ration when you only have 4' of strap out.

 

[JoshOnt]

No matter what size the boat, like power tilt and trim, once you have a power winch you will never want to be without it.. No need to put in a separate battery and solenoids. Just use a length of #10 wire and two alligator clips to attach to the tow vehicle battery. You CAN add in a fuse on the positive wire. I use this set-up om ny 21 foot cuddy cabin. Although the reduction of the power winch is such that I CAN winch up the boat by hand, Now that I am 70 with health problems, It certainly is not fun.

You must use #10 wire as The winch can draw up to 30 amps and smaller wire will overheat, especially at the connectors. Leave the tow vehicle running while operating the winch.

In this one, I simply could not find #10 speaker wire (which is color coded for pos and neg) so I salvaged some wires out of a junk I/O boat.

Yeah, it is a little bother to open the hood and attach the wire but WAY EASIER than hand cranking.

Reason for the solenoid is because it came with the winch and is required to have it work. Not sure if I want to have to run cables to the batter every time, was looking for more of a permanant solution that is easy to use. If I have to run cables every time might just be easier to use the manual winch.

 

[moi]

It is just that it takes a long time to wind the winch in the 4 or so feet I need to. Ramps here are way too shallow. None of the rollers have issues well other than rubbing off on the hull.

Go ahead and install the winch if you haven't already. It won't draw 30Amps unless something jams, and you'll love just having to push a button. LOL

 

[JimS123]

It is just that it takes a long time to wind the winch in the 4 or so feet I need to. Ramps here are way too shallow. None of the rollers have issues well other than rubbing off on the hull.

A "long" time...??? Four Feet...????

I will never dunk a trailer in so far as to get my feet wet. I back in just until the last roller barely touches the water.

My 14' tinny gets hand winched in the full 14 feet. That takes maybe 30 seconds.

My 19' I/O gets winched in the full 19 feet with a power winch, and that takes maybe 30 seconds. No need for a separete battery. If it did, I wouldn't do it.

Run the cable thru the car and connect it directly to the battery. PowerWinch comes with a direct connection, with a circuit breaker and everything.