unique winch application

[4x4ord]

https://youtu.be/0V4pp1j0rwU

I am in the process of building this lift to mount on the back of my 5th wheel RV. As you can see in the video I have already installed a cheap 3500 lb Canadian Tire winch. The price was right and it felt like a fairly heavy unit so I bought it. Since mounting it I have done a little research and am no longer comfortable with it. I don't want to left stranded with no way of lifting my bike back up into transport position. The bike weighs about 750 lbs and with the pulley system that I have designed the required pull on the cable works out to be 1700 lbs ...... (in other words over 5000 lbs of pull is needed to raise the bike, considering the angle the cable pulls at and the point at which the cable attaches to the lifting arms) I really know nothing about winches.....but in this particular application the winch will be run for about 20 seconds per lift. The battery will be about 30 feet from the winch. It seems reasonable to me to run a smaller (3500 - 4000 lb) winch with pulleys as compared to running a heavy powerful winch requiring heavy battery cable. I want something reliable. A narrow spool is desirable over a wide spool. I would appreciate input from you who know winches.

 

[S.W.A.T.]

https://youtu.be/0V4pp1j0rwU

I am in the process of building this lift to mount on the back of my 5th wheel RV. As you can see in the video I have already installed a cheap 3500 lb Canadian Tire winch. The price was right and it felt like a fairly heavy unit so I bought it. Since mounting it I have done a little research and am no longer comfortable with it. I don't want to left stranded with no way of lifting my bike back up into transport position. The bike weighs about 750 lbs and with the pulley system that I have designed the required pull on the cable works out to be 1700 lbs ...... (in other words over 5000 lbs of pull is needed to raise the bike, considering the angle the cable pulls at and the point at which the cable attaches to the lifting arms) I really know nothing about winches.....but in this particular application the winch will be run for about 20 seconds per lift. The battery will be about 30 feet from the winch. It seems reasonable to me to run a smaller (3500 - 4000 lb) winch with pulleys as compared to running a heavy powerful winch requiring heavy battery cable. I want something reliable. A narrow spool is desirable over a wide spool. I would appreciate input from you who know winches.

Can add more pulleys to increase your mechanical advantage and reduce pulling force and wear on cable and existing pulleys. But by the looks of things you have a good setup there have you tried it withbthe bike yet or find a way to put a scale in to measure your pull force.

 

[Ministik Man]

So with a winch it looses 50% if it’s pulling power for each wrap of cable.
That changes the diameter of the primary winder which increases the diameter and half’s the power

to get maximum pull power only leave 3 turns of cable on the drum
then measure the required cable with the lift arm down
then cut and secure that cable to your lift

that is max lifting on the winch
any surplus cable on the winch drum will only rob you of lifting power

you check with your warn winch manual and by the time you are on your 6 or 7 wrap of cable your pulling load is like 750 lbs

Pull by layer layer/Lbs(Kgs.)
0	21.1 (6.4)	21.6		1/3500 (1588)
500 (227)	17.2 (5.2)	51.8		2/2125 (1349)
1000 (454)	14.4 (4.4)	79.3		3/1806 (1147)
1500 (680)	12.1 (3.7)	107.3		4/1535 (975)

 

[52weekbreak]

I think I would just add one more pulley for mechanical advantage. You might also set it up so you could hand crank it if necessary using the same pulley system. Maybe if you aren't lifting too often, you may just want to go with a hand winch?

 

[doorfx]

It’s not 50% ,if it was , with 2 layers on the drum you would have 0 pulling power. 1 layer is max pulling power.
From the warn winch manual but most winches are similar.

 

[Flyer]

Why not a hydraulic ram and a 12V hydraulic pump for a snow plow. No valve required, just forward / reverse on the electric motor.

 

[4x4ord]

My concern is reliability. I think a 3500 lb winch is the right size for this application but can I trust this Canadian Tire ATV?UTV winch to give me years of trouble free service or should I remove now, keep it for a spare and install a 3500 lb Superwinch or some other brand that has a proven track record. I don't really want to mount a piece of junk on my lift, then after getting it powder coated have the winch fail and have to redo things to accommodate a quality unit. At least the Canadian tire winch has the same mounting bolt pattern as a 3500 lb Superwinch. So if I'm off somewhere and the thing fails it probably wouldn't be hard to find a replacement winch that would just bolt on in its place.

 

[4x4ord]

I've found a xrc4 Smittybilt for $263. Would this be jumping from the frypan into the fire or is a Smittybilt a dependable winch?

 

[Grinder]

You don't need a big winch just more pulleys.


https://youtu.be/LiBcur1aqcg

 

[4x4ord]

Are you all telling me to install one more pulley to bring the required line pull from 1700 down to 1300 and then my cheap 3500 lb price of junk winch will become reliable?

 

[52weekbreak]

No, that POS CT winch will always be that The extra pulley will remove a significant amount of stress on it so it should last longer. Just buy a second CT winch as a spare and add the pulley

 

[4x4ord]

If the thing is junk I'm not sure I want it. I don't want to be concerned that something will break and the bike could be dropped on someone or that the solenoid will stick and it keep pulling causing damage to my lift. I don't mind having it as a spare to use in the event that a better quality winch fails when I'm away from home. Are any of the little ATV winches much better......is a Smittybilt xrc4 a decent winch or a Superwinch Terra 35? They are likely all made in China. Princess Auto has a Keeper......what about Champion? How expensive is a made in North America 4000 lb winch? Is there such a thing?

 

[skegpro]

I gotta ask why not this?

 

[ABMax24]

If the thing is junk I'm not sure I want it. I don't want to be concerned that something will break and the bike could be dropped on someone or that the solenoid will stick and it keep pulling causing damage to my lift. I don't mind having it as a spare to use in the event that a better quality winch fails when I'm away from home. Are any of the little ATV winches much better......is a Smittybilt xrc4 a decent winch or a Superwinch Terra 35? They are likely all made in China. Princess Auto has a Keeper......what about Champion? How expensive is a made in North America 4000 lb winch? Is there such a thing?

I'm not sure about that winch in particular. But keep in mind you will be far easier on that winch than if it was to be mounted in an ATV or UTV, no mud or water, and using it under its rated capacity.

I would also hope your design incorporates a locking pin of some kind so the winch is not holding the load going down the highway. As well you could and probably should put an electrical shutoff near the winch to turn off the power, and can also be used in an emergency to shut it off.

But here is an older thread on the winch topic, consensus seems to be that CT winches are junk.
Canadian Tire winch?

 

[4x4ord]

Four main reasons: First I think those things are not built to handle a 750 lb motorcycle. Secondly I'm enjoying the process of building my own carrier. Thirdly l dont't want to have to ride my bike up a ramp to load. It's one thing to do that with a 250 lb dirt bike but it only takes one little slip once with a heavy bike and you've got a wreck. Fourthly my RV is 36 ft long and I don't want a carrier that ends up dragging on uneven ground.

 

[Cdnfireman]

You’ll never regret buying quality equipment. A couple of years from now you won’t miss the extra couple of hundred bucks you spent to do it right. Get a quality winch and do it right the first time. There’s a lot of your money riding on that carrier.

 

[4x4ord]

You’ll never regret buying quality equipment. A couple of years from now you won’t miss the extra couple of hundred bucks you spent to do it right. Get a quality winch and do it right the first time. There’s a lot of your money riding on that carrier.

Well after reading what I could find online regarding winches I decided to order a new Runva 3500 winch. I think it is a winch that I will not have to worry about for many years in this application. I wish I had done a little more research prior to purchasing the first one.

 

[09 arctic cat m8]

I run a 2500lbs superwiinch absolutely swear by this thing, I pick up my boat and sled trailer to move it around with the front on my quad and it's strong well built, pulls me outta where I shouldn't be and hasn't failed me yet

 

[4x4ord]

I'm also considering installing a momentary switch to operate a safety solenoid. The safety solenoid would be a starter solenoid on the power supply. The momentary switch would have to be held while winching the bike up as well as letting it down. I am concerned the solenoid could stick while lifting the bike and I don't want to find out if the winch has enough power to wreck anything before stalling out. What do you think, is it worth installing a second switch? I've seen solenoid on starters stick closed so I'm assuming the same happens on winch solenoids.