Any suggestions for trailer power winch ?
 

Thinking about going electric vs cranking..........mostly because I don't " float the boat on"

I try not to submerge my dual axle trailer wheels, which means I do quite a bit of manual cranking the boat back on.

I like dual speed hand winch's with a heavy duty strap , (no steel cable) they work fast and no wire slivers in your hand ! plus no batty. drain or bad conections

i also have a manual winch, but i double block the cable. run from the winch to the bow eye, through a pulley and terminate on the winch post. gives u twice the power, but half the speed.

I'm older and wiser.. I use electric all the time. Powerwinch makes a great winch, as do Dutton-Laminson (Strongarm) winches. DL's are more money, both do a great job. Stay away from the cheapo China winches you find on eBay. They work for a while and then one day they stop and you have a pile of worthless crap. Spend the money once and be done with it.

I like the idea that I can stand to one side and control my boats rear with a line as I remotely control the winch pulling my boat up onto my trailer. It's fast, easy, and safe. Plus, Most times I can keep my trailer wheels out of the water, thereby extending the brakes life.

All my winches have 5/16's aircraft cable. Since my hands never touch the cable I never have to worry about fishhooks. (If you take care of your cable you don't get them in the first place).

Run a heavy wire from the positive post on your battery back to the rear of your tow vehicle. (I used a #6 awg wire. Probably overkill, but I felt with a long run I wanted a heavier wire for less electrical resistance.) Run a second heavy wire from the frame of your tow vehicle to the same spot as where you terminated the positive wire. Get yourself two 50 amp Anderson quick connectors (The type they use to connect industrial fork lifts to their chargers They are quick, safe and make it impossible to accidentally cross connect your wires). http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-QUICK-DISC...a8b&vxp=mtrPut Connect one to the wires you ran from the battery and frame, and put the other one on the wires leading from the winch. Now all you have to do is plug the winch in when you want to use it, and unplug it and keep the wires out of the way when you aren't using it. Nice, tidy and clean.

I have the made in China winches on my trailer. They have been used and abused literally hundreds of times over the past few years. Especially with Sandy clean up. They are 9000 lb truck winches with a dedicated battery mounted on the trailer charged by the truck thru a quick connect. That is probably overkill for a V. But earlier this year I installed some Harbor Freight ATV winches to one of the trailers at work. Even though it is rated for 5000lbs I was skeptical. But they work great. I have already moved at least 40 boats with them without problem. They are quiet,fast and cheap.

Pete, if you like China winches.. great. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But you're comparing Apples to Oranges. A 9000 lb truck winch is hardly in the same category as a 2000 or 3000 lb marine winch. If you are talking about Harbor Freights "Badland" series of vehicle winches, like this one http://www.harborfreight.com/automot...ake-68144.html I cannot agree or disagree with you since I've never owned one. My brother has one on his Jeep and he swears by it, but then again, he hardly ever uses it, so who knows? Just remember that you're talking about a vehicle winch, not a typical marine style trailer winch that looks like a Powerwinch. Nor did I mention Harbor Freight in my post, rather I mentioned eBay and the cheap Chinese winches like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ELECTRIC-MAR...6d7a43&vxp=mtr Like everything else in this world, if you buy quality you get quality, and if you buy cheap you are simply asking for trouble. I was merely encouraging readers to stay away from the "El Cheapo" style winches out there. And I'll stand by that statement. You get what you pay for. I'd be willing to bet money that none of the winches you have cost anywhere near $50-$60. Even the 5000 lb Harbor Freight units are regularly $249.99 and the 9000 lb is $399.99... and that's for Harbor Freight items. Look at some of the other brands out there and you can easily double those figures.

Destroyer,
I'm not trying to pick apart your post. I have used the Powerwinch and the LD winches before. And for my personal use they were insufficient. Slow,noisey and expensive. For the occasional recreational use they are fine. In my opinion I have found the vehicle winches to be better. I would love to put a $1000 Warn winch on my trailer but it's not in the budget for me.

Totally agree. You're doing professional work, constantly, and it's completely understandable that you need a good, high quality winch (or winches). And as you say, for the occasional boater like myself, my Powerwinch is more than sufficient. My caution was just that it's best to avoid the cheap winches, because in the long run they will cost more than buying a good high quality unit.

Question could be - what about for salt water use ?
Are winches meant for vehicles going to stand up to cranking in a salt water covered cable.
Corrosion being the issue.
I called Superwinch Company, and they advised that their open style winches likely to corrode, and that their cable is also just galvanized.

Well, I can only speak for my own experience. But I've really never had any real trouble with my Powerwinch(s). Only trouble I every had was a spur gear that stripped out on a really old used unit, and I was able to get a replacement from Powerwinch. I have always made it a policy that when I powerwash my boat at the end of the day the trailer and the winch cable are among the items that also get washed with sweet water. Actually Greenie, what I would do is shop Craigslist until you find one, get it and see if it's to your liking. You can always find them for a hundred or less, and that's far cheaper than buying a new one for several hundred. Or, go the route like MJ and CaptPete did and buy an automotive style winch. Either way, if you keep it clean you'll get years of usage out of it.

Oh, and nothing wrong with galv. cable. No rust, good strength. What's not to like?