Hand to electric winch conversion

G

Gene&Mary

New member
We are thinking about converting our hand winch to an electric winch on our trailer. Anyone have any suggestions or pitfalls for the conversion? Any suggestions on a manufacturer?

Thanks
 
I used a Dutton winch, which is made in the USA. Here's how I installed it:Electric winch With a 22, you don't need as big a winch as I used.

One of the best additions I ever made. It extended my ability to use that boat by years; just pull that switch. Don't understand why I didn't do it when the boat was new.

Boris
 
So far, I have only been using a hand crank winch. I did convert to a 2 speed and added a longer handle. Easy to winch. My next investment will be for a pair of boots so I don't have to walk the trailer rails any more.

Electric, maybe after a few more years.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
I did this last year. Check out my pictures of the Annie M to see it.
Was able to use 2 of the 3 holes from the original hand winch. Had to drill the other. Did require an adapter plate that was available from the winch manufacture.
I tow with a BMW SUV and it has the battery in the back of the car. Made it easy to wire the car plug. I have a door for the first aid kit in the rear of the hatch. Was easily able to run the wires there. Mine came with I think an 8Ft cable and that is more than long enough.
So far I actually only used it once as I keep the boat at a dock all summer but made it very easy to get the boat out at the ramp.
 
I used an electric winch on an earlier boat, a 1988 SeaRay 268 Sundancer. The one thing I did not like about the electric winch, is that unlike the manual winch, it will not secure the boat for trailering. Once you use the electric winch to load the boat, you have to use other devices to hold the boat on the trailer. (With the manual winch, you can use it, along with other safety devices, to hold the boat on the trailer.) There is also the need for the heavy electric wiring to run the winch. Colby
 
I have one of those electrical winches sitting in my garage. Thru a half a dozen boats, I was going to use it on and never did get around to it. I suspect the requirement of the heavy wiring was what stopped me--Perhaps easier would be to have a battery on the trailer directly, and charge it from mains power or the truck alternator, rather than running the heavy cable thru the truck.
 
1. When Towing you can leave the clutch in the lock position which secures the boat to the trailer. Of course I also use a safety chain.
2. If you do not want to make a permanent connection to the battery I have seen people use long Jumper cables for when they want to connect to the battery. In my case the battery was in the back so was not hard to make a connection. I don't think if the battery was in the front it would really be that hard to run a heavy cable under/through the frame to reach the battery. An extra battery on the trailer is just another cost/point of failure. You still have to run wires from the engine to the trailer to charge this extra battery. I have seen a number of YouTube's on how to run the cable if you need to do that.
 
I see a lot of comments about having to run a cable through the truck to the battery in front. I have a Ford F150 with 4 pin connector and a 7 pin connector in the back. Won't one of those work for connecting the electric winch.... or does the winch require a heavier cable?

Thanks

Gene
 
Gene, that 7th pin that provides 12 vts for charging a camper or electric brake battery, is not heavy enough to provide the current necessary for a marine power winch. You would need to wire a separate wire to handle the current. Also if it's a newer truck, that 7th pin won't even turn on unless it recognizes that a trailer harness is plugged into it. Google 7 pin output on F150 for a gaggle of forum posts... Colby
 
An extra battery on the trailer is just another cost/point of failure.
Click to expand...

There are many trailers with batteries on the tongue of the trailer--for example any with electric over hydraulic brakes. Travel trailers often carry the house battery on the tongue. Charging can be thru the 12 volt lead on the trailer harness connector, or it can be charged when you get home.

Cost wise it is probably less with second battery, than running proper cables under the truck, including the cost of a circuit breaker.
 
I have a different view than some of the comments.

First of all, is the one about the electric winch unwinding. The Dutton winch has never unwound; it has a disk brake inside to hold the drum. I installed a turnbuckle to hold the boat secure and when I've checked it after hauiing the boat, the turnbuckle was loose and the winch was still tight.

Next up is wiring the truck. Buy your cable from BatteryCable USA. They have any gage, any length, tinned or untinned and they're cheap. I used 12 ga untinned, leftover from installing the solar panels and it's worked. I bought a breaker and a Minkota plug. One of the easiest jobs I've done. Ran it along the truck frame, nothing tricky. The wires hold the breaker in place. The winch comes with the wire between the truck and the winch. Trying to install a big enough battery on the trailer sounds like a major job.

Again, don't understand why I didn't do it when the boat was new.

Boris
 
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