kristap

Well, our new trailer (28' Intech) arrived and it's lovely. It's too nice for us. We had them (manufacturer) install a winch for us and figured that they knew what they were doing. It appears to be solid and looks good mounted inside of the cabinet which presents a minimal trip hazard. However, they did not cut a mouse hole or make provisions for the winch rope to extend/retract without damaging the cabinet frame. The frame is square aluminum at 1" tall with flange adding another 1". At full extension, pulling the car on to the ramp - the rope will rub right through these.

How have others with winch mounted inside of the cabinets accommodated rope travel? Cut through the frame? Mast?




Bulldog 4400 with synthetic rope mounted inside of cabinet, behind cabinet frame.

bkovac

I have my winch raised on a post, this way as my car is on the ramp the cable/cord does not drag on the floor. Try putting an aluminum block bolted thru under it

BK77

I had a similar setup on my trailer. I had them raise the winch up about 6 inches off the trailer deck, that worked great. It allowed clearance of the frame it also allowed clearance at the end of the trailer while pulling the car up the ramps.

rastta

I asked Trailex for the dimensions of their winch mount. They sent me this diagram and specification sheet. I used it to build a modified version of theirs to fit my trailer - made it shorter and not as long. Bought all the aluminum online. Did it for about $75 total. Wiring has been cleaned up since this

RickBetterley

We cut through the frame and cabinet and installed this as a fairlead.
Its not under load as the winch lines up nicely with tow hook, but is securely fastened in case there is some lateral pressure.
Hope this helps. A mouse hole would need to be like a polished ferrule(?) which we considered but I was not comfortable that the rope wouldn't put too much of a lateral strain on the cabinets, which are lightly built.

skxf430

I spec'd my intech with a mouse hole. You needed to provide them with some direction.

Mussl Kar

The people who installed the winch should have asked a lot of questions before bolting it to the floor like an idiot. It will work best with the cable close to the height of your tow eye, and offset to the side of your car where your tow eye is. If it is too far left or right you will get cable bunching up on one side of the drum. My winch is bolted to a billet of aluminum with the back side milled out so it fits over a very long milled aluminum "T" piece. That "t" is 5" wide and 1.25 thick. That billet is bolted to the front wall of my gooseneck trailer. Winch can slide to the right to pull in my Porsches, slide to the left to pull in my McLaren. Wireless too.

kristap

Thanks, guys. We spec'd the new trailer with winch and through-hole counting on the manufacturer to some degree. They installed the winch but we didn't find the hole was missing until delivered. Not willing to send it back to Indiana for correction so looking to resolve this locally. I appreciate the suggestions and pictures. I like the idea of elevating the winch on a solid billet piece but unsure how practical it might be in our trailer.

ExMB

If you haven't I would contact Intech and explain. I found them very easy to work with re warranty issues, especially if you are far from a dealer. If you are willing to do the work yourself they will sent you the necessary parts.

nxfedlt1

absolutely contact intech, they will make it right.

Mussl Kar

Guessing what it really entails is an accurate description
of the work required.

skxf430

kristap

Oh, that's fancy! I had imagined ours would like something like that ... alas, disappointment.

In the end, I installed a fairlead - mounted so that its guides are just a bit higher than the cabinet frame piece.

Brian C in Az

Call Intech.
You have RV dealers nearby? They can do the work for you and bill Intech.