ruddy Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 I am looking for some advice from those that have had experience with electric trailer winches. I want to install one on my Quintrex trailer to make retrieving the 560 Freedom a liitle easier for this old worn out amatuer. What do you recommend? Can you get an electric winch with the nylon webbing? Also, I am concerned that they may be vulnerable to theft when left at a boat ramp...I once came back from a fishing trip at night to find my car without a boat trailer, it is a nasty experience I can tell you. ....any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Thanks Ruddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mik Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 (edited) I had an electric winch fitted to my trailer which was the recomended / supplied one from Quintrex. I will have a look & check the brand name when I get a chance but I strongly advise you to NOT get that one. I have had it replaced 3 times. It sheared the crank shaft (Small one) everytime. It occured during transit. Very frustrating as when it happens you can't crank it by hand either. I thought it was a great idea given that my boat was pretty large (6.3m Offshore Ocean Sport) but in the end I have fitted a webbed heavy duty manual winch. The amount of actual winding I need to do is usually only about 6 inches max once the boat has been driven on the trailer. I guess it depends how far you can drive your boat on (If at all) I was also concerned about theft but after the second failure I figured they deserved what they got if it were stolen, it was useless. I'm sure there are reputable & strong brands out there, I just wouldn't advise the brand Quintrex sold me. As a footnote, after the second failure I tried to get Quintrex to exchange the trailer winch for an anchor winch, stating that I'd be willing to pay any difference in price. But they wouldn't come to the party on that so now I have the third replacement sitting in a box never to be fitted. Edited January 3, 2009 by Boofhead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFB Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 The problem I have seen with most electric winches is that they are very slow unless you are wiling to spend over $600 on a Powerwinch. Then the problem becomes that you need to connect it up to the battery of the vehicle each time before you use it. I think most people do not have one for a reason. If they made life that much easier and worked well most boat trailers would be fitted with them. Just my 2 bobs worths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mik Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 (edited) Its pretty easy to run a 12volt plug to the rear of your vehicle. No need to pop the hood everytime you need the winch, just plug it in, this is what I had on my setup. It wasn't a hassle at all. When the winch worked it worked well & was a good thing. My biggest issue to date has been getting the drive on part right. I used the winch before it broke & it was good, once I worked out the drive on bit the winch became redundant. Edited January 3, 2009 by Boofhead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruddy Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 Thanks for your comments and your advice. Boof, did you manage to find out what brand you were originally supplied with by Quintrex?. I need to research the winch further. Ruddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelican Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 (edited) A mate with a stuffed back whos 2 speed winch has a removable handle just made an adapter and used a cordless wheel nut driver ( not the rattle one) . On gear 2 for a quick retrieve then swap to other shaft. It's only nearly broken his wrist once. He spoke to a few people at boat ramps and decided against them as cheap was nasty and slow and expensive was a thiefs dream . Only people happy were the beach retrieve guys who had expensive high speed ones as they justified the used on every retrieve. Be nice if there was a 2 speed one or one that did a fast retrieve when there is only a little load. Be interesting to hear what you find and how expensive it is. Edited January 4, 2009 by pelican Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWANNABROCK Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Not sure if this helps,but I have seen people use a starter motor with pulleys and a fan belt on their hand winch to make an electric winch,which you can change pulley size of to change recovery rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mik Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Thanks for your comments and your advice. Boof, did you manage to find out what brand you were originally supplied with by Quintrex?. I need to research the winch further. Ruddy Mate it was a "Powerwinch". When I first collected the boat from the dealer the winch was fitted. When we took it for its maiden test run I had the dealer with me. When we tried to retreive the boat with the winch it worked (Motor) but didn't actually winch the rope. Further investigation revealed the small drive shaft had sheared. I also noticed a big indent in the bow where the roller had collapsed & the staunchon had rubbed into the aluminium. I was a little annoyed to say the least. The dealer was pretty embarrased & reckoned it looked like the winch had broken in transit & allowed the boat to move back and consequently bang on the staunchon during its trip on the truck from Brisbane to Orange. That was the first failure & 2 subsequent replaacement winches also failed the same way, luckily I had since fitted the stronger staunchon, better front vee rubber instead of the roller & a pretty sunstantial safety chain setup which allows me to tension the safety chain for transit with a turnbuckle. This stopped any issues of the bow rubbing if the winch failed as the safety chain actually takes the brunt of the tension until the turnbuckle is released. See arrow on first pic attached shows the initially supplied & collapsed roller hiding the damaged bow. (Roller didn't look too bad until it was removed) with the Powerwinch fitted. Second pic shows the setup now, which I love & is very secure. The staunchon is also new (Much Heavier and better braced for forward motion forces compared to the Quintrex one) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Hi, my 2 cents worth. Powerwinch are the best brand but Telwater fit too small units and the dealer shoudl of know this and upgraded to the heavier one on a boat like in the picture. On a 560 Freedom I would not fit anything under the 712 and better with the 912. Also you can get quick release bolt kit that allows you to easily remove and store. You may also need to budget a larger winch platform because the STD manual winch ones will not be big enough to fit an electric winch. PM me if you would like the Raider price on a 712 or 912 set-up. Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver1 Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 my 3 cents worth/ the cruise craft 500 rival i just bought ,the guy i got it off said it had a electric winch when he got it but it was hopeless he took it off and put a 3 speed winch on it, said he would never have a electric 1 again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchel Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 We have a 712 Power winch on our Cruiscraft 600. Got it 2nd hand, don't know how old it was. But we have had it for 4 years. We immediately changed from the wire rope to Dyneema and we welded the winch onto the winch post. We timed the difference between a hand winch and it was 45 seconds on a single line pull. Sometimes if we come in on low tide the ramp is steeper so we go to a double line pulley, so the diff is 90 seconds. If maintained ( greased) regularly they are trouble free. We do have a cover on ours though to keep the water out as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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