You Dirty Winch!

[tonynoriega]

So to "freshen up" my restore/mod on my alumacraft, I got to the old trailer winch.

A real old school spool of wire with some make shift S hook at the end, held together with some sort of electrical clamp.

So I bought a new fabric winch strap to replace the wire spool.

I don't think this is going to work...??

The spool itself is welded on both sides, one solid piece.

Am I just out of luck in this situation? Is the crank gear assembly too old to accommodate this type of strap ?

 

[AMG08]

Could always zip tie it to there. Unless you expect to regularly run the strap all the way out, overlapping layers will hold it in place.

 

[ccm]

You could be out of luck but here is an innovative Idea that has been proven to work and will outlast your winch strap. Now this is not my Idea it is my Dads. I've seen it work time and again.

How to make this work.
.
1 Cut the loop off.
2 You will need 2 small metal plates ( Preferably aluminum 1/8 inch thick ) about 1 inches long x width of winch strap.
3 Drill 3 small holes in the metal plates (make sure they match up)
4 fold the strap around the winch to form a new loop
5 Use vice grips to clamp the 2 pieces of metal on the new loop ( loop pieces sandwiched between metal plates )
6 using a punch ( Ice pick, awl, screwdriver, leather punch etc...) poke holes through the strap using the holes on the metal plates.
7 Final step, using pop rivets, small machine screws with lock nuts, brads etc.../whatever's handy attach it all together through the small holes in the metal plates. Now you have a setup that will work perfectly for your next winch strap too. Not to mention that it is stronger than the old sewn area on the strap.

This is far more cost effective than buying a brand new winch or new steel cable for this application.
I sincerely hope this helps you out. Sorry about the steps but it was the only way I could explain this.

 

[bassboy1]

There's nothing wrong with your winch, a brand new one would look identical - it's just missing a component. You need a bolt or pin across a set of the holes in the drum.

On most of these boat winches, the strap loop does not wrap the center of the drum, but instead has the bolt inserted through it. This allows for the strap to be virtually fully extended, and not run the risk of 'slipping' around the barrel.

It does mean the strap is going to be wound in an oblong configuration around the barrel, which seems crude, but it's how it is. In a perfect world, the center of the winch drum would have a groove in it, so that the bolt would be recessed, leaving a round wrap, but such is not the case on a 20 dollar winch.

 

[ccm]

bassboy1 » 17 Apr 2014, 19:58[/url]"]There's nothing wrong with your winch, a brand new one would look identical - it's just missing a component. You need a bolt or pin across a set of the holes in the drum.

On most of these boat winches, the strap loop does not wrap the center of the drum, but instead has the bolt inserted through it. This allows for the strap to be virtually fully extended, and not run the risk of 'slipping' around the barrel.

It does mean the strap is going to be wound in an oblong configuration around the barrel, which seems crude, but it's how it is. In a perfect world, the center of the winch drum would have a groove in it, so that the bolt would be recessed, leaving a round wrap, but such is not the case on a 20 dollar winch.

Got an older winch Just like that one, It was meant for steel cable but the strap can be modified to wrap around in an almost round configuration. It originally had a steel cable on it so there was a hole/holes on one side of the drum. So another hole might have to be drilled in order to insert a pin /bolt into the drum This might work but it might not according to how the drum attaches to the winch mount. Mine is such a tight fit that it cant be done. His might/might not be quite the same way.

Don't rule this one out it could be easier.

 

[tonynoriega]

CCM and BassBoy1, I think you were both kind of right...

There was a hole in the side, on one of the "wheels"...it was just about exactly the same diameter as the bolt that came with the new strap.

I lined up the bolt and marked the inside of the opposite wheel. Put my drill bit through the existing hole, and drilled from the inside out, on the opposite side... slid the bolt through the sleeve of the strap bolted it nice and tight...added a couple washers to correct the spacing.

Started to tighten her up and yes, it started to become a little oblong egg shaped... after I attached the hook and cranked it around a few more times to get the slack out, it tightened up nice and right.

Then I realized I had the f-ing strap on backwards and the tag shows on top....

Screw it...not messing with that.

 

[ccm]

Glad to see that you Got Er Done. Unlucky me I will be stuck using the old cable for now. The opposite of the toothed side of my drum where it mounts on the metal plate on that side is to close for me to put a bolt or a pin through ( I see that yours is cupped in so that wasn't a problem ). It would catch every time since mine is just a round steel plate. Just not enough room to do the easy modification. O well. Innovation is the key to not spending lots of $$$ when working with older equipment!

 

[tonynoriega]

ccm » 4 minutes ago[/url]"]Glad to see that you Got Er Done. Unlucky me I will be stuck using the old cable for now. The opposite of the toothed side of my drum where it mounts on the metal plate on that side is to close for me to put a bolt or a pin through. it would catch every time. Just not enough room to do the easy modification.

Mine started that way too...thought I was done, cranked it and "plink"...about 1/16" too wide... I had some room on the other side where the bolt head was, tossed a washer on that side, and just made it fit...

Actually when it gets inside the housing unit, you can feel it scrap just a tad... figured it would wear a nice groove over time.

 

[tonynoriega]

maybe you guys can help me out with another problemo...

in the photo above, you can see that bolt that holds the roller ...

It has two "single use only" type washers. one on each side.

is that going to be hard to replace?

can you just get those washers at Lowes or something???

 

[ccm]

Actually when it gets inside the housing unit, you can feel it scrap just a tad... figured it would wear a nice groove over time.

I don't think it will be a problem. Mine just has a round steel plate on that side unlike the cupped side you have so I know for sure I will hit on mine.