Trailer modification idea im passing on...

[Docwheelhorse 2,660]

Hello All,

Happy Holiday Season!!

 

Sick of your not so young back screaming at you when your trying to put a non running hydro on the trailer?  Screaming obsenities pushing a  tractor with flat tires or dragging a project out of weeds all while trying your best not to have a heart attack?

 

Well for about $50 in parts you can make it easy... a spare tire carrier, a boat winch, a handful of longer nuts and bolts etc...

 

The spare tire carrier lifts winch high enough so handle clears in complete circle plus keeps strap level and above front cross member. Strap is 23 ft long and gets beyond trailer even with gate down.

 

Get them "sick" tractors onto the trailer and on way to ER the easy way.

 

Maybe this idea has already been done or in some other similar fashion... just thought id post to give others an idea.

 

I bought my setup at Cabelas... I think everything is available cheaper at Harbor Freight. I work for Cabelas and my discount made it cheapest option. $50 give or take is the regular price to everybody.

 

Tony

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Docwheelhorse
Added more pictures

[peter lena 8,612]

@Docwheelhorse agree with that , THE REPITITION OF A  PROBLEM , IS YOUR GREATEST OPPORTUNITY , TO MAKE THAT PROBLEM GO AWAY . as you know , long dead anything is difficult to move , regularly use closed end lift straps , on a chain hoist , lift , to move anything  thats heavy / awkward . pete

[Kenneth R Cluley 515]

Like the idea of getting strap up over the front of trailer. Buddy of mine put a boat trailer roller on top of trailer in center to guide and take "RUB" off of strap.

[ri702bill 8,316]

That setup also gives an almost straight pull - very predictable. The strap is way more user friendly than either wire rope or chain. Not a fan of either of the latter 2 whipping back at you - with lot of energy - due to an attachment failure. I for one ALWAYS place a moving quilt over the cable(s) when using a come-along horizontally - act like a "catch" blanket.

There are plenty of YT Fail videos of ****** blocks coming thru pickup cab rear windows.... 

[Docwheelhorse 2,660]

30 minutes ago, ri702bill said:

That setup also gives an almost straight pull - very predictable. The strap is way more user friendly than either wire rope or chain. Not a fan of either of the latter 2 whipping back at you - with lot of energy - due to an attachment failure. I for one ALWAYS place a moving quilt over the cable(s) when using a come-along horizontally - act like a "catch" blanket.

There are plenty of YT Fail videos of ****** blocks coming thru pickup cab rear windows.... 

My father taught me the blanket trick after going through vehicle recovery class as part of the Armor Yankee Division in the US Army circa 1967

[SylvanLakeWH 25,535]

Excellent! 

 

Here's my setup:

 

Works great!!! 

 

(Pay no attention to the handsome gentleman exchanging a tractor in a Meijer parking lot...) 

[davem1111 2,030]

43 minutes ago, ri702bill said:

That setup also gives an almost straight pull - very predictable. The strap is way more user friendly than either wire rope or chain. Not a fan of either of the latter 2 whipping back at you - with lot of energy - due to an attachment failure. I for one ALWAYS place a moving quilt over the cable(s) when using a come-along horizontally - act like a "catch" blanket.

There are plenty of YT Fail videos of ****** blocks coming thru pickup cab rear windows.... 

 

I know we're semi-off-topic now, but this reminded me of something that happened many years ago. My former wife and I had bought a small farm with just a small cottage house that we had intended to fix up, but it turned out to have too many issues and we decided to tear it down and start over. My best friend at the time came over to help, driving his Ford Explorer. When we had cut a lot of the studs and joists, he wanted to pull a wall down with his Explorer. Okay, not a terrible idea. But we only had a chain about 25 feet long. We lashed the chain to the top plate at one corner of the house, and to his hitch. After several pulls, it didn't budge and I told him he should stop trying.... no way. He hit it harder, to the point where his back wheels were catching air. Then all at once the chain either broke or came loose at the house end. 25 feet of chain collided with the tailgate of his Explorer. You can imagine the damage that caused. His wife wanted me to pay for the damage - I said "no friggin' way - I told him to stop and he wouldn't listen".

 

Since then I've been very wary of pulling with chains and cables. I don't think I've heard of the blanket trick before but I will certainly be using that in the future, even with a nylon tow strap. Even that could seriously hurt someone or maybe even kill them, or cause significant damage to a vehicle.

[ebinmaine 67,437]

Excellent Idea Tony!

 

I've done a quick n ugly version of the pullererer with a come along. 

Yours is a nice permanent addition.  

 

[davem1111 2,030]

2 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Excellent Idea Tony!

 

I've done a quick n ugly version of the pullererer with a come along. 

Yours is a nice permanent addition.  

 

 

I don't have my own trailer, but several times when I've rented a U-Haul trailer, I've attached my 12v winch somewhere at the front of the trailer with heavy thread-locking carabiners and chain, and brought along a spare car battery to power it. Pulled a car that turned out to have one brake locked up onto it, even up a slight incline. If I had my own trailer I think I'd go with the hand winch. With the powered one, run out of juice and you're screwed. Or at least have the hand crank one as a backup. Great idea. 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,535]

20 hours ago, ri702bill said:

I for one ALWAYS place a moving quilt over the cable(s) when using a come-along horizontally - act like a "catch" blanket.

 

Yup. Blanket, coat, etc... works but i use a short length of climbing rope or 1" webbing and attach cable to the tractor with a back up prusik knot on the cable. Takes no tension - Only needed if the attachment fails.

 

In this pic visualize green rope as pulley cable and red loop is the prusik going back to the tractor. Red just loosely but securely tied to tractor. If green pulley cable fails, red catches the pulley cable before it can kill or maim...

 

 

(Blankets fall off...)

 

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by SylvanLakeWH

[ri702bill 8,316]

37 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

2 hours ago, ri702bill said:

I for one ALWAYS place a moving quilt over the cable(s) when using a come-along horizontally - act like a "catch" blanket.

 

Yup. Blanket, coat, etc... works but i use a short length of climbing rope or 1" webbing and attach cable to the tractor with a back up prusik knot on the cable. Takes no tension - Only needed if the attachment fails.

 

In this pic visualize green rope as pulley cable and red loop is the prusik going back to the tractor. Red just loosely but securely tied to tractor. If green pulley cable fails, red catches the pulley before it can kill or maim...

 

 

(Blankets fall off...)

 

That is true - the blanket helps to dissipate the sudden energy...

Edited November 25, 2023 by ri702bill

[JoeM 7,873]

Mounted mine to a 2 inch square tube and mounted a trailer receiver to the trailer. I had one that was not removable and the winch rusted and the strap was not holding up to the weather and road salt. 

 

We used synthetic ropes at  work in place of steel cables and chains in close quarters. I don't remember the name but when they broke just fell to the ground. Had ultra fine fibers that made up the ropes.

 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by JoeM

[oliver2-44 9,739]

5 hours ago, JoeM said:

We used synthetic ropes at  work in place of steel cables and chains in close quarters. I don't remember the name but when they broke just fell to the ground. Had ultra fine fibers that made up the ropes.

Probably Kevlar. We had switched to those at work and they sure beat fighting with big steel cables 

[Retired Wrencher 5,451]

Looks good Tony. This will help you down the road.