Winch Install into Garage

[fishoman]

I have just moved into a new house and am having trouble connecting the boat to the car. We got it into the garage and eventually got it off the tow ball with a lot of force. The driveway is on an angle, while the garage is nearly flat so the boat tow bar will not go onto the ball due to the angle.

To solve the problem I am thinking of installing a winch on the garage floor and winching the trailer backwards up the 5m driveway into the garage. When wanting to take it I out will connect the winch and lower it down the driveway on to the flat. The boat is only about 400Kgs (plus trailer) so doesnt need to be too heavy duty.

Can someone recommend a company or person to install a winch to the garage floor? It will need to be bolted into the concrete.

[cheap charlie]

Another thought, What about one of those cheap Chinese Quad bikes with a tow ball affixed? Have you enough room on the flat surface in your garage for a quad to hook up to the trailer?

[fishoman]

Another thought, What about one of those cheap Chinese Quad bikes with a tow ball affixed? Have you enough room on the flat surface in your garage for a quad to hook up to the trailer?

unfortunately theres not enough room even for that. Im eyeing up a winch on online shop for about $150 which i think will do the trick. Now i need to make sure that it stays in the concrete and the boat doesn't end up rolling down the drive on to the road. Any other ideas?

[cheap charlie]

Motorised jockey wheel. About $300.

A quick search of an online auction should bring them up.

Edited May 27, 2012 by Cheap Charlie

[m_a-wright]

Hi Fishoman,

I had the same problem and i purchased a 12v electric trailer winch from super cheap auto for around $90. The winche come with a 3 meter lead with remote control . I bolted the winch to the garage floor with 3 dyna bolts and use a sling with 3 d shackles to connect to the rear of the trailer and winch cable. Although noisy and relatively slow the unit works fine. Being 12 volt instead of using a battery to power the winch and recharging the battery i also purchased a 12 v power supply from Jaycar and operate the winch diirectly from the power supply. From memory the power supply was 13 amp and cost around $70. These winches only pull in one direction so i dont know if they would be suitable for your application if you wanted to take the boat out of your garage under power. What i also found useful was a jockey wheel that i fitted to the trailer with a rachet device and extended removable lever that allows you to move the trailer with virtually no effort.

I have just moved into a new house and am having trouble connecting the boat to the car. We got it into the garage and eventually got it off the tow ball with a lot of force. The driveway is on an angle, while the garage is nearly flat so the boat tow bar will not go onto the ball due to the angle.

To solve the problem I am thinking of installing a winch on the garage floor and winching the trailer backwards up the 5m driveway into the garage. When wanting to take it I out will connect the winch and lower it down the driveway on to the flat. The boat is only about 400Kgs (plus trailer) so doesnt need to be too heavy duty.

Can someone recommend a company or person to install a winch to the garage floor? It will need to be bolted into the concrete.

[Geoff]

One of these may be an option. There are a lot of brands on the market but good quality ones can cost in excess of $1000.00

Geoff

Edited May 27, 2012 by Geoff

[cheap charlie]

This was what I was talking about:

My link

[LeoB]

G'day fishoman

Troutmans got the idea! Very simple to do with some decent tools, for what would cost an arm and a leg to get done professionally.

I had a mate that had the worst driveway you have ever seen. We set up a winch and bolted it down with 4 12mm dynabolts, 80mm long. Was overkill but we grabbed them from work. That didn't move an ounce towing up 1000kgs of boat and trailer for 2 years. But then it does depend on the type of driveway, how solid it is. Give me a message if you need anymore help, I used to work with that sort of gear and happy to help with any more questions.

Cheers Leo

[cheap charlie]

Is the house yours or are you renting?

[fishoman]

Thanks for all the ideas! I am thinking the winch dyna bolted to the garage floor is going to be the best option. I will need to ensure it works in both directions so it doesn't get away from me when going downhill. Will start shopping for winches tonight online, then will figure out how dyna bolts work . i do own the house, so if i end up damaging anything I'm the only one that will be .

[fishoman]

Arghhh. I don't want to have 3 phase power. Was hoping the winch would have a way of controlling the reverse.

[Welster]

I have just moved into a new house and am having trouble connecting the boat to the car. We got it into the garage and eventually got it off the tow ball with a lot of force. The driveway is on an angle, while the garage is nearly flat so the boat tow bar will not go onto the ball due to the angle.

To solve the problem I am thinking of installing a winch on the garage floor and winching the trailer backwards up the 5m driveway into the garage. When wanting to take it I out will connect the winch and lower it down the driveway on to the flat. The boat is only about 400Kgs (plus trailer) so doesnt need to be too heavy duty.

Can someone recommend a company or person to install a winch to the garage floor? It will need to be bolted into the concrete.

Hi Fishoman,

Maybe if you post some pics would help, your driveway, the garage, the boat and your tow car. (turn the location off if using a phone). Is it possible to push it up with the towbar at the front of the car? 400 kg is not much so it must be awkward situation. Is it easy enough to get the boat there and

its just the disconnect and reconnect that causes grief. Sounds like you almost want a tounge for the towbar that will pivot somehow just to put it away.

[jimnicdusty]

get an all terain coupling for your trailer. i have one of these on my boat trailer

you can un hook them on any angle

[fishoman]

The problem is really the angle so a pivoting trailer hitch could work. Any suggestions as to brands or Sydney based distributors?

[Welster]

Fishoman. I was thinking about you making something up yourself or getting somebody to weld it up. I don't think it would be that hard to do but you would have to change it over to put the boat away. Depends what your towbar is like.

If you can find one that works of the shelf that you can tow with like the other suggestion even better. But probably more expensive. A picture would help.

[ronmac]

The problem is really the angle so a pivoting trailer hitch could work. Any suggestions as to brands or Sydney based distributors?

Have a look at these mate, McHitch.com.au uniglide trailer couplings. located at Lithgow. Also with those "El cheapo" winches they will burn out, trying to pull heavy objects uphill over a distance. If you go a winch, either a Warn or a Thomas winch is the go. Both 12 volts,use a h/d battery on a three stage battery charger. Hope this helps. cheers Ron. "BE VERY CAREFULL",MAKE SURE THE HOUSE AND GARAGE SLAB IS NOT "A POD SLAB". cheers Ron.

Edited May 29, 2012 by ronmac

[Evets]

Fishoman,

I have exactly this problem with my driveway and boat. I also pull my boat up into the garage with a winch.

You will find that mounting the winch to the floor will not be the best place for it because when the boat is down the driveway the winch cable will rub on the ground when you pull the boat in. Youll need to mount the winch at off the ground on the back wall. How high does it need to be? Run some fishing line from where the back of the trailer will be up to the back wall without it touching the floor. Thats your mounting height. Mine is about 1.1M above floor height. I welded a couple of pieces of checker plate together to make a big "L" shaped bracket and mounted it to the wall with a few dynabolts.

My winch is a $100 cheapie from the net. It has a pulling capacity of 1500kg (and double that if I include a pulley in the winch cable).

My winch must be powered by a battery from my boat. At full pulling power it uses something like 100 amps ( I cant remember the exact number and is probably a lot more) so a power pack will not cut the mustard.

My winch does have a winch in / winch out function so you can get them. :biggrin2:

Having said all of that though....

You may find that the solution to your problem is as simple as half backing the boat into the garage so that the trailer wheels are on the garage slab. You will be able to easily put the jockey wheel on and push the boat the rest of the way into the garage by hand. I did this for a while before I bought my new car that caused the tow ball to bind as you describe. I then had to resort to winching it in.

Evets

[tuffy]

Hmmmm - obviously a very bad choice of house !!!!!!!! Just kidding!Bored at work.

Tuffy.

[helliconia]

You could use the D shackle mount under the towball to attach a small pulley to, then run the cable from the winch under the boat to the pulley and back to the trailer hitch. Just make sure the pulley is rated for the weight.

Wind the cable in and it will pull the trailer straight to your towball.

[Captin]

I can solve you problem cheaply and easily. My trailer hitch is called a McHitch it works off a unijoint and the trailer can be up to a 90 degree angle.

I have found my trailer doesn't bounce around as much any more when getting towed and feels alot more stable.

Check them out on his website mchitch.com.au