good idea or crazy

[razorback]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=96127
120 volt winch.

[Cliffmeister2000]

That's the one you want! Or one like it! Heavy bracing on the garage wall would be called for! I wonder how you figure out how strong a wall is for this sort of thing? They aren't really made for sideways pressure. a 500lb trailer on an 8% grade would be quite a strain!

[TerryLawson]

I work at the Lake of the Ozarks, and they have been doing this very thing for years!! Before they had such things as boat lifts the used boat trailers on (some times real steep) long boat ramps that lead into a small boat house (ie one car garage that faced the water) They would have hand powered winches and later electric. Must have worked well there were lots of them!!!

Terry

[bobhenry]

They are harder to find, and probably more expensive, but I'm betting a 120v winch would be better than a 12v winch. Might have to call it a hoist?

I was thinking even a simple gear reduced manual crank boat winch would probably work just fine. Your tear can't be that heavy and the drive can't be that steep. CAN IT ?

[bc toys]

Put the winch on the floor at the back of garage with drop in anchers. You can rent the drill and set tool. Get at least 3/8" anchers and set them good, chance to use a big hammer If winch cable drags on drive way you may want to put down a roller system that you can remove when not using. Good luck with this project

[Arne]

a 500# trailer on an 8% grade should only require about 50# of pulling power...

a 2x6 across 2 wall studs should be plenty...

[rowerwet]

one airport I worked at the private T hangers were built (stupidly) on a rather sloping ramp, all of the owners on the downhill side had to use winches to get their airplanes up the hill into the hangar, they all got small cheap 110 winches from harbor freight etc. bolted to the floor, worked great even on rather heavy aircraft. Most had an extended control cord so they could steer the airplane in with a towbar while powering the winch.

[proformance]

Install a front receiver hitch on your tow vehicle and push it up the hill.

Mike

In all cases where I have seen this done, it can be equally as challenging if not more. Yes, it is easier to steering, but without side mirrors to view the rear corners of the trailer, you are driving blind. (Unless you can see over the trailer.)

Outside of a winch or a power dolly that can effectively operate your trailer brakes, (Using a dolly on a significant incline requires the ability stop and hold your trailer on the incline using its own and/or the trailers bakes.) practice and more practice will be your best option. Start on level ground, and work your way up to more aggressive inclines. Get accustomed to viewing everything through the two side mirrors (left and right). Sight down the side of your TV through the side mirrors and reference the rear corners of your trailer with respects to the sides of the TV (through the mirror). When you back up, try to keep the rear corners of the trailer in this same location. As others have said, go slow and use very minor turning of the steering wheel.

[pete42]

A winch sounds fine I used one to pull my airplane into my T hanger I used a handle on the nose wheel to guide it into the hanger without causing "hanger Rash".

If you use a "dolly" under the hitch and a remote either wireless or like the one I used a very long electrical cord with an on/off toggle switch you could maneuver it up the slope.

Another thought instead of mounting the winch inside your garage mount the winch to your truck then you could park your truck at the top of the grade and pull that sucker up the hill.

[WayneW]

Here's a money making idea for someone: modify the Northern Tool trailer dolly with a 12 volt motor that plugs directly into the trailer's battery. Install a bi-polar switch so that you could push or pull it up the driveway.

[aggie79]

Here's a money making idea for someone: modify the Northern Tool trailer dolly with a 12 volt motor that plugs directly into the trailer's battery. Install a bi-polar switch so that you could push or pull it up the driveway.

Timing is everything. Here is one built by Koalamate who posted for the first time today in the newbies section:



This isn't a modification - he fabbed everything himself.

Take a look at his post and follow his links to his teardrop that he constructed and the stunning Vardo he is building now.

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=44444

[pete42]

Here's a money making idea for someone: modify the Northern Tool trailer dolly with a 12 volt motor that plugs directly into the trailer's battery. Install a bi-polar switch so that you could push or pull it up the driveway.

Wayne please don't take this the wrong way but thanks for making me laugh I have had a couple bad months.

what made me laught was the "BI-POLAR" switch must be one crazy switch.

I worked as an electrician for 41 years I know what you meant.

pete

[WayneW]

I'm glad you got a laugh. I wondered if anyone would pick up on that. I knew it wasn't the correct name (3-way???), but I figured everyone would know what I was talking about. I'm a software engineer by trade, which means I'm incompetent at just about everything else. I might have gone into electronics, but electricity and I don't get along very well (and I have the curly hair to prove it).

Tom, I'm glad to see someone was a step ahead of me. I wonder how well it works. You might want a beefier motor for a steep driveway, but maybe just a little "power assist" would be enough.

[kennyrayandersen]

A winch would work, 50 ft is pretty long though -- it might take a while? I know they make a little receiver ball for my John Deere so you can hook a trailer to it. The garden tractors have plenty of torque; plus, the garden tractor is vrey short so you could either back it up or pull it forward right into the garage and pull a u-turn in the garage (double wide). Then just jockey it by hand into the exact position you want.

[Larry C]

I have used the front receiver hitch to be able to spot my popup camper onto my patio slab, and it worked quite well. It sure is sweet having the trailer in front of you so the least bit of correction can be made easily.

The issue I had was making tight turns on grass with my 2 wheel drive PU, it would cause the rear wheels to break traction. No problem on pavement.

I don't have the truck anymore, but I still have the front hitch if anyone is considering one.

Larry C