Removable bed mounted winch...pros/cons?

[rusty ol ranger]

So around august i bought an 18ft (used) bri-mar 10k equipment trailer.

I wanted to mount a winch to it for various things but then my brain got to rolling and i thought "my F250 has 5th wheel rails....theres gotta be a way to mount it there"...since welding and fabrication is not my fortay...

I wanna buy this...

to sit in the 5th wheel bed rails....

Take this....

and hook it to the hitch ball....

Then bolt this....

to the coupler...

then slide this into it...

and obviously mount the winch onto it.

The whole thing would be removable, and i wanna run a plug back to the bed to unplug/plug in the power for the winch to the truck charging system/battery.

The reason i wanna do it this way is..
A) The 5th wheel parts are rated for 25k. Itll have no problem handling a 12kwinch even under full pull.

B) Itll be removable

C) I can use it for dragging logs, recovery of vehicles, or many other things as well as winching junk onto the trailer.

Long winded rambleing post but im curious what yalls opinions are? Is this stupid? Think itll work? Give me any and all feedback before i start spending money.

 

[Curious Hound]

Seems like a plan. You’re going to need some substantial wiring to power the winch. It might be wise to have a second battery in the bed for the winch with just a small (10gauge?) wire to recharge it.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Seems like a plan. You’re going to need some substantial wiring to power the winch. It might be wise to have a second battery in the bed for the winch with just a small (10gauge?) wire to recharge it.

I was wondering about that. 2 gauge battery cable wouldnt handle it?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I made a swivel mount for my 10,000lb winch. What happens is the winch will turn sideways and the cable will coil up all on one side. I would try to figure out a way to mount the 2" receiver in a way that wont allow it to swivel.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I made a swivel mount for my 10,000lb winch. What happens is the winch will turn sideways and the cable will coil up all on one side. I would try to figure out a way to mount the 2" receiver in a way that wont allow it to swivel.

Didnt think about that. I bet i could come up with somethin pretty easy for that.

 

[Uncle Gump]

You seem to be building a better mouse trap... or trying to.

I would just find someone you know with a welder and have them weld you up some brackets/receiver that will bolt to your 5th wheel framework.

You might even be able to find a hitch in the scrap yard that might even bolt up to the 5th wheel framework if you drill a couple holes.

 

[Curious Hound]

I was wondering about that. 2 gauge battery cable wouldnt handle it?

It should. Depends on the amp draw of the winch and the length of the cable (pos and neg together).

Floored’s suggestion sounds wise, too.

 

[Curious Hound]

You seem to be building a better mouse trap... or trying to.

I would just find someone you know with a welder and have them weld you up some brackets/receiver that will bolt to your 5th wheel framework.

You might even be able to find a hitch in the scrap yard that might even bolt up to the 5th wheel framework if you drill a couple holes.

Yah. The price of all your adapter pieces together might pay for someone to weld a simpler setup.

 

[Fast Eddie]

I'd be interested in something similar. I want to be able to winch my motorcycle up into the back of my truck - pulling it up a set of ramps to one corner of the truck bed. I currently use two ramps and try to motor it up into the bed. I've dumped it a few times trying to do it this way and would find it difficult - if not impossible - to get it there if it's not running for some reason. I do NOT want to drill holes in the bed of the truck. The bed is still in great shape and drilling holes will only hasten the onset of rust and eventual failure.

I have 4 corner stake holes. I have to park the bike caddy corner in the bed to make it fit and would like to use one of the stake holes, closest to the cab. to temporarily hold a winch to pull the bike up in there. I'm open to ideas/suggestions.

 

[RonD]

I'd be interested in something similar. I want to be able to winch my motorcycle up into the back of my truck - pulling it up a set of ramps to one corner of the truck bed. I currently use two ramps and try to motor it up into the bed. I've dumped it a few times trying to do it this way and would find it difficult - if not impossible - to get it there if it's not running for some reason. I do NOT want to drill holes in the bed of the truck. The bed is still in great shape and drilling holes will only hasten the onset of rust and eventual failure.

I have 4 corner stake holes. I have to park the bike caddy corner in the bed to make it fit and would like to use one of the stake holes, closest to the cab. to temporarily hold a winch to pull the bike up in there. I'm open to ideas/suggestions.

Look at 12v Boat winch, 2,000lbs-3,000lbs
They are small, portable, even have a carry handle
You can use cable or chain to hook it to a "stake" in the bed corner
They can even come with "wireless remote"

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Yah. The price of all your adapter pieces together might pay for someone to weld a simpler setup.

You think? The setup is actually pretty cheap...right around 200 bucks minus winch. Im not sure what welding goes for but between labor and matreials id think itd be about a wash? Maybe not.

 

[Roert42]

Don’t know how much the gooseneck hitch plate cost, but a receiver tube cost about $15. Get or make the plate to mount the gooseneck and have someone weld a reviver tube onto it.

If you prep everything should only take a few minutes, might be able to find someone to do it for a case of beer.

Or

Mount the winch onto the bed for optimal cost savings.

 

[1990RangerinSK]

So around august i bought an 18ft (used) bri-mar 10k equipment trailer.

I wanted to mount a winch to it for various things but then my brain got to rolling and i thought "my F250 has 5th wheel rails....theres gotta be a way to mount it there"...since welding and fabrication is not my fortay...

I wanna buy this...
View attachment 68399

to sit in the 5th wheel bed rails....

Take this....View attachment 68400

and hook it to the hitch ball....

Then bolt this....
View attachment 68401

to the coupler...

then slide this into it...
View attachment 68402

and obviously mount the winch onto it.

The whole thing would be removable, and i wanna run a plug back to the bed to unplug/plug in the power for the winch to the truck charging system/battery.

The reason i wanna do it this way is..
A) The 5th wheel parts are rated for 25k. Itll have no problem handling a 12kwinch even under full pull.

B) Itll be removable

C) I can use it for dragging logs, recovery of vehicles, or many other things as well as winching junk onto the trailer.

Long winded rambleing post but im curious what yalls opinions are? Is this stupid? Think itll work? Give me any and all feedback before i start spending money.

Do you want the winch to swivel around the ball? Because I suspect it will.

I made a swivel mount for my 10,000lb winch. What happens is the winch will turn sideways and the cable will coil up all on one side. I would try to figure out a way to mount the 2" receiver in a way that wont allow it to swivel.

That's what I thought.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yeah, be a lot simpler to just mount a bolt on receiver to a plate to go to the 5th wheel brackets then slip the receiver mount into the receiver on the plate... heck, that wouldn't even involve welding... I've put the bolt on receiver some serious abuse on my '90 Ranger, it's done tractor pulls I think 4 or 5 times in first gear low range, I think two of those times was with the turbo engine...

 

[ryan]

you'd be further ahead mounting it on the trailer IMO, that's where you'd really need it. winching something into the bed from the middle of the bed doesn't sound very helpful to me. and most times just getting it on the trailer will be easier/more sensible anyway