Is there a winch solution for these trucks yet?

[chl]

I am looking for a bed-mount winch solution. I was wondering if I might operate it using the Pro Power Onboard? I have a couple of scrap items that I want to take to a metal recycling facility. One weighs about 100 to 120 lbs. When I was 30 years younger, I could lift it off the ground onto a lab bench and vice-versa on lowering. Today, I tried rolling it on a dolly up a 94" Black Widow truck ramp at about a 30-deg incline, and it was quite a struggle, particularly because the dimpled punch-out holes in the ramps didn't allow my Adidas Terrex Ax3 lugged sole "hiking boots" to get a good grip on the ramp plates. So, I'll have to try my Reebok CROSSFIT Cross Trainers, which have ribbed crepe soles and are great roofing shoes (now at $150, ~2x the price I paid for them). But it would probably be safer with some of the heavier stuff I still want to get rid of to load it into the bed with a come-along or a Toy Loader bed winch mount (which seems to require minimal drilling into the truck). I could ask one of the neighbors' kids to help me lift stuff into the truck bed, but the wife is worried about the potential liability if someone other than me gets injured in the process.

So if anyone has suggestions for bed-winching solutions that don't have to handle more than a few hundred pounds and how to secure a winching device with minimal truck modification, I'd much appreciate suggestions. The nice thing about the Toy Loader is that it mounts high enough to have the cable clear the open tailgate and comes with a remote control. And if I really got ambitious and wanted to load my John Deere STX-38 riding mower into the bed, the Toy Loader is supposedly strong enough for the job. Perhaps to use it, I'd need to remove my Bak MX4 tonneau cover, so switching between the two would certainly be a hassle.

Thanks for any suggestions and for sharing the wisdom of experience.

I've used simple and inexpensive ratchet tie downs (available at big box hardware stores) to pull my almost 500 lbs Harley-Davidson Sportster 883cc up a ramp and into my Ranger when it wouldn't start, used 2 of them, one on each side of the handlebars to keep the bike upright...it takes a while since the ratchets only pull a few inches at a time, but it works, lol.

When it starts, I just ride it up the ramp - what fun that is! Have to have just the right speed, and apply the brakes at just the right time at the top so you don't bounce back off the cab. But so far I have never fallen off the ramp - knock on wood.

I haven't tried that with the Lightning yet, it is a bit higher to the tailgate, so I might need a longer ramp, or more nerve...or both.

I have also used those ratcheting tie downs to do other things, like pull a tree down in the right direction as I chain saw the trunk; raise a shed stud wall; and pull up a tough root.

They are relatively inexpensive (under $10 usually) depending on the weight limit and strap length.

I kept one set in my Ranger in case of emergency.

If you have enough hand strength, they could easily pull a 100-200 lbs item if it's on wheels, up a 30 degree ramp, and it won't hurt the bank account.

Like so many others have said, there is a lot of junk out there in the winch department, judging from the reviews anyway.

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[msdickerson]

The clamp to the tow ring is a flange on the top which is approximately the same shape as the outside of the ring itself, a flange on the bottom which protrudes forward several inches and has two holes in it. There is also a spacer in the middle that fits snugly inside the ring. There is a grade 8 bolt and nylock clamping it on to the ring through the middle of the ring. The material for the top and bottom are AR500 steel. The spacer in the middle is common mild steel. The smaller of the two holes is for attaching the receiver crossbar and the larger hole acts as a tow point since the normal tow ring is being used by the clamp itself. In order to attach the clamp, a bit of the rubber boot around the tow ring had to be removed.

The anticipated loads on the clamp are from either the receiver mounted winch (or some other receiver mounted device) or from using it to tow/move the vehicle. In the winch loading case, there is a bar connecting the two clamps together which the receiver is mounted to. The load is largely longitudinal (tension along the long axis of the truck) and distributed between the two clamps. I would expect very little torsional load on the clamps in this scenario. The spacer in the middle of the ring should provide good physical contact with the ring in that direction and the bolt provides some sheer strength. The winch is rated at 1500 lbs, and it is probably low compared to the load to tow the vehicle. In order to allow towing the vehicle, the large hole was created. This should allow the vehicle to get hitched without having to remove the clamp on the ring. In this scenario, there should be little torsion on the clamp since a tow hook is being used. The forces on the flange follow the direction of the tow cable being used. If there were upward forces on that tow point on the lower flange, then the bolt on the clamp becomes under a much greater tension load. Assuming the bolt does its job, since the top flange extends to the edge of the ring, it would get the load transferred to the ring.

I have not actually tested any of it for strength, but some initial calculations showed that in the winch case it would perform quite well. In the towing case I simply don't know. The AR500 steel and grade 8 bolt are pretty tough relative to mild steel, it was just a solution to the problem that seemed appropriate.

I also have seen your very nice front hitch mounted on the tow rings. I do like your design, and am thinking also about fabricating something similar, or asking you about your setup, but my use would be using a front hitch for a "Snowsport HD" aluminum snow plow. I currently use this on the rear hitch and have not experienced any issues. The Snowsport specs state it needs a class 3 hitch / 5000# capability, of which almost all the force would be a pushing force. The total unit weighs about 125# and freely slides up and down on its frame so there is little twisting torque except for the weight of the unit. I would be more worried not about your hitch design, but the actual 2 bolts attaching the rings to the frame as they seem minimal in size (and I do not their material and size for calculating shear capabilities. Do you have thoughts on this application, I would appreciate your input. (I have a new Flash Lightning and am loving it)