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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