The ATV winch includes a harness that has a hardwire control 3 position rocker switch that is momentary, In-off-Out. It is set up for mounting onto the tubular handle bar of a ATV. I made a adapter bracket so it can be mounted at a convenient location on the trailer.
soon I realized I need just a small piece of sheet aluminum and I remember I couldn't bring myself to throw away the scrap remnants left over from cutting the custom AC faceplate
even between the two pieces of remnants I only want to use the smaller odd shaped piece and save the bigger piece for future use
a bit of hand cutting and filing and it soon takes shape
it is asymmetrical by intention due to how it would be used
perfect!
mega winch calls for a mega fuse; this replaces the 200A one that was for the Kerstner rooftop AC's power supply
I want the installation to be professional and leave no chance of accident and pieces falling off or high current cables accidentally shorting. I cut down the excess lengths and re-do the copper lugs, and finished them with heat shrink tubings. The lengths are planned so the cable may be tied down along the way with zip ties to prevent chaffing from vibration. The hard wire control's harness also carefully tugged away and secured with zip ties. The power input harness to be connected the the mothership is just left long enough.
All the critical bolts treads received a dab of blue Loctit.
the power input pig tail with an Anderson connector
this is how it is secured when not in use
all the vulnerable connections are covered and routed to minimize chance of accidental shorting or contact; I chose the cavity under the winch which is well protected by the structure; there is plenty of clearance between the fabric dust shield and the winch
a Warn winch package from Trailex costs $835 and weights 5 times or more because of the full size auto battery it is kitted with; it is not about the money but I don't want to carry that much dead weight around when I can design a better winch installation using a systems approach
here you can see the zip ties that secure the long harness but the harness is hidden in the channels of the aluminum frames
protect the Kevlar winch rope from damaging UV
From having done the installation and the prototype testing I am very impressed with this $90 winch. I was expecting they use aluminum wires for the high current cables but I was wrong. The cables looked sketchy at first glance but they are good quality once I cut them shorter and re-do the end lugs, which involved soldering. Aluminum wires will not take the solder well and the only way to fasten the end lugs is by mechanical crimping. The winch ran smoothly and effortlessly when pulling the Mini up the sloped plane plus the trailer ramps. The start and stop has very little jerking which taxes everything especially the rope.
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