Trailer winch size?

[Drew61199]

I have a 263 Chase with a single 350 Verado. I'm guessing the boat is 7000-7500 lbs fully loaded. I need to replace my winch and the one on the trailer (not originally for this boat) was 2500#. The local trailer shop (highly regarded) said you only need 10% or so bc you certainly can't pull this size boat up dry, so he said anything in my current size is more than enough. I'm leaning more towards 3000-3500 lbs, as that seems to be the largest I can find. Price goes up as size goes up, so wondering I'd just be wasting money. I'm curious what others run with similar sized (or larger) boats?

 

[seasick]

The actual load on the winch depends on not just the total boat and gear weight but more so on the type of trailer, bunks vs rollers. As well as the typical angles that you have at your ramps. Steeper ramps means more load to pull. All that aside, if your trailer shop says your current capacity is fine and you sat they are reliable, I would trust them.
My question would be, "what kind of winch do you have now, cable or strap and is there a good reason you might want to switch?" Same question for single speed or dual speed winch.

 

[Drew61199]

Agreed on all fronts. I float the boat a good bit though so not a lot of friction and honestly haven't broken my winch....just getting ugly and a lil rusty. It's a cheapo Amazon 2 spd though and I'm leaning towards the Fulton 2spd which is significantly more expensive. I've found a 2000# and 3200# and the latter is almost 2x the price, but honestly feel that's where I need to be. Figure it'll be one of those "suck it up and not worry about it for many yrs" type purchases....

 

[DennisG01]

I forget where I heard this years ago... maybe I called a winch manufacturer. But the number that sticks in my head is that the winch capacity should be roughly 1/3 that of the boat weight.

Best thing to do... call a winch manufacturer and talk to them directly.

 

[seasick]

The Fulton in my opinion is worth the higher cost assuming you are going to hold onto the trailer for a few years or more.

 

[glacierbaze]

What price are you using for the Fulton 3200 2 speed? A 30 second Google search shows a range from $139 to $189 for the traditional open style. Are you looking at that one, or the newer enclosed one?

 

[Sdfish]

this may be a stupid question, other than cost any negative with going with a higher capacity winch?

 

[DennisG01]

this may be a stupid question, other than cost any negative with going with a higher capacity winch?

No, not a stupid question at all. Nope, nothing wrong with doing that.

 

[Ekea]

i think mine is over 3k, for some reason, 3,200 rings a bell. ill try to check in the morning. i figure bigger is better, less likely to fail, and easier cranking (that being said, i havent actually counted gear teeth or made a real assessment on that one)

 

[Ekea]

So I was a bit off. That being said, Ive never felt it was too small and never needed the granny gear.

 

[DaveD]

I bought this two speed Fulton years ago for my Chase 263, then sold the boat and swapped the winch to my new boat trailer. I have a Grady 283 Canyon and it works great. I upgraded the strap to a 10,000lb strap, no looking back.