Strap or Cable??

Sundancer

Sundancer

Well-Known Member
Jul 20, 2005
2,909
Prosser, WA
Boat Info
34 year old CLASSIC 300 DA, towed almost anywhere behind the Duramax Dually Crew Cab.
Engines
16 cyl, 700 cu. in./Alpha I's
I'm tired of getting abused by my 20 year old cable strap that I use to winch the boat on. I've got the scars from the broken wires to prove it! Has anyone switched to a strap and what working load do you use? I've never seen anyone use these on largers boats, probably due to the working loads.

I've considered the one about half way down this page:

http://www.championtrailers.com/jckrlrub.html#winch_strap
 
Sundancer said:
I'm tired of getting abused by my 20 year old cable strap that I used to winch the boat on. I've got the scars from the broken wires to prove it! Has anyone switched to a strap and what working load do you use? I've never seen anyone use these on largers boats, probably due to the working loads.

I've considered the one about half way down this page:

http://www.championtrailers.com/jckrlrub.html#winch_strap
Click to expand...

maybe is time for power winch?
 
I am interested in this too. I made comments about my frustration with the wire cable in another post. I am not sure that a power winch would help much. The problem I have is not with winching the boat onto the trailer. It is trying to get the cable unrolled from the reel so that it will reach the boat. When there is no tension on the wire, it loosens on the winch reel, gets tangled, gets upper lays under lower ones, and just becomes a mess.

Once you get it pulled out for enough to catch the boat eye, then you can put some tension on it, and try and straighten the lays on the reel by hand. This is where you are likely to 'get bit'. If you can once get the cable to lay down neatly, then winching it on is no big deal. Anyway, that is my experience.

A strap would not have these problems, probably a chain would not either, although I have never heard of a chain being used. My concern with a strap is that the diameter of the outer layer will increase rapidly as you pull it in, and will therefore get harder to crank in much quicker. I sure would be interested in hearing from anyone using a strap on a 7000 or 8000 lb boat.
 
Dave: My thoughts exactly! The cable is a pain! :smt013

The link I posted shows the strap can handle up to 8,000 lbs. I don't think you would ever be close to that just cranking it up the trailer. However, I'd rather have EXCESS capacity that worry about the strap breaking!! I don't think I could fit 20 feet worth of strap on my winch? I'm thinking I'd only need 10 feet at most and even then, that's quite a bit to wrap around the winch!

I'm a simpleton and don't really need a powerwinch. Just one more expense/headache! I'm capable of cranking and it's a good weekly exercise!
 
My boat weighs 8000 lb. Sometimes I snug the boat up a bit after it is pulled out of the water. If I did it on level ground, the coefficient of friction was 1, then it would take 8,000 lb pull to move it. But in reality, I use a nice steep piece of road between the upper and lower parking lots, so the boat is pointed downhill quite a bit. Also, the wet, carpet covered bunks help it slide easier. The bottom paint probably does not help. I don't think it is inconceivable that I could be putting 4000 lb on the cable, and maybe more. My 2 speed winch has a nice low gear.

If you could get by with 10 feet, then maybe you (or I) should remove all but 10 feet of cable from the winch. That might make it more manageable. Mine is new, only 2+ years old, so it does not have many broken strands waiting to attack. But it still wants to wrap the tight outer wraps under the looser inner wraps, so you can never get it unwound again without risking bodily harm.

One of the problems is that we are not experts with wire rope. If we were linemen for the county, then maybe we would be. I'm retired BPA, I know linemen and electricians who work with this stuff and still have all their fingers. I may have to put out some feelers, looking for tricks of the trade.
 
I had the same problems with our old boat and trailer. We launched in salt water, and that cable really took a beating.

What I used to do in the spring was remove the winch and bolt it down to a workbench. I would pull all the cable out, use a green scotchbrite and some WD-40 and clean the wire cable. Then I would lightly coat the cable with wheelbearing grease in a rag while someone else would winch the cable back in. You end up with a nice light coating of grease and the cable will never bind up again.
 
Maybe I should just remove the cable, cut off the excess and swap ends? The other end should have less use and fewer broken strands sticking out? I do have problems with it binding, but I don't really unwrap that much and the bottom layers are compressed and have never been unrolled. I'm afraid if I do unroll the whole cable I'll have problems getting it back on!

I'd still like to try a strap!
 
I like the idea of putting some grease on the cable. I think I will give that a try.

Sundancer, you should be able to put the cable back on the winch if you do it under load. You need something that pulls the cable straight while winding it in. Then you can guide the cable so it lays nicely on the winch. However, doing that with a boat in the trailer does not seem like an easy task, as the boat is in the way. Even without the boat, the trailer is still in the way of something you would want to drag. So maybe putting a 50 ft rope on the end of the cable, then putting something heavy at the end of that would work.

The main problem I have is that at the boat launch, when I remove the tension on the cable, it unwinds. It is trying to straighten itself out. The launch ramp is not a good place to be removing the cable from the winch to re-lay it in place. But I will try the grease. It the keeps if from binding up, that would help.
 
I like the idea of putting some grease on the cable. I think I will give that a try.

Sundancer, you should be able to put the cable back on the winch if you do it under load. You need something that pulls the cable straight while winding it in. Then you can guide the cable so it lays nicely on the winch. However, doing that with a boat in the trailer does not seem like an easy task, as the boat is in the way. Even without the boat, the trailer is still in the way of something you would want to drag. So maybe putting a 50 ft rope on the end of the cable, then putting something heavy at the end of that would work.

The main problem I have is that at the boat launch, when I remove the tension on the cable, it unwinds. It is trying to straighten itself out. The launch ramp is not a good place to be removing the cable from the winch to re-lay it in place. But I will try the grease. It the keeps if from binding up, that would help.
 
I actually pulled my cable out a couple of years ago and re-wound it at the ramp one day. We were waiting for some friends and had already launched the boat. It's been a lot better, but it's a 20 year old cable! I think just swapping ends and cutting about 6 - 10 feet off the highly used end would get rid of the burrs. I just have to find some cable clamps to hold the hook and a way to press those one. Maybe my local dealer or the nice folks at EZ Loader can help with that part. I'll check it out.

I still think a strap would be easier!!
 
Get the strap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did this on my 250 after the cable snapped the second time in a year. The strap lasted about 4 or 5 years, then I replaced it with another strap.

Watch out with cable - never use worn equipment!

When I was 16, I was sitting next to a lake watching my girlfriend's (well, I wished) little brother (very strong wrestler) help two old men wench a small (17'?) ski boat up onto a trailer. It wasn't backed in far enough, so it was an uphill battle.

The hook broke free from the bow and snapped back and hit the kid in the sternum. Just like the movies, he flew backward with arms and legs stretched out forward. He landed on his back. Every one of his ribs was snapped free from his sternum. We didn't have phones at the lake, so we all loaded him up on a card table and slid him into the back of a station wagon and his parents drove him to the ER.

Get a strap - they hold better, and don't snap all at once. They show wear long before they are ready to snap.

P.S. Don't shoot my hand with a pellet gun while I'm sleeping by the lake, like he did earlier that day. Good goes around. (Fade in Creepy music)
 
Finally some real world knowledge!! I think I'll go for the strap. The fact that it will start to shred long before a failure is good enough for me!! Now, I have to see if I can find a heavy duty strap locally or if I need to order the one in the link!

Thanks!
 
Heavy leather gloves... I keep 'em with the trailering accessories in the truck. I do have an electric winch but it only powers in, I have to freewheel it out.
 
Gloves? They are just a crutch!! :grin:

As old as my cable is, I'd probably be doing myself and everybody within flying cable distance a favor to replace it anyway. Looks like West Marine carries the 8,000# strap. I'll check and see if they have it in stock when I pick my boat up from the hospital tomorrow. Maybe I can cut the strap down and put it on this weekend while the boat is OFF the trailer? I hope I can get 10 feet on the winch!
 
everything can break:cable or strap, it is all about maintenance and new cable is about $50 (different sizes and strengths)
did you ever see someone whose is trailering for living using straps on their winches?
power winches have clutch preventing cable from unwinding too quick so that should not be a problem and a rust - clean salt with water and spray with crc 656 and will last for years
 
As a matter of fact I do see trailering professionals using straps every day. Good point! They also use straps when lifting the boats in and out of salt water. I've never had it done, but I've heard about it!

Rust? Never a problem here in the dry climate of Eastern Washington. I haven't treated my current winch and there is no rust on it anywhere.

And the winches still have the problem of the cable getting loose inside. A strap it is!!
 
Sundancer said:
As a matter of fact I do see trailering professionals using straps every day. Good point! They also use straps when lifting the boats in and out of salt water. I've never had it done, but I've heard about it!

Rust? Never a problem here in the dry climate of Eastern Washington. I haven't treated my current winch and there is no rust on it anywhere.

And the winches still have the problem of the cable getting loose inside. A strap it is!!
Click to expand...


Looks like is something wrong with me. After many years of towing different boats I have never seen electric winch with strap. Maybe someone has links to any of those? I would like to see them.
About lifting with straps - can 't be done different way. You wouldn't put bare steel cable against fiberglass? It has nothing to do with salt water.
 
I'd never go electric winch! I'm too young and healthy to wimp out and go electric! I NEED the exercise! You should see my right arm!! I think I referenced that earlier. I'm perfectly capable and have no qualms about doing it either.

As for straps, it has everything to do with salt water!! If the water wasn't salty, we wouldn't need to be hoisted in! :grin:
 
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