Winch Helps Load ATV Onto Trailer

Jim Ruen, La Crescent, Minn.: “When my ATV wouldn’t start, I knew loading it onto my trailer would be a challenge. I’d been meaning to mount a winch on the trailer hitch for years. I even bought a hand-crank winch for that purpose about 20 years ago. It was cheap, and I couldn’t justify a 12-volt winch. “Necessity is the enemy of procrastination. To load the ATV, I finally got around to mounting the winch. I had a large piece of channel iron in the junk pile. It was oversized for the trailer tongue but wide enough to mount the winch. “I drilled holes in the channel iron to match the existing holes in the winch and bolted it in place. After setting it in place on the trailer tongue, I drilled a hole through both sides of the channel iron and the tongue, then pinned it in place.  “Winching the ATV onto the trailer to haul it to a repair shop was easy. The winch strap also provided an additional way to secure the ATV, in addition to my usual ratchet straps. “As described in my ‘Best Buy’ in this issue, my 22-year-old Honda ATV was a goner, fit only for parts. Since the trailer was nearly as old and showing its age, I decided to buy a new trailer before bringing home a new ATV. “I suppose it’s possible I’ll mount my winch on the new trailer tongue before another 20 years go by. We’ll see.” Winch Helps Load ATV Onto Trailer

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