putting a winch on the back of an otr truck

Discussion in 'Oilfield Trucking Forum' started by Palsy2, Sep 29, 2018.

  1. Palsy2

    Palsy2 Bobtail Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2018
    Messages:
    10
    Thanks Received:
    0
    0
    I run over the road power only delivering trailers and have been seeing the occasional frac tank that needs to be delivered but it requires a winch. my question is can I mount a winch behind my headache rack to hook up the frac tanks or will I need other specialized equipment that I am not aware of?
     
  2. Pedigreed Bulldog

    Pedigreed Bulldog Road Train Member

    Joined:
    May 7, 2011
    Messages:
    7,737
    Thanks Received:
    14,422
    0
    Probably would need rollers or ramps on the rear of the tractor to help it get up & over the rear of the frame without damaging anything and then up onto the 5th wheel without getting hung up.
     
    Crude Truckin' Thanks this.
  3. AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2015
    Messages:
    29,158
    Thanks Received:
    158,622
    Location:
    Canuckistan
    0
    Need a PTO setup to power the winch and ramps or rollers as mentioned above. Winching adds a lot of stress on a small area of frame so you may want to consider reinforcing the frame with some inserts to help handle the additional stress.
     
    Crude Truckin' Thanks this.
  4. scorpiorias

    scorpiorias Light Load Member

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2009
    Messages:
    106
    Thanks Received:
    43
    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    0
    Yes I agree, he needs a wet line. You will never find an electric winch willing to put up that kind of power consistently. I don't know how sturdy your headrack is, I prefer building a good cross member boltable to the frame. That will pull down anything as long as the got the right winch.
     
    x1Heavy Thanks this.
  5. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2016
    Messages:
    34,017
    Thanks Received:
    42,135
    Location:
    White County, Arkansas
    0
    Headache racks like the one I had over the years are essentially two pairs of U bolts a foot long around the frame and maybe half a inch. They will NEVER be able to hold a winch big enough to dead lift a 14500 pound trailer or even a fully loaded one.

    Ive been examining the possibility to install a winch on my personal vehicle and accept the fact that I will likely need a second battery to support it when it's working and that I will never find that mythical winch able to pick up the truck and put it anywhere. It simply does not have that kind of beef.

    There is going to be some weight penalty to this thing and engineering considerations as well. You want to have it part of the frame where there is no rust etc. It's not that common in OTR work and would have been happy to have a winch on hand. (Those are known as tow trucks. Very big winches on many wheels and axles that cost alot of money in a short time)
     
  6. not4hire

    not4hire Road Train Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2012
    Messages:
    7,142
    Thanks Received:
    26,957
    Location:
    Calgary
    0
    Been there, done that. It's hard to see, but there's a Braden 20 (or 25, I forget) ton winch there.

    DSC_0096.JPG DSC_0095.JPG
     
  7. Palsy2

    Palsy2 Bobtail Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2018
    Messages:
    10
    Thanks Received:
    0
    0
    thanks for the help guys. sounds like its not going to be feasible. my idea was to mount the biggest electric winch I could get my hands on to some sort of elevated carriage behind the headache rack. attached to the frame so I could hook up to these things empty and deliver them. but it sounds like it would be more of a headache than its worth. my goal is to make the truck as versatile as possible but I run a lot of miles so the weight loss for the small gain probably wouldn't be worth it
     
  8. Brettj3876

    Brettj3876 Road Train Member

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2014
    Messages:
    11,257
    Thanks Received:
    54,058
    Location:
    Land of local
    0
    I would think its not very likely to do those kinds of power only loads. At least with SLB and Hali and a regular road tractor isn't cutting it if you don't have 46k rears and heavy frame or an insert
     
  9. Brettj3876

    Brettj3876 Road Train Member

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2014
    Messages:
    11,257
    Thanks Received:
    54,058
    Location:
    Land of local
    0
    Those sand kings and T belts are not light at all. Or were you talking about flowback tanks and half rounds
     
  10. Palsy2

    Palsy2 Bobtail Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2018
    Messages:
    10
    Thanks Received:
    0
    0
    I dont know how common they are but I wouldn't think I would need 46k rears just to deliver empty trailers, and the ones that I've found so far are paying around 15 a mile just to deliver them to the customer