How do I attach tip out strap to winch shaft?

[SteveZ-HILO]

When we bought our 2005 TowLite 24T in 2017, the strap for the tip out room had been disconnected from the winch shaft by the previous owner, and I always lifted and lowered the tip out manually. Now that I'm getting older and occasional back issues make it difficult to lift it, I'm looking to put it back together, but I can't figure out how to re-attach the strap to the smooth winch shaft. The strap has a loop on one end that attaches to the bolt on the tip out, but the other end is straight and appears like it may have been cut. See photos below.

A tech support guy from Powerwinch told me the winch was designed to only accommodate a wire cable, and that if there was a strap instead, then that had been installed by the trailer manufacturer. Does anybody have photos or recommendations on how to connect the strap to the winch shaft? Am I missing a critical piece? Thanks in advance!

 

[rpnelson]

Whoever disconnected the strap probably did so for a reason. I would suspect the winch is not working properly. If it is working, make sure you have enough strap to go around the winch drum 4 or 5 times before it starts to lift the tip out. Our 2005 Towlite has the strap attached to the bolt holding the clamp in place. The strap is folded over so the bolt goes thru 2 layers of fabric and there is several rotations of strap on the drum before lifting the tip out. The attachment is and looks a little odd but has held for many years. This is also a good time to clean and lube the winch bearings and gears.

 

[SteveZ-HILO]

The winch appears to be working properly and I've recently greased the gears, but the strap was damaged and is only 64" long (only wraps around once), so it was obviously cut off and left behind for us to figure it all out. I've ordered nylon webbing to make a replacement strap, and will initially cut it long enough so that it can wrap around the winch shaft 4 or 5 times, as you suggest.

I'm confused when you wrote, "Our 2005 Towlite has the strap attached to the bolt holding the clamp in place. The strap is folded over so the bolt goes thru 2 layers of fabric..." Is that the end of the strap with the loop that attaches to the tip out by the bolt held in place by the clamp (see my photo)? I don't understand how you have the bolt go through 2 layers of fabric...

And does winding the strap around the shaft/drum 4 or 5 times securely cinch the strap down and prevent it from slipping without any other means of affixing it? Pictures would be helpful, but at least you got me thinking differently how it's all supposed to work. Thanks for any followup and clarification you can provide... I truly appreciate it!

 

[rpnelson]

Sorry, I meant the end of the strap attached to the winch drum. It is folded over and held in place by the bolt in the clamp. I don't know if that is the factory installation or not but it has held up so far. I think a few wraps of the strap on the winch drum would help to hold the strap in place.

 

[SAM 3]

I recently acquired a drawing from my HiLo dealer. It is the tip out power assist installation drawing. I will be mailing it out to Jack this week. He has agreed to scan and post as a file. It clearly shows where the web strap goes.

 

[JackandJanet]

And, Steve, I will get those posted as soon as I get them. Stay tuned in this link for a notification that they are up and where to find them.

- Jack

 

[rpnelson]

And, Steve, I will get those posted as soon as I get them. Stay tuned in this link for a notification that they are up and where to find them.

- Jack

Great. I would be interested in seeing that also. I had questioned that strap attachment years ago when I worked on and lubed up our winch. It seemed to work just fine so I left it the way it was. Don't know if it was factory install or not.

 

[SteveZ-HILO]

And, Steve, I will get those posted as soon as I get them. Stay tuned in this link for a notification that they are up and where to find them.

- Jack

Thanks, Jack, I appreciate the team effort with Same for posting the installation drawing!

 

[JackandJanet]

Steve and rp - I've scanned and posted the Tip Out Installation that sam-HILO sent me and you can find it here: Tip Out Installation Diagram I hope it makes more sense to you both than it does to me.

- Jack

 

[SAM 3]

Jack thanks for getting the tip out power assist instillation drawing posted.. I also don't have a tip out.

 

[JackandJanet]

You're welcome sam - I have to tell you though, that the files in the binder and the ones in the folder seem useless to me. I'm pretty sure they are just guidance for shops on the time to repair various components and the cost to service them. They don't appear to have any useful information for us owners. I'll take a closer look, but I'm sorry you spent the money to send them.

However, the picture of the wiring to the two Circuit Breakers in the tongue IS very helpful because it also shows the wiring to the lift motor solenoid. And I'll scan and post the wiring information for the 31C too.

- Jack

 

[SteveZ-HILO]

A huge shout out to both Sam (Ann?) and Jack... the diagram clarified everything. Allow me to summarize why I had a problem seeing the solution, and provide closeups of the diagrams with explanations.

First, look again at the front view photo of the winch in my trailer, with a red oval around the winch shaft. Notice that I have a single black ring clamped on the left next to the large gear. This is called a double split shaft collar, with two set screws holding it in place. Originally, I didn't know what purpose it served... probably to hold the strap in place, but it wasn't clear how to attach it.

Next, look at a similar front view from the diagram provided by Jack and Ann. This image shows two shaft collars, with the first one on the right to clamp the strap parallel to the shaft, which is then folded 90° and wrapped behind the shaft and threaded through the rollers below (blue box), leading to the tip out. The second shaft collar on the left is clamped to create a channel for the 1" strap to be wound around the shaft as the winch raises and lowers the tip out. The side view image of the winch from the diagram (showing the overhead cabinet with dashed lines) indicates the correct direction for the strap to be wrapped.

I just ordered a set of two shaft collars from Amazon and will provide updated pictures of the installation when I've completed the repair. I couldn't have done it without your help - thanks!

 

[JackandJanet]

I'm delighted that the diagram was actually helpful, since it was totally meaningless to me. Your explanation here, Steve, has really cleared the mystery for me and it all makes sense now. Thanks again to sam-HILO (Ann) for getting the diagram to me so I could post it. She sent all the documents on her own dime and we all owe her a vote of thanks.

Ann - I've reviewed all the other documents and, as I posted above, most are just shop manuals that give guidance on flat rate times to service or repair components. I found one exploded view of the lift pump mechanism and was about to post it when I discovered it had already been done, so I "stuck" that post instead.

- Jack

 

[rpnelson]

Yes, this installation drawing is not perfectly clear on how the strap is attached. What stands out to me is that the end of the winch strap appears to be under one of the clamps that are around the winch drum and the strap is between the 2 clamps which would act as a guide for the strap to wind around the winch drum. This kind of makes sense to me. The winch on our Hi Lo only has only one clamp on the left side and the strap winds around the drum beside the clamp. Different, but it has worked this way for a long time and the strap seems to wind up evenly and has never gotten out of place on the drum. I would send a picture of ours but our Hi Lo is being used by our nephew and is not here. This is interesting and I will keep a copy of this in case ours has a problem later on. Thanks to all of you.

 

[JackandJanet]

rp - you might want to discuss this with Steve, since he seems to have the same setup as you. Wish I could help, but I'm clueless on this.

- Jack