Winch for Smart car or utv

[GlennWest]

Do you use 4 wheel chocks

[Darryl&Rita]

Wheel chocks have no effect on strap tightness. Single strap has only one way to loosen, basket strap has stitching. Always used single strap ratchet straps, never had one loosen.

[GlennWest]

Do you use 4 wheel chocks. Reason asking if not needed, I will remove rear chocks. Got me thinking might not be necessary. It would speed things up. 

[Darryl&Rita]

Never used them, never seen the need for them. This applies to all the equipment/vehicles I've moved. If I was worried about driving off the edge, a simple wood block would prevent that. Remove before travel. The way these cars are sitting, the chocks don't serve their intended purpose, other than psychological.

[rdickinson]

Re the rear chocks, mine never come off.  Why remove them if you winch on backwards?

As I posted earlier having the rear chocks in place is also a safety margin in case the car wants to roll backwards if the truck is passengers side low.

Each to their own, my method works and I'm sure others do as well.

[GlennWest]

I don't winch. Drive on, back off. So my front chocks never come off.

[billr]

I also prefer having the chocks now. 8 yrs without managed just fine but needed to have a block in place as car rolls sometimes. Getting in between car and cab with tool box I have there and bikes loaded and tight clearances was hard to reach in to tow down   

After changing my set up last year I really like the tie downs with ratchets on chocks. Easier for me. 

Sure they really don’t hold the car any better than without but makes my process easier. 

 

[GlennWest]

I was thinking just put a ring on back side and use a common strap ratchet. That would be 4 bolts, in and out, eliminated.

[Darryl&Rita]

Skip the ring, use a keyhole.

[GlennWest]

Never really like keyholes. Now would need chain.

[rickeieio]

Listening....learning....building.  Ours should be done in a few days.

I will have front chocks, used as a mounting point for the ratchets.  Rear ratchets will be held in by quick release pins.  Ramps will drop into slots so no chance of miss alignment or slippage.

If this turns out as well as I think it will, I may even splurge on a rattle can of paint.

[Jack Mayer]

The purpose of the chock is multi-fold:  

1. Keep the car from moving when it is not strapped down and you are in a tilted area while loading/unloading.
2. Serve as a stop when loading. 
3. A convenient point for mounting the lashing winch for tightening the strap. 

There are some other ways to mount the lashing winch. But I've tried most of them, and for a deck that has storage under it, the chock seems the most convenient. Mounting the winch on the side of the deck is actually best, but not only does it look bad, but it eliminates the storage doors for the ramp storage. But if you do not have ramp storage there then that is a viable alternative. 

The downside of the chock with the integrated winch is that you have a single point of failure with the chock bolts. 

[SuiteSuccess]

Jack,

Which brings up a question that needs to be brought out again.  Should the chocks/ lash winches be mounted with #5 or #8 bolts?  My understanding is a #8 will shear easier than a #5 but is stronger in a straight pull situation.  So I mounted my chocks with #8s since they were straight pull and the lash winches with #5s since they had shear component when mounted on the chocks.  Or am I just overthinking?

[alan0043]

18 hours ago, Hewhoknowslittle said:

Al, 

Yes there are D-rings in the middle of the tire tracks, as we spoke on the phone you can mock yours up where the strap is going straight up at the D-ring.

This 4 hour trip today the straps are still tight front and rear and centered in the tire where I put them, I am very satisfied on my purchase. 

Here is the link

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0721GKK9S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Roger

Hi Roger,

Thank you so much for posting the link to the tire straps. This is going to be a big help not only to me but also for some other people. I have started my shopping list and the tire straps is the first thing on the list. The second thing is lashing winches. The third thing is new ramps that are longer (14') verse my utv ramps (8'). As we talked on the phone my plan is to mock everything up on the ground. To let everyone know my plan is to get the deck ready for two different pieces of equipment. One piece of equipment is a Polaris RZR and the other is a Smart model 450. The tire tracks are close to each other.

Please still keep bring your thoughts and input,
Al

[rickeieio]

22 minutes ago, SuiteSuccess said:

Should the chocks/ lash winches be mounted with #5 or #8 bolts?

Yes.  The size and proper tightening have as much to do with the end results as the grade of bolt.  I rarely use grade 8, but tend to use more, and larger, bolts than necessary.

This is especially important when the bolt is very short.  Think of the bolt as a spring, and the tightening as the pre-load.

Using flange head and nuts is advised also.

[SuiteSuccess]

Al,

Email sent.

[alan0043]

25 minutes ago, SuiteSuccess said:

Al,

Email sent.

Hi Carl,

E-mail received. Thank you for the pictures. This is going to be a big help. To cold to work outside (2*f) today ?

Al

[GeorgiaHybrid]

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 9:06 AM, SuiteSuccess said:

Jack,

Which brings up a question that needs to be brought out again.  Should the chocks/ lash winches be mounted with #5 or #8 bolts?  My understanding is a #8 will shear easier than a #5 but is stronger in a straight pull situation.  So I mounted my chocks with #8s since they were straight pull and the lash winches with #5s since they had shear component when mounted on the chocks.  Or am I just overthinking?

Carl,

For our uses, if you have all 4 chocks bolted down, it doesn't make much difference whether you use a grade 5 or 8 bolt if they are 3/8" in size and up and you have 2 bolts per chock as most of us do. All 8 bolts would need to shear to produce a catastrophic failure and that is high unlikely unless you are in a MAJOR wreck. In that case, the car coming loose will be the least of your worries.

To give you an idea, in shear, that 3/8" dia grade 5 bolt is good for roughly 8,000 pounds of load and the grade 8 is good for about 10,000 pounds. Given 8 bolts, that gives you a total capacity of 64,000 to 80,000 pounds for a 2,200 pound car. if you are in a pull (tension) on the bolt, the values are even higher but in our case, it is mostly shear or prying action depending on the chock style and attachment design.

What you have to be aware of is keeping the car tight against the chocks and the straps tight to prevent any movement of the car. If you give the car a chance to move, then you will need to figure out the dynamic forces involved in your bolt loading.

[SuiteSuccess]

1 hour ago, GeorgiaHybrid said:

Carl,

For our uses, if you have all 4 chocks bolted down, it doesn't make much difference whether you use a grade 5 or 8 bolt if they are 3/8" in size and up and you have 2 bolts per chock as most of us do. All 8 bolts would need to shear to produce a catastrophic failure and that is high unlikely unless you are in a MAJOR wreck. In that case, the car coming loose will be the least of your worries.

To give you an idea, in shear, that 3/8" dia grade 5 bolt is good for roughly 8,000 pounds of load and the grade 8 is good for about10,000 pounds. Given 8 bolts, that gives you a total capacity of 64,000 to 80,000 pounds for a 2,200 pound car. if you are in a pull (tension) on the bolt, the values are even higher but in our case, it is mostly shear or prying action depending and the chock style and attachment design.

What you have to be aware of is keeping the car tight against the chocks and the straps tight to prevent any movement of the car. If you give the car a chance to move, then you will need to figure out the dynamic forces involved in your bolt loading.

Thanks Dave.  Good information.