Using an Electric Winch to Raise and Lower a Ramp Door on a Logan Horse Trailer

Question

Question:

Happy New Year! What do you recommend for my 2 horse trailer ramp door that weighs about 90 to 100 pounds, I bought it used and I had the ramp door rewelded with new sheet metal and hinges and new channel angle iron where it had rusted out. I saw your trailer ramp springs/. the double or single ones and I was also thinking about having a electric wench welded to the trailer to lift and open the ramp door. I have a little concern about the cable on the sides of the ramp causing a injury to a spooked horse going in or out of the trailer. Horses can be very unpredictable and I dont want to make my trailer unsafe for horses or anyone . Is it possible to have the cables detachable from the ramp after opening it before the horses are released to back up out of the trailer. I will have a professional garage door installer put the trailer springs on per your professional advice and recommendation.. Thank You ahead of time for your professional advice and suggestions.

asked by: JoAnn J

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Expert Reply:

With an Enclosed Trailer Ramp Spring # ERS120D81 when the door is lowered it will pull the cables which will turn the pulleys and put tension on the springs. The cables could not be detached with the ramp door lowered because the springs would suddenly lose tension and they could break and that is very dangerous.

What I recommend doing is just using a winch with a system of pulleys (or you could mount the winch above the door at the center so you won't have to use pulleys). Once the door is lowered you could detach the cable until you are reading to lift the door back up.

The Bulldog Winch Utility Winch # BDW15008 is a good option. It is a low cost option, plenty of capacity, and comes with a remote. When you have it installed I do recommend some sort of protective box to keep it out of the elements. Something like # DMC38FR with the grille cut out could work or I am sure they could fabricate something from sheet metal.

expert reply by: Michael H

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Answer 1

Sounds like there could be a short in your trailer wiring for one of the brakes or there could have been a mechanical failure in that one brake assembly. The second possibility is more likely since only one brake was affected. First inspect the…

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Answer 2

I called my contacts at our winch suppliers to see if there were any winches available that perform as you requested. I was unable to find a winch that had an auto shutoff when the winch senses a trailer door is closed since winches constantly feel…

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Answer 3

You did not mention what specific dimensions you were looking for, so I took several. I then produced a pictured showing the measurements. The blue arrow indicates the center to center distance between the mounting holes. The green arrow is center to…

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Answer 4

Sounds like you are looking for a rear door/ramp spring kit for your trailer. For that we have the Enclosed Trailer Ramp Spring #ERS120D81 which would work well. This should work well for you but I also attached a picture of it's dimensions for…

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Answer 5

It sounds like you are speaking of the wires for the brake magnets. If this is correct, you will need to connect one of the wires to the brake controller output wire on your trailer connector and the other wire will need to be grounded to a clean…

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Answer 6

Installations for the Conventional Ramp Door Springs like part #ERS120D81 aren't things that we are really able to advise on since these need to be installed by someone who has previous experience or by a garage door company. You might try less…

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Answer 7

The spring with the black cable drum should always be mounted to your LEFT, standing on the inside of the trailer looking out. This is very important for proper operation. Dual spring systems, like #ERS160D96, have a red-coned and a black-coned…

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Answer 8

To test the weight of your ramp door, you will want to get the door all the way down to the ground and then on a scale of some kind (a bathroom scale can be used for this if it's the only thing available). This will be when the door is at its…

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Answer 9

I checked with M-3 and when you are ready to wind the spring on the Enclosed Trailer Ramp Spring #ERS120D81 you will need to use two 1/2 inch diameter bars (of around 18 inches long). You will insert the first bar into the winding cone of the spring…

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Answer 10

The winch in question is the Master Lock Electric Trailer Winch #2953AT and it does have a remote. Keep in mind that this winch only powers the line in. This means that you would have to have the winch in freespool mode to lower the door and then…

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