Receiver Hitch Mounted Capstan

http://www.princessauto.com/hlr-system/Documents/84/842/8429/8429946_manual.pdf

Could be handy for getting bigger firewood rounds out to the road .

Looks like a great idea. I just searched for something like this last month but came up empty.

Here's the manufacturer's website:
http://www.endurance-marine.com/product.php?categoryID=17&productID=87&productName=Tugger Winches

So...is it heavy duty enough for dragging logs?

A capstan was used to load the bundles of lumber onto this boat. From what I can remember, the capstan was about 8" in diameter. The operator would put three wraps around the capstan and use hand pressure to lift the bundles. He would just relax just a little to lower them with good control.

Yes, capstan winches are great and can be used for heavy pulling/lifting. I'm just not sure how much heavy pulling/lifting a 12v DC capstan winch can accomplish.

There was a thread in "The Wood Shed" where member "MR A" was looking for a way to get some big cut oak rounds up from below the street, rattle snakes included! There was a time when Super Winch produced a reasonably priced 1500 lb 12 volt winch attached to a 2" inch receiver hitch. I could not find it for an idea to post as a reply to his thread. But I found the "capstan winch" and just did the thread for general interest. You are right about it's possible lack of ability to pull.
I can pull some some pretty good logs with the 4000 lb Superwinch on my wood splitter. One thing about the capstan, you do not have to be in lead to get the line to spool and if used on the back of a pickup, you could pull at right angles to the truck. On the down side, it is questionable as to how much it could pull and also one would really want to know the breaking strength of the rope that you are using and would not want the rope going over a sharp edge; either could result in a whip coming right at you .

I sent an email to the manufacturer and asked whether it would have enough power and if it was heavy duty enough for dragging logs. I'll let you know if they respond. I have an area where I can scrounge a lot of good wood but I'm not permitted to use any motorized vehicles on the property. So I've been researching capstan winches for over a month. If this unit is strong enough I might just buy one.

One thing that I have to look for before yarding logs, is that there has to be a stump ahead and to the side of the splitter and truck to attach the winch cable to so the truck can be pulled ahead to release the tension on the drive train if the key cannot be turned to get the engine started. With the E- brake set as tight as I can with the transmission in park, sometimes after a good pull, I can not turn the key to get the engine started.

You are right THAT is a CAPSTAN

We used the big ones like "fossil" showed,only a horizontal drum, for tying up oil tankers with 9" polly lines.
The one hobbyheater linked is small diameter, I bet it has plenty of torque to pull logs.

Looks like a good tool for getting unstuck too. I need one & bet I find several uses to justify it

There's one currently listed on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/11082630125...sspagename=WDVW&category=43984&ih=001&vxp=mtr

Here's the email reply from Endurance Marine:

4000lbs won't haul monster logs but should drag big chunks uphill.

There seems to be a discrepancy between the specs on their website and what they stated in their email, so I wrote back and asked for more info:

Some of their other power products are clearly Chinese in origin.

It looks like they've simply mated a marine DC capstan pot/ anchor winch to a receiver, and added cables and a foot control.

I can't tell if its worth $700...

In the email, they state they ship to US from a warehouse in Blaine WA. That's the same location as the eBay vender selling their products. This looks like the marine winch on which the Tugger is based:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marine-Caps...at_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item19ce02b286

funny because I just was thinking of making my Ramsey 8000lb PTO winch a portable unit, something I could slide into my receiver and utilize a 5hp Briggs motor I have laying in the barn. would be fairly easy to do if I had the time.......nevermind I don't have any time!

They wrote back:

I chain a hay pulley up a tree & hook the rope to the cargo hook on the front of the truck.
I can back up & watch the log. I can go about 250 feet with the rope I have.
Faster than a capstan & cheaper.
Pic of down hill logging. Works good uphill too
.




http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/local-cuttn-area-ak-2nd-trip-pics.73914/

No doubt.

But I still have areas I want to recover trees from, on a lot in which I cannot use motorized vehicles, where I could use a capstan winch to recover a number of nice trunks. It would not be too difficult to rig a mount for this to strap to a tree but I'd still need a 12v DC source to power it. Which at this price point means the chainsaw powered capstan unit probably makes more sense.

Might beat lugging a 12VDC power supply big enough for that winch into the woods without a motor vehicle.

I'm going to build a wood hauler out of an old snow blower similar to the one here: http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/score-i-love-craigs-list.86371/#post-1114149

I could also run an old alternator off the snow blower motor and charge a small garden tractor battery for a 12v power supply. I'm still trying to figure out whether the landowner would consider a powered wagon to be a "motorized vehicle."