Pop Up Hoist/Winch

[fmattox73]

Has anyone ever retrofitted an Electric hoist/winch to their pop up.
Are they Specific to the trailer manufacturer or is their a universal
model. What sources would you recommend.

[patperry2766]

I have the electric lift on my Flagstaff....and it has been in the repair shop three times. It seems like a pretty straight forward concept, but either the system on the Forest River's are defective by design or I have a dumb a#* service guy who can't pull his head out of his butt long enough to figure out the problem right the first time.

I carry a electric drill as a backup to the electric lift in addition to the DeWalt for lowering and raising the stabilizer jacks. I found the electric drill works way better that the cordless.

[bondebond]

I use my Craftsman 19.2V cordless drill (465 in. pounds of torque), a deep socket from my local hardware store with notches cut in it to match the end of the manual hand crank, a 6" socket extension and this $3 set of socket adapters for a drill from Harbor Freight. I don't have to have the secondary handle on the drill to use it but it is helpful and since I already have it, I use it.

It is used to crank the tongue jack for hitching, crank the roof up and down, run the stabilizers and the biggest workout: the BAL light trailer leveler. The leveler requires the most torque by far, even with a 14' roof with air conditioner on it. Lithium batteries are best. And the BAL does require a switch in socket size but I have a deep socket unmodified just for it that rides in the utility storage compartment. I should take a picture sometime...

[md2lgyk]

My 2014 Coachmen popup came with the adapter for using a cordless drill. Since I carry a drill for the stabilizer jacks anyway, I'm set.

[RimCountry]

Thanks, TechWriter... found the dealer online, but they've apparently dropped that item... not found either by part number or description 😕

Will continue the hunt...

[the_techwriter]

RimCountry, I finally found the receipt. The winch is listed on the invoice as Part No 896138 from McClain's RV SuperStore in Fort Worth, Texas. Phone 817-568-1999. It was $300 in 2010.

[the_techwriter]

Yes, it has a nut that can be turned with a deep-well socket, but I have to remove the battery and the large metal plate under the battery to reach it. I will look for the model and part number and report back.

[fmattox73]

As a comment to your post, most electric winches also have a place to hand crank the winch in case of electric failure. Yours doesn't I gather from the statement that you keep the old winch in the PUP. True or False?

[RimCountry]

Howdy, Techwriter... did that gadget come with a name or model number... something that could be tracked down on the internet?

[the_techwriter]

I purchased an electric winch for my Viking soon after I bought the PUP four years ago. Prior to the winch, I had to crank the manual winch 52 turns to raise the roof holding an air conditioner. I was worn out before I started to pull bunk ends. I bought the winch from the dealer that sold me the camper. It was easy to install and makes setup a snap. The dealer advised me which model I would need based on the size of the roof and the weight of the air conditioner. I keep the old manual winch in the PUP just in case Murphey decides to rear his head.

[RimCountry]

I'll be watching, too, Frank... mostly out of curiosity. I like to think that cranking our pup up manually helps "keep me in shape"... and it also justifies that night's dessert! 😉

[fmattox73]

I thought of this solution, but I didn't consider a "Spark Plug Socket"
as the driving device. I was trying to figure out how to make the square
end piece strong enough to not slip or break loose from the drill.
I'll give this a try. Thanks. I'm still waiting for an answer about
the electrical retrofit if any one has done it.

[RimCountry]

This isn't exactly a "retro-fit" but it works... an 18 volt cordless drill with high/low gearing and an over-sized spark plug socket. Probably cheaper, too.