Winch ATV in to bed?

[hounddog66]

I have a 2011 Ram regular cab, 6 ft. bed. I haul my Polaris Sportsman ATV in the bed. After rolling the ATV off the side of the tailgate and nearly killing myself while attempting to load it, I now want to winch the ATV on to the truck. My question is if I winch to a sling between the two front tie downs, are they strong enough to pull a 750 lb. ATV up ramps in to the bed without distorting, bending or pulling in the sides?

 

[Krackle]

I have a 2018 1500 crew cab, 5.7 bed and I have a Polaris scrambler 500 that probably weighs 550lbs and have used winch to get it the bed with no issues.

 

[Travelin Ram]

A sling between two sides and pulling sideways in the center of that sling will exert a multiplied side load on those tie downs.

If you do it often enough to make it worthwhile, what about a D ring mounted front center of the floor? Bolted through an existing cross member if possible or a new frame mounted brace if there’s nothing existing under there.

Or mount a section of E track at the front of the bed, bolted to the frame rails.

 

[2003F350]

A sling between two sides and pulling sideways in the center of that sling will exert a multiplied side load on those tie downs.

If you do it often enough to make it worthwhile, what about a D ring mounted front center of the floor? Bolted through an existing cross member if possible or a new frame mounted brace if there’s nothing existing under there.

Or mount a section of E track at the front of the bed, bolted to the frame rails.

This would be your best option if you're doing it a lot.

Or make sure your ramps are rated for the weight and just drive it up into the bed.

Still, having that Etrack would be GREAT for additional tie-down points.

 

[billyw]

On my last truck I built a structure that slipped over the front of the bed, and mounted a winch on it. I made it wide enough to distribute the load all along the edge. My ATVs were lighter than yours, but it worked well.

 

[Scott S]

You are not winching dead weight so the load will be light as it rolls up the ramps.

Biggest thing I found when pulling dead sleds onto trailers or truck beds is having enough space between the tie point and sled to pull it all the way without re positioning the straps. You could fab a pipe with hooks on the end and an eye in the middle and drop that between the bed rings and winch from the eye in the center as it would not flex like a strap and allow maximum pulling distance without being permanent.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

I winch my Polaris 850cc up ramps using a heavy chain stretched tight at the front of the bed. The chain is attached to the two loops at the floor of the bed, secured by two Master locks. I use the winch on the Polaris to pull it up with no issues. And that's with my 240 lb butt on it. I suck it up tight and then throw 2 tie down straps on it for good measure. It does not move.

 

[grizzstang]

Were you using the two separate ramps to load it when you had your accident?

I have one of these and have never had any issues. I always secured the ramps with straps to the bumper to keep them from sliding out. I also had a couple of 4x6's stacked against the front of the box for my front tires to hit and stop the front bumper from meeting my back window. Stand up and lean over the bars to keep the wheels from coming up, it has the added bonus of allowing you to see where you are going instead of looking at the sky when you hit the ramp.

https://www.princessauto.com/en/det...sionid=buFJeTWPyfH8lKJhL5gDRuqF.pal-prod-com3

 

[PaulTGarrett]

My wife is disabled and I winch an off-road (off-sidewalk?) "Cricket" scooter in and out of the bed on a regular basis. The scooter is like a small one-person golf cart. The Cricket weighs around 500 lbs and I had it roll down the ramps onto me ONE time. Learned the hard way that was a big mistake...

I simply took a piece of chain and hooked it between the forward tie hooks in the bed and use trailer safety chain clips to attach a 1500 lb Harbor freight special winch to the chain. I extended the power wires so I can get to the battery. Works great and is easy to remove and stow away.

The pic is of my old '98 RAM but I do the same thing in my '12. I also have solid ramps now instead of the "ladders".