Tig
Veteran Member
I know I'm a bad TBN'r for not attaching a pic. 
Here is what I used to make this thing
I bought the 42" wide tarp from Loadhandler for about $20. They are real tough.
I used a 48" x 1" iron bar and a couple pillow block bearings for the spool.
It sits in the tailgate slot and I bolted it to the sides. Hard to describe but the strength comes from being held in position on the box sides. The bolts just keep it from rattling off when not under load. It goes on and off in about 5 mins.
Originally I made a 24" crank handle out of tubing and that worked great. I ran into problems if I over loaded the trailer and the suspension compressed. The handle gets too low to the ground and you can't crank. That means you have to use a ramp to tilt the crank side.
That nonsense inspired me to weld an old lawn mower front rim to some tubing and swap out the handle. I cut a slot in the rim for the hook and wrap the winch cable around it. I sit the battery if the front corner of the trailer bed in a marine battery box. You free spool the winch and pull the tarp out to cover the bed and a few feet past. That also wraps cable on the rim for unloading. I do have to be a bit careful with the wheel wells. Too much material in front of them and it does not come out clean. The battery helps keep the one side clean. The bed liner is probably quite important in making things work well. I also positioned the spool shaft 1/2" above the bed so that it would lift slightly as it pulled.
If you have ever unloaded a trailer of tractor cut sod you can appreciate how wonderful this thing is. It is smaller scale than any dump truck but it matches my tractor nicely and suits my needs. The video is when I first tested the electric winch. Since then I have seriously over loaded that trailer while moving material on my property. I have not had a problem unloading, even after I clipped a tree and bent the shaft.
Here's the video. Enjoy.

Here is what I used to make this thing
I bought the 42" wide tarp from Loadhandler for about $20. They are real tough.
I used a 48" x 1" iron bar and a couple pillow block bearings for the spool.
It sits in the tailgate slot and I bolted it to the sides. Hard to describe but the strength comes from being held in position on the box sides. The bolts just keep it from rattling off when not under load. It goes on and off in about 5 mins.
Originally I made a 24" crank handle out of tubing and that worked great. I ran into problems if I over loaded the trailer and the suspension compressed. The handle gets too low to the ground and you can't crank. That means you have to use a ramp to tilt the crank side.
That nonsense inspired me to weld an old lawn mower front rim to some tubing and swap out the handle. I cut a slot in the rim for the hook and wrap the winch cable around it. I sit the battery if the front corner of the trailer bed in a marine battery box. You free spool the winch and pull the tarp out to cover the bed and a few feet past. That also wraps cable on the rim for unloading. I do have to be a bit careful with the wheel wells. Too much material in front of them and it does not come out clean. The battery helps keep the one side clean. The bed liner is probably quite important in making things work well. I also positioned the spool shaft 1/2" above the bed so that it would lift slightly as it pulled.
If you have ever unloaded a trailer of tractor cut sod you can appreciate how wonderful this thing is. It is smaller scale than any dump truck but it matches my tractor nicely and suits my needs. The video is when I first tested the electric winch. Since then I have seriously over loaded that trailer while moving material on my property. I have not had a problem unloading, even after I clipped a tree and bent the shaft.
Here's the video. Enjoy.

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