Capstan winch practical for long 2,000' towing up 1,000'? 1

[shane21]

Exploring practical options for towing a small/light flat bed trailer up mountain side that while flat at bottom gets progressively steeper until almost vertical right before it rounds out cresting at the top.

Maximum design load not to be exceeded, not including trailer weight which has not been selected yet, is 2,000 lbs of building supplies secured onto trailer bed. Total distance travel will be 2,000' from bottom to top that's at an elevation 1,000' above.

I was looking at anchoring rope or cable (if any capstans do steel cable) at the top and having the gas powered capstan be secured in the front of the trailer with a roller guide for the rope/cable to run through on top at the front of the tongue of the trailer. But, that might be a little too much excitement for the operator, so let's just figure the engine/capstan is anchored at the top, pulling the trailer up.

I started thinking capstan winch cause drum winches become less effective as their drum fills up and it's near at the top end it would need to be most effective. Some of the capstan winch outfits talk about limitations on rope length of 500-600' because of stretch. Some talk about different or larger ropes maybe less so.

If above might be practical, what minimum size combinations of engine/torque/capstan/rope should I be looking at? Is steel cable even an option with any capstan rigs?

If above is impractical or not advisable, what might work instead to accomplish the task?
Thank you for your response.

 

[BrianE22]

I like some of the other ideas better but an alternative is a double drum winch. The cable is in a loop and spools into and out of the drums. So there is no limit to cable length and the rated force doesn't drop due to cable layer buildup on a drum. The drawback is you need a return pulley.

 

[berkshire]

It is hard to suggest things without seeing the site, but would a Zip line with a cable trolley be a better bet. By anchoring the line further out you would have a reduced gradient and an easier pull. The timber companies use these devices to get logs out of difficult terrain.
Hitching the end of the cable to a suitable deadman.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[shane21]

hendersdc, the trailer loaded probably won't be moving up hill faster than somebody could walk alongside it, nudging it, to keep on track, communicating with top winch operator to pause, if needed, etc. The down trip would be bigger concern of drifting or wandering, with trailer being lighter, but at only 70 lbs empty, again somebody tending to it should be able to readily nudge it straight, as needed. That's the plan, anyways.

BrianE22, double drum, had not thought of that, will look into it, thanks.

berkshire, zip line was actually my first approach, imagining a fast/fun 'commute' off the mtn, too. Looked at the logging rigs, too, but discovered that the weight and distance combination created excessive dip in the line unless I went really heavy with the cable and installed top and bottom towers to assure trolley cart would not be dragging on either end. Expensive and much more involved as I got into the details, so started looking more at KISS principle of one smaller/cheaper line, one lightweight cart, one inexpensive top winch dragging it up hill. More trips reqd, cart tender up & down, too, but much simpler and cheaper, if in practice it worked out OK.

 

[3DDave]

Shane - on the helo; they use them to harvest small pine trees for Christmas. They are expensive by the hour, but they are also fast. I don't think they would be a great fit for your circumstance; just pointing out they may not be as costly for difficult work as one might imagine.

Oregon Christmas Tree Harvest With Helicopter. Amazing Pilot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08K_aEajzNA