Tzi's dual motor winch how-to

[Tzi]

I mentioned in another thread that I had made a wireless dual motor winch for a customer and a few people wanted to know how, so I've quickly made another one and taken photos for a how-to.


First up, you'll need two identical RC4WD Bulldog 9300XT Winches.
If you want the final winch to have a wireless controller, then its cheaper to buy one of them as a wireless winch, rather than buy two normal ones and the wireless addon kit.

1x Z-E0021$34.99
1x Z-E0015 $59.99
OR
2x Z-E0021$34.99





Start by unscrewing the winch from the mounting plate underneath.


Then, unscrew the two screws in the top plate on the shorter side and take that off.


Loosening the grub screw in the thicker end.


Remove the winch drum


Do the same to the other winch


Remove the top plate on the second winch


Now this is the hardest bit...
Take one winch drum and cut/grind/remove the shaft off the end,
Drill ALL the way through from one side to the other, taking care to drill straight. If you have a lathe, now is a good time to use it ;)


NOTE: You will need to drill a new hole and grub screw to attach your winch rope, as the existing hole and grub have been used to hold the second motor shaft. As I did this build/shoot in a limited amount of time, I'll have to leave that up to your imagination.


Now, attach the drum to the motor on the side that the top bar is attached to.


Bolt the second motor onto the drum being particular to line up the flat spot. You can then rotate the motor till the top plate lines up, put the screws in. Be careful lining this part up, as the screws can easily strip in the cast metal.



Screw the mounting plate back on... and your almost done



Now... you may notice that the wires are coming out the front on one side.



This can be very easily fixed (although its a bit fiddly) by simply pulling the gearbox out of the casing, and threading the wires back through the other hole.


Wire the motors together in parallel, and connect them to the winch controller.
NOTE: When wiring the motors together, be sure that the motors are rotating in the correct direction, and not fighting against each other... otherwise you'll find out real quick which one was stronger


So, lets consider what you get for $95...
1x Dual Motor winch
1x Wireless controller
1x Standard controller
2x Winch hooks
2x Spare gearboxes (each winch comes with a bonus gearbox)
1x Spare mounting plate/fairlead roller
1x Spare spool,
and some spare winch body parts

[Tzi]

I also found some pics of the first one I build for a customer.
The red stuff on the wireless controller is plasti-dip for waterproofing.


I tested this particular winch lifting weights in a vertical pull. I suspect the numbers would be higher on a static linear pull.
Not a bad figure for a stock controller




Its worth noting that RC4WD are covering their behinds (and who could blame them) by saying their winch is only rated to 1.5kg. Its a very conservative figure, but it means that customers will not complain when anything goes wrong.
The actual stall rate on these is closer to 5kg, however the stock controller may not agree (soon to be tested).
As with all mechanical parts, your milage may vary. The gears are very small, and any grit/dirt/gunk in the gearbox will cause premature failure.
That said, replacement gearbox/motors from RC4WD are only about $10

I have had several good winches that seem to be indestructable, and some that give up quickly. Its always the gearbox that goes, rarely the motor.




I'll be doing some testing shortly (with video) to check out the stall rate of single, and dual motor winches at various voltages and with different controllers.

[Erin]

Nice, thx for the write up. Kinda what I was thinking in my head. Would be a bit big for smaller build but not out of place on a 1/8 scale

[Tzi]

Its only a little bit longer than a single motor winch. I should do a side by side shot.
If your using an RC4wd winch, chances are your not going for 100% scale looks anyway. 3racing winch has the same gearbox/motor and looks like a replica, but its a little bit more fiddly to do a dual motor as the top plate is not symetrical and requires cutting.

[crowninshield3]

Too cool thanks for taking the time to do this!

[ghtpdm5]

just kinda gandering at this tzi, could you make a dummy winch out of the spares? looks like the spreader plate and a little modification to the spool and you'd be set?

[Tzi]

Something like this??

[Tzi]

Comparison between single motor and dual motor...

[BruinsLegend77]

Video going up soon?

[juan r]

where is the video this f..... bad ass man so on the motors you put the 2 red wiers togerther and the to BL togerther and it will work with the wire less box they come with ?

[Tzi]

I think the wires are not same color paired, it's red-black paired from memory but I think it depends on which way up the motor was when the factory soldered on the wires
Best test each side for rotation to make sure the wiring is right before you solder them together

[juan r]

ok coo this is a nice set up you did man i love it . ok so the wireless controller can run the 2 motors and it will not bunr out ?

[juan r]

i would love to see a vidoe if you have one of it working ?

[rangercat23]

Cool! I always wondered if this was possible.

[pajey]

Very cool mate. I would love to see a video of it going.

[teifert2429]

Any luck with a video? Also any more tests on a linear pull?

[Epcampau]

Great write up brother. Might have to try my hand at this now!