Replacing trailer winch with a 2 speed?

[rangerranger]

I have a 2021 VX20 that has the original Dutton-Lainson DL1500A winch. I am thinking of replacing it with a 2 speed winch, as I also did on my previous Ranger. On some steep ramps near my home, it is a bit of a pain putting the boat back on the trailer solo because it tends to slide back an inch or 2 when I walk from the console up to the bow to connect the winch strap. The 2 speed winch on my Ranger made it very easy to winch it back up that last inch or 2.

Have any of you changed winches on your Vexus? Dutton-Lainson makes one and so does Fulton (F2 2 speed). I had the Fulton on my last boat and it was great although a bit of a pain to install.

The existing Dutton-Lainson seems to be decent quality but I've been disappointed in their winch straps. I'm now on my 3rd strap in 3 years of ownership. I never had problems with Fulton straps on previous boats.

One question is whether the DL and the Fulton will fit the existing winch mounting holes on the trailer. I've sent inquiries to both companies. We will see what they say.

[City17Banner]

I had the same challenges with my 2022 VX20 last spring and at one specific ramp on an electric-only flowage (no power loading) that is quite steep the DL winch strap broke on me during the winching process (slightly scary event), but the bunks kept the boat from sliding too far down the boat trailer. Thankfully, I try to be overprepared for everything and had a spare winch strap on hand in the Tundra to replace the broken winch strap and was able to safely load the VX20 on the trailer for the trip home.

Once I got home, I decided to upgrade both the winch and the winch strap by purchasing the Fulton F2 2-speed winch (3.2k pound rated) and going with a custom-made winch strap from CustomTieDown.com rated for 10k pounds instead of the DL winch strap which is rated at 3k pounds. The custom-made winch strap was very competitively priced and with shipping came out to less than $50 and I received it about 10-days from date of ordering, meanwhile, my dealer gave me another DL winch strap so I now have two spare winch straps that I may never need to use again.

I went with the 10k rated winch strap with a 19-ft length with the 18" safety strap and all has been well. In addition, I upgraded my bow roller to the Stoltz 3" bow roller from Drewcraft.com and the combination has been excellent and far exceeds the OEM setup in my experience.

Good luck with your VX20 setup!


CustomTieDown.com Link: CustomTieDowns.com - Boat Winch Straps - 2 Inch

CustomTieDown.com Winch Strap model: PRODUCT MODEL: 2046-G16

Stoltz Bow Roller Link: Stoltz 3" Bow Roller Kit With Large End Caps - Drewcraft LLC

[rangerranger]

Did the F2 winch fit the winch stand without modification?

FYI, I contacted Dutton-Lainston asking about their two speed winch. They said the DLB1500A winch that came as standard equipment is actually a brake winch rather than a pulling winch and isn't normally used for boat trailers. Strange that Vexus uses it. Based on the number of people I've seen report broken straps it seems like that strap is clearly inadequate for the VX boats.

I've sent them some followup questions and am deciding between the DL 2 speed or Fulton. I had good luck with the Fulton on my last trailer except when I needed warranty service. Their customer service is terrible. Extremely difficult and frustrating trying to even get a response from them. Dutton-Lainson answers emails very quickly.

[City17Banner]

Did the F2 winch fit the winch stand without modification?

FYI, I contacted Dutton-Lainston asking about their two speed winch. They said the DLB1500A winch that came as standard equipment is actually a brake winch rather than a pulling winch and isn't normally used for boat trailers. Strange that Vexus uses it. Based on the number of people I've seen report broken straps it seems like that strap is clearly inadequate for the VX boats.

I've sent them some followup questions and am deciding between the DL 2 speed or Fulton. I had good luck with the Fulton on my last trailer except when I needed warranty service. Their customer service is terrible. Extremely difficult and frustrating trying to even get a response from them. Dutton-Lainson answers emails very quickly.

Yes, the Fulton F2 winch fits the Vexus trailer without any need for modification and the bolt pattern is identical to the DLB1500A winch that originally came from Vexus.

I was confused too when I was browsing the DL website after breaking my winch strap about why the DLB1500A winch was chosen by Vexus but I now keep it as a spare for my AVX 1980 since that uses the same winch and strap, so I have a complete spare winch and strap if its ever needed for either boat.

Hopefully you will hear from DL and the knowledge they impart helps you to determine a course of action to pursue, but to me the fact that you are breaking winch straps on a fairly regular basis might indicate the need for a stouter winch strap if not an entirely new winch and strap combination.

Good luck and I hope everything works out great for you sir!