Bit of an update
Damn! Top one upside down!
Anyhow, supposed to show top photo with mast locked at halfway, middle one at full extension, bottom one with cabin fully seated.
The square looking box affair will slide over the mast when mounted hiding the ropes and pulleys.
In the foreground is the remote control and the safety bar that locks each stage, although winch can be raised or lowered anytime in its travel. Just keep fingers out of the way before inserting locking pin.
Dyreema (?) rope much improvement over that snarly wire rope.
Old tool box holding the actual winch will sit just below the level of the hardwood bearers for the tipping tray.
Dave_64

Really neat work, fitting all that up Dave.

Now I stupidly thought " why not make it lift using 12 volt rams or actuators ?"
Then I thought, "what happens if you have no power ?, you'll be screwed"

Do you have a plan for no power operation ?


Paul

Mrs, have cupla alternatives if run out of power.
Can fit cupla those light horse float rear tailgate springs with a hand ratchet 'come-along- billy' hand winch. Dont know what the correct name for em is.
Have an old set of wire strainers with the 3 sets of locking jaws, but stuffed that idea up when I replaced the wire cable with the Dyreema rope.
Alright whilst it's at home here, got the overhead gantry and chain block to lifft cab, BUT, out on the road, either have to carry the spare winch or carry a telephone post to jerry rig the chain block to!
In truth, haven't really nutted that out yet, you know what they say about rushing things, only stuff them up!
Dave

Maybe just carry a set of jumper leads, someone will surely help you out.

Yeah, the winch power leads are on their own seperate cicuit.
Other than carrying the spare winch, just how many spares can you accomodate?
Always get it up to the first stage manually with my 'Hi-Lift' 4WD jack if worst comes to worse, get the shed up without power that way, winch has a free running clutch built into it!
OR, probably simpler, we are talking alternatives aren't we?

A short piece of say 75X75 or 100X 100 square tube with one end plated, an eye welded to the side of it.
Hook the 'come-along-billy' hand winch to the top of the mast at one end and use the existing cable eye at the other and hand winch it up.
Get the shed up if the rope breaks or the winch power goes off.
I dunno, is that thinking outside the square?

Dave, it's time to just have faith in the project and what you have done. What happens "if" just creates more problems. You have overcome so many since you started this, so a breakdown or loss of electric power is a minor problem, and how often does that happen?
Steve.

Why not install a second battery that is isolated from the starter battery.

The odds of both being flat is remote and you also have a back up you could jump start the engine from if the main battery curled up its toes.

Most 4x4 with winches run two batteries in just the setup I described.

Got the same system in my Prado.
Redarc

Haven't been ginning around much in the shed.
Had to wait for a steering column bracket to become available, (Mazda T4000), bit thin on the ground and supposedly could have made one up, but worth waiting for as the one I finally got (after almost completely dismantling the cabin), still had the hanging clutch pedal attached, which could solve one more problem.
Could make up a flexible line all the way to the slave cylinder.
So, if it all fits up OK, can install the entire steering system soon, already have the power steering box, pump and plumbing done, bit arsy, the old drag link fitted almost in the exact same spot on the pitman arm.
Minor oil leak, used the wrong connector, work around that OK.
Need to get the steering sorted so I can get it out of the shed, roof is too low to tilt the cab fully up, also the winch cables have a cover to hide them, that's ready to go on as well.

Thought the fuel tank must have sprung a leak again, went out after Xmas and diesel on the floor. Now suspect that either the return fuel line was causing pressure to build up inside the tank itself, the breather goes to a canister bolted to the end of the tank, put a tray under it but since unscrewing the lid a bit doesn't seem to be doing it now, although only been started the once in the past month or so.
That's about it for the moment, progress has been rather haphazard, but my excuse is that if one tends to rush, one tends to make mistakes!
OR, in my case, make mistakes whether rushing or not!
Cheers!
Dave_64