RS1000 Log Crane and Winch Installation

In this blog post we will follow along with Carl as he Installs a hydraulic log crane and the electric winch on the MAGNATRAC® RS1000. This how-to article is especially important if you plan to haul some logs on your property.

(Note: The information is provided by a Struck customer. Please follow all official Struck manuals when installing your equipment.) 

First, take off any other attachment that may be currently on your hydraulic hitch, by unscrewing the bolts holding it in place as shown in the image below;

Once the two bolts are out, remove the attachment and place it out of the way so that the rest of your install can run smoothly.

Next, place the LCA9 Log Adapter plate on the lower end of the LW228 log crane as shown in the image below.

Thereafter, lift the log crane assembly and place it in the same position where you removed the other attachment as shown below;

Now, put the two bolts back into position through the holes in the adapter plates so that the log crane is held in place on your RS1000. There will be a little gap left between the metals, so don’t expect the plates to be firmly attached to each other. Because of that gap, the log crane will move a little from side to side, which is fine.

Your next task at this point is to tighten the bolts holding the LCA9 adapter plate onto the LW228 log crane. Remember, you left these loose at the beginning when you placed the adapter plate at the end of the log crane.

And just like that, your LW228 log crane is now in place!

Now your attention should go to mounting the winch to the top of the log crane which you have just installed. If you were observant, you may have noticed that the log crane has holes at its top. Those are for mounting the winch, so just line up the winch on the log crane like this;

 

Now take the two mounting bolts and tighten them in place so that your winch is firm at the top of the log crane like this;

Thereafter, you are left with wiring the winch so that it can get power from the battery of your RS1000. Start by removing the cover of the battery compartment so that the battery is exposed like this;

Now take the two long wires at the end of the remote control and place them on the edge of the battery compartment. The red wire will first be connected to the circuit protection as indicated below;

Always disconnect the battery before touching the positive terminal. Now take the longer ends of the wires running from the remote and push them through the large hole on the side of the battery compartment. Here is the hole we are talking about;

Place the remote at the end of the log crane while threading the wires through the hole referred to earlier as shown in the image below;

Once the wires are inside the battery box, connect the black wire first to the black terminal of the battery and then do the same for the red wire coming from the circuit protection wire we mentioned earlier.

Here is an image of the positive side of the battery (the red terminal) connected to the circuit protection;

Now take the remote from the top of the log crane and place it somewhere close to the seat of the tractor in order to create room while you put the connectors in place as shown in the image below;

 

As you connect the winch to the wires coming from the battery, start with the red wire as indicated below;

Thereafter, get the black wire and insert it in the connector marked negative on the winch as captured in this image;

 

Now turn your attention back to the battery and reconnect it. Tighten the connections, but don’t make them too tight.

Next, it is time to test whether the winch is working or not. If you hold it in your hand as indicated in the image below, you will see that it has two buttons. One says “winch out” while the second is labelled “winch in.”

When you press the “winch out” button, you will see the winch line coming out, and this is a sign that the installation was successful.

 

The winch has a capacity of 2000 Lbs and we recommend that before you go lifting stuff with it you first pull the entire spool of wire out, put the load on there and then slowly reel the wire in while it is under the tension of the load attached to it. Otherwise, the first reels are going to dig into the little spirals on the wire left in the spool and you will have a mess.
So, tidy things up in the battery compartment as shown below, and ensure that you cover the terminals on the current protection device in order to avoid electrical accidents while you are using the winch on the log crane.

Place your remote where you want to;

Your log crane and winch are now ready and you can go have fun hauling logs! If you didn’t follow a particular instruction well by reading this instructional blog post, go on and watch the full how-to video below!