It's alive!
I got to test my powered dolly today and I have to say it did much better than I thought it would.
The negatives that made me think it might not work.
The winch motor drum only has bushings, not bearings. A lot of friction under load.
The
axle is so wimpy, small diameter and unsupported, even unpowered it's marginal.
It's one wheel drive only and the wheels are far apart.
The area where the trailer is stored over the winter is rough, with exposed tree roots and a slope. It's been tough for my wife and I to haul the trailer out to the driveway. We've used a small manual winch to help.
So I hooked up the dolly, took a deep breath, and pushed the button and off went the trailer without us pushing
The one wheel drive, with the tongue
weight on it, kept its' traction even on the moss. The off center drive does want to rotate the dolly but the long handle has more than enough leverage to provide steering.
I was originally just going to test the motor for power and gearing and then make a two wheel, more beefy version. But this one works so well it's going to be used "as is".
Color me one happy camper