LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the third year in a row Ancra International unveiled a new product at the Mid-America Trucking Show, with this year’s installment aiming to turn all winches into ratcheting winches.

“It’s been a basic product for so many years and we’re happy to bring some innovation to it,” explained Ralph Abato, director of sales and marketing, cargo systems division of Ancra. “It turns any standard winch into a ratcheting winch. It’s fast, convenient and economical, all things truckers are looking for.”

The new SilverCap OverDrive consists of a pin, a bolt and a cap, which are designed for after-market installation on standard winches. Once installed the product remains on the winch and does not need to be installed every time a load strap is tightened.

“Fleet owners and independent haulers won’t need to wait until they replace their winches or trailer to have ratchet winch technology,” said Abato. “They are as simple to operate as a standard socket wrench, which means drivers can tighten an entire load in a fraction of the time it takes to perform the same task with a non-ratcheting winch.”

The SilverCap OverDrive also has a seal of EPDM rubber between the galvanized cap and the main winch housing to protect against the effects of moisture, salt, dirt and road debris. As well as convenience the company’s engineers also designed the new SilverCap with a focus on preventing strap tension slippage and winch bar snap-backs.

“The safety factor is as crucial or important as anything,” noted Abato.

The SilverCap OverDrive is designed to work with any standard winch bar and is equipped with a three-month warranty.

“A winch for the most part will last as long as a trailer,” said Abato. “The thought and testing, in cycle and torque, is that it will last that long, but it hasn’t been out for 10 years yet.”

The product will be shipped to distributors in the next few weeks, including truck stops and parts dealers, and will retail for about $6.50 to $7.50 each.