SP20,000 – SP Series™ Sidepuller^®

You can purchase your SidePuller^® from any Authorized In The Ditch SidePuller^® Distributor. We do not sell direct to end users but we would be glad to help you with any questions you may have.

It started with a phone call from Ron Pullen of New York. He was building a new 20-ton single axle wrecker and wanted to have the features of an SP8000™ but with more size. Ron asked me if we could build him what he was looking for. We talked for a couple of weeks, taking notes, and discussing the best features to include in the design. After all the notes were compiled, we built and shipped Ron a working prototype and it’s still in service today 15 years later!

One of the main design criteria was to keep this unit lightweight and strong. Most 20 to 35-ton wreckers have a 12,000lb to 14,600lb front axle. Adding too much extra weight was a big consideration to make sure the truck did not go over the manufacturer’s front axle’s weight rating.

The weight added to your front axle will vary from truck to truck, depending on how far back the SP20,000™ is from the front axle. Here are some typical results. With a Standard Day cab (no sleeper) expect to add around 1,200 lbs to the front axle. If you have a sleeper, the longer the sleeper, the less weight will be put on the front axle, because you are mounting the SP20,000™ further from the axle.

If we put a larger winch you would not see any benefit unless increased weight and cost are a benefit! The limiting factor to the amount of work a SidePuller^® can do is the stance of the stabilizer legs. The wider the stance the more you can pull before the truck starts to tip or slide. The SP20,000™ was computer matched to have the optimum sized winch for the stance. We also wanted to make the SP20,000™ easy to use. With a 20,000lb Winch and 9/16” Diameter Wire Rope, you can easily pull out wire and walk to the casualty. In talking with dozens of customers who own the SP20,000™, they all feel that the 20,000lb winch is sized right for the application.

The stance on the SP20,000™ is as wide as we can go without making the legs fold back or fold in. We had to stay under 102” wide when the Stabilizers are retracted. With our design, we were able to keep the low Pull D-ring right down at ground level so you can really generate great low pulling power. The larger SidePullers^® with Folding Outriggers lose that Low pull feature.

Yes, each model is designed for a GVWR or class range of trucks. We also match the winch and stabilizer legs to best fit the application. The SP9000™ fits class 6 trucks, the SP12,000™ fits class 7 trucks and the SP20,000™ fits class 8 trucks.

We wanted to keep the required space to mount the SP20,000™ as small as possible. On Ron’s truck he has a Century Wrecker with Modular tool boxes and SP20,000™ needs only 18″ of space. Mounting space requirement was important in the event someone wanted to retrofit an existing truck with a SP20,000™.

We wanted to give you a measurement that would fit any wrecker, carrier, or service body without any modifications. If you choose to mount the SP20,000™ in a space less than we recommend, you may have to do some modifications to your wrecker or carrier so you will have clear access to the SP Winch. You can look at our dimension section of this website and decide for yourself how much space you will need for your truck. Keep operator safety in mind when installing the SP20,000™. You should leave ample room to safely service the SP20,000™.

Yes! There are 8 different locations to mount the D-Ring to; you can also order additional D-Ring and pins from your Authorized In The Ditch SidePuller^® Dealer.

Yes! That was one of the main things we wanted from the design. We wanted to be able to run a line straight from the center boom head of the SidePuller^® straight back to the wrecker boom and have 3 lines off our boom. This would be very useful when picking with the 2 wrecker winch lines because you would have the 3rd SidePuller^® line to rotate the casualty.

The optional hook slide tray is an option on the SP12,000™ and SP20,000™. The hook slide tray bolts on to the SidePuller^® and allows the operator to place the winch line on it and slide the hook and wire rope to the other side of the truck. I would recommend that anyone putting an SP12,000™ or SP20,000™ on a wrecker order the optional Hook Slide Tray.

At In The Ditch, We are doing what we have always done and that is to constantly look for ways to improve all of the SidePuller^® models. I would say we are relentless in this quest!