Just got a trailer, now looking for an electric winch. I cant believe I went a couple moves without one period, really sucked and one had to get creative. Anywho, the most recent car I bought is stuck on one side in a field (51 Merc) and will need to get uprooted...I usually buy stuff in this sort of shape/situation so one that will get rollers with freed brakes up wont help too too much. What do I need? What are you guys using on your setups, and what is the hardest job its pulled up? I am reading the specs but we all know how manufacturers can sometimes "overclock" thier specs. Thanx in advance.
I'm no winch expert. I have dealt with two in my life, the one on my trailer and the one on MilesM's COE ramp hauler. My trailer is has a high deck on it and longish ramps so pushing a car up it sucks to say the least and driving one up only works if the car runs, who needs to trailer a running car anyway? I consulted one of my offroad friends on a winch, his advice was for infrequent trailer useage to get a Harbor Frieght 9000 pounder. So far it has done me well, only the relay has given me any grief. I also mounted an Optima red top on the trailer and wired it up to charge when the trailer is plugged into my truck. I should be running a yellow top (deep cycle) but so far everything has worked well, 2+ years now. I cannot tell you what a joy it is to just hook and pull. The other is a Ramsey 12,000 pound winch. What a monster! This thing came installed on the ramp truck and has never let us down. I am currently rebuilding the whole truck and the ramp section hit the scrap yard. So I have re-mounted the winch between the frame rails over the top of the trailer hitch area and braced it well. Should serve well for pulling things out of ditches and self recovery if needed but mostly for pulling things onto trailers that don't have winches. Accessories make or brake you. I have a company called DLD Truckstraps real close by. I picked up an assortment of tie straps and strap loops to help attach the winch cable and to strap the car down once on the trailer. I would also recomend a block and tackle kit like the 4X guys use. You never know how usefull some of that stuff can be when you need it.
my trailer i used a heavy duty warn but mounted it with 2" box reciver style so i could pull it off and put it on the back of the truck. there has been too many places i cant get the trailer in to to drag the car out. wiring I used heavy duty connectors for a fork lift battey. also made a set of 0 gauge jumper cables so i can use it with other trucks not wired for it.
I have a 4000lb winch that mounts on my trailer. Forklift plug to the truck battery. I also carry snatch blocks, with them I have dragged cars with all 4 wheels sliding up on the trailer.
I second all of what Elpolacko said about winches and accessories. Include a pair of heavy duty work gloves to save your hands from the cable after its been used. Also several ratchet tie-down straps of strong capacity. Its a bitch when an impact load breaks a tie down strap. I speak from experience. A come-along and a high-lift mechanical jack like the 4-wheel crowd use are essential for car recovery along with a pulley, choker cables and other cable accessories. My brother-in-law swears by Warn winches. They're pricey but he's never had one fail. He always uses a roller block and has a looong cable remote operator for the winch. It lets you be close to the car you're trying to pull out and saves running back and forth. He has his mounted on the rear of his 4x4 truck so he can us it with or without the trailer. I'm planning a winch and a Class 4 receiver hitch for my F1. A truck is for hauling and work.
I can't be too much help as far as a specific model winch to buy, but like ELpolacko said the Ramsey winches will pull some shit. Tuff units. Also, some suggestions. Invest in a cable guide. It mounts right in front of the winch & it's basically 4 rollers that keep the cable from coming off the winches spool. Don't use the hook at the end of the cable to pull the car on. Get a hook on a pully & run the cable through the pully & hook the end of the cable to the trailer right by the winch & use the hook on the pully to pull the car. By doing this it takes alot of strain off the winch & your battery will last longer. Also to get a stubborn car OFF the trailer,you can attach the hook pully to the eye at the tail of the trailer & run the cable through the pully & hook up the the end of the car at the front of the trailer to pull it off. OR you can chain the chain the car to a tree & just drive away. Keep a box full of chains & binders. Billy
The pic shows a manual 1800# boat winch in my trailer. Stand is 1" x 2" x .120 wall rect tubing. It works well and doesn't take too long to drag a roller inside. I also used a 1600# boat winch on my flatbed open trailer with steep (6') ramps - steeper than the door ramp of the box trailer anyhow. It pulled the dead runners up with no problems. One thing I do, when using the winch is to place 4 x 4's under the rear wheels every 2' - 3' the car moves. The cable etc. is strong enough, but I don't want a free rolling car leaving the trailer or ramp. I also use the winch to retain the car when removing it. A bit of an economy measure, but so far it's working well. I do most of my work alone as I suspect most do, so it pays to think ahead. Safety first. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you do the electric winch bit you may want to do what little brother did in his box trailer. The winch is mounted to the left side front, behind the potty room which is similar to the potty room in mine, bolted to the floor where he can access it without problems when a car is inside the trailer. A sturdy base plate is mounted flush to the floor front and center. It has a socket that accepts a short piece of tubing that has a snatch block on it. The winch is out of the way and the front cabinets don't have the winch inside. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2nd pic shows the 1600# winch on my tandem axle flatbed trailer. Mount made from 2" x 2" x 3/16" angle. Seen just past the winch, mounted on the trailer tongue is a small welders storage box. Worked well for straps etc. You could come close to jackknifing the trailer without hitting the box. Most really sharp backing up turns - in my case anyway - were to the other side so no probs. Get a couple of snatch blocks and carry a piece of HD rope so you can extend the cable or flat strap beyond the trailer. The snatch blocks also allow you to pull the car sideways on the trailer. A handy feature when dragging a 32 Nash out of barn in a rainstorm. Four flat tires, a little mud and it kept sliding off to the side when loading. The trailer was level fwiw.
I did the same thing on mine...weld a cheap 2" receiver box to the front of your trailer. It not only is GREAT for quickly taking your winch off to put into the truck so it doesn't get ripped off or weather damaged....but it also is awesome for when I have to haul a trailer on my trailer because I can mount the trailer directly on a ball and secure it down very well. Only suggestion is that if you do put a reciever on yours make sure it is far enough forward so you have enough room to pull your vehicles all the way up. I didn't do this on mine and sometimes I can't get enough tounge weight if the winch is on. I broke my Warn M6000 (brake went out) and ended up buying a cheap $250 Harbour Frieght tools 8000 winch to replace it temporary. Well, that was over two years ago and the winch has been excellent. Never had to double line it, it has enough power to pull a 3/4 ton truck up with stuck brakes. And is is ONLY $250!!!!! For that price, I can buy three of them for every one Warn I would go though. There is a difference in power, but not enough that is worth spending more $$ on the Warn. Don't get a cheap 4000 pound winch for pulling cars out of the mud, it is a waste of $$. Don't get one of those cheap $75 ones either, they will last you a couple of times before they break. Spend $50 and get yourself a battery to mount directly to the trailer, ground it to the trailer and run a wire to the 12+ connection from your 7 plug trailer connector. It will Keep the battery charged when your driving and you will always have power for your winch, even when it is not hooked up to your truck...not to mention that you have an instant power supply for jumpstarting a dead car on your trailer. Moral of the story. $300-400 you can have your trailer hooked up with a new winch, battery, and receiver hitch. Well worth the investment in time and headache relief.
I have an old Sears manual boat winch on my trailer, a guy who borrows the trailer sometimes gave it to me years ago. if I can't load a car with that, then you know what, I really don't need that car.....
a few guys have mentioned snatch blocks, but nobody really made it clear what they do, they are a pulley you mount to the behicle being pulled, you then double the cable back to the winch point, this doubles the pulling capacity of the winch.
Yeah, we use either that or a nice block and tackle. I just loaded a '58 Dodge Wagon on a 18' trailer with the manual "cable puller" by myself. I figure if I can lug that beast on without breaking a sweat, I can handle most anything.
I have one of those on mine, it comes in handy for really heavy cars or something with a flat tire. You only have to crank with half as much force, but you have to do it twice as long.
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