Car trailer winch?

[Telvis]

I hauled my car home from the old body guy last night. It was only the second time I had used my new trailer to haul a car. I had previuosly used it to haul my brothers Mustang. The car was running so it was able to get on and off the trailer without any problems. Yesterday was a bit different. My Charger has no drivetrain. We pushed it up on trailer without any major problems. Getting it off was a bit different. I had four of my neighbors helping and it was still pretty darn scarry. I sat in the car and steered and they tried to slowly lower it down the ramps with several straps. It was not pretty. Thank goodness it all worked out this time. I don't want to do it again. I want to put a winch on my trailer. I really don't want to spend a ton of money on an electric one. Has anyone tried a hand crank winch with a brake? I saw a 2000lb capacityhand winch at tractor supply. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea so I didn't buy it. Anyone have suggestions? I don't want to do anything dangerous. Last night was as risky as I want to go. I know the Charger weighs more than 2000 pounds but I'm not lifting the entire mass off the ground. Am I wrong? Please help. I need to have this set up by next week. I have to take it to the new body guy.

[73 Charger 440]

Hand brake one will definetly pull it up, we had one as backup when we pulled up Elvis Presley's first motorhome, the thing weighed at least 20,000 pounds. We ended up using the hitch because the thing had been sitting for 2 weeks (after Las Vegas Auction) and would not start.

[PocketThunder]

Here is my set up.  I ordered a new H&H trailer this summer and had them add the winch prep plate.  it was a $100 option.  then i bolted on my winch off of my Ram truck right up to the trailer.  This thing is the bomb!  and since none of my cars run (what a shocker huh) it has already paid for itself. 

There are more pictures of it in my body work thread.  (which isnt moving very fast)

[Telvis]

I'm mostly concerned about what winch I should use. Mounting it won't be a problem. I just want to make sure whatever I use is safe. I have never used any type of winch before. I don't want the cable to snap, whip back and kill me. I would like to live long enough to drive my car a bit. The prices vary considerably on winches. The hand crank 2000 pound unit is the most economical. I just want to know if it will be safe to use. If not I need to know what will be safe.

[Old Moparz]

Telvis,

I'll be looking for one too, but haven't done as much research as I would like to yet. I've been using a 4000 pound cable puller & chains, & so far they work better than pushing & keeping your fingers crossed you don't roll away & flatten the neighbor's dog. This week I'm going to get some axle straps to use instead of the chains, since at some point I'll be hauling more than a project or parts car. A friend of mine bought one of those inexpensive 12V types for under $100 & says he's used it to pull his F-250 up on his trailer. I think that truck is around 5500 pounds. The cable puller (come-a-long) is slow, but never has it felt dangerous either pulling the car up, or letting it down the ramps.

[KMPX2]

I have use a simply chainfall many time with no problems. They are cheap & you can use a Chain to hook it to the trailer when you need it.

[Telvis]

What is a chainfall? I have a cable puller ratcheting puller. The cable is only about 3' long. It would never work. I have looked at the little inexpensive 12V winches. A buddie of mine just called me about it a bit ago. He's used one on his Chevelle. I may get one of those. Harbour Freight has them cheap. Their ad say's they can pull 9500# rolling stock.

[Old Moparz]

Home Depot had the cable puller with a much longer cable, it's either 12' or 16' long. I hook a chain to the car, & then another as an extension to the cable puller. It's slow going, but it works for now until I make a few changes to the trailer & get a winch.

Chainfall is just like a chain hoist.
http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/c000231.htm

[KMPX2]

It is something like your cable puller ratcheting puller, but with a much longer chain. Go to the Tractor supply they will know what it is they have them in a few different sizes. That is where I got mine

[Telvis]

Will the ratcheting type puller allow me to unload the car off the trailer without it just rolling free? That's the biggest worry I have. I need to be able to control the car as it rolls down the ramps. I have no brakes.

[73 Charger 440]

Telvis,

We had a 5th wheel 3 car loader trailer, we had to get 11 boats and deliver them in loads of 3. We got the highest rated Strong-Arm electric winch we could get, got a deep cell battery, charged it up when we left, it had no problem pulling the boats on trailers up the incline of the trailer. It had freewheel and unload modes, which made it very nice to work with. (if you are using unload and need it to stop you take it out of unload and it stops)

[Old Moparz]

Will the ratcheting type puller allow me to unload the car off the trailer without it just rolling free? That's the biggest worry I have. I need to be able to control the car as it rolls down the ramps. I have no brakes.

The puller I have only lets out 6" to 8" of cable at a time, & you have control over it with the handle. I've let cars down the ramps when I am alone many times, & whether they had brakes or not. I always chock the wheels & place the chocks 5 or 6 feet behind the car as a safety measure.

[69hemi]

We use the S series Superwinch winch.  It has 60' of cable, a remote and power in and out.  When it is your car on the other end of the cable why go cheap?

Check them out at http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?Ntt=superwinch&Ntk=KeywordSearch&DDS=1&searchinresults=false&N=0&target=egnsearch.asp

[BigBlockSam]

how about something like this . there lots of them on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Electric-Winch-6000lb-12V_W0QQitemZ5993568796QQcategoryZ66798QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[KMPX2]

I have one of those and it is junk

[Telvis]

Good to know. I had looked at those. I guess what I really need to know is what pound rating is adequate?

[BigBlockSam]

Good to know. I had looked at those   

  when i brought the sloth home. it had no brakes and it didn't run. i tied a tow strap to the trailer and the other side to the car. i had a friend  standing way back with tire chucks in-case the strap broke. Alex sat in the drivers seat for steering. the streets here are very tight with parked cars. i pushed the car back off the trailer and kept my fingers crossed. when that strap stopped the car from rolling , the trailer must have jumped  6 inches of the ground. scared the crap out of me but the strap held and it was a rented trailer anyway. Rene

[Troy]

For now, I use a 2,000 pound and a 4,000 pound come-along setup with a 20' truckers chain. I attach the chain to the car and the come-alongs to the front of the trailer. I always have either the chain or the spare come-along attached to a solid point in case the one pulling lets loose. (Don't leave too much slack because there's no "give" when the car reaches the end.)The 4,000 pounder has a 12' line (6' pull) so it takes about four complete cycles to get a Charger all the way on a trailer. If I alternate between the big one and the little one I can do it in three cycles but if I have a buddy push the car on the flats and chock the wheels I can do it in two. The 4,000 pounder has a thicker cable and never looks to be stressed. The 2,000 pounder causes some worry - especially if the cable binds but it works great for a $15 investment. Most of the time I'm pulling my cars without the engine and it doesn't take a whole lot of effort.

I have a 2,000 pound hand crank winch but I think it only moves .0008 inch for each revolution. I unloaded one of my cars in a thunderstorm with it once and almost drowned by the time I could unhook it. If I had my own trailer I'd buy a good electric winch.

Troy

[Telvis]

Thanks for the info Troy. I'm going to stay away from the hand crank winch. I neve gave thought to how slow it would be. Do you think a 2000# electric winch would suffice?  There are a lot of 2000 to 2500 units at decent prices.

[Troy]

Sorry, I should state that my hand crank winch is geared. I think the winches like the ones on the front of a boat trailer pull much faster. The rating is usually based on pulling power - not lifting (so don't try to hang a big block from the rafters using a 2,000 pound come-along). I'd say anything with a 2,000 rating would pull a Charger with full tires onto a normal trailer with ease. I'd watch it if you have to park on a hill or if the ramps are too steep. Remember that even when the car is on the ramps only half of it is going uphill at a time so the load really isn't super high. I'd still worry about the small cable diameter though.

I could break out the physics formulas if you want...

Troy

[Telvis]

I think I'm going to go with a 2000 pounder. I'm going to do a bit more research. They have the little pulley hooks that you use to increase the pulling capacity. I'm not 100% sure how to use them but I should be able to find plenty of information online. I really appreciate the help everyone has given.

[Daytona R/T SE]

I agree with 69HEMI   Get a superwinch. I've got the S-4500 series (not sure if they make that particular# anymore    ) It cost me somewhere in the mid-300 range about 7 years ago. I bought it from Jeg's. It will pull anything on wheels onto my trailer with ease. It has power in and out, and you can freewheel the cable,too. I've pulled deceased 5500lb Imperials onto my trailer with this, An old plymouth valiant four door with four flat tires and all four drum brakes rusted solid, and an upside down (don't ask) 72 Charger body   

      This is not the place to cut corners, being a cheap-ass in this area could cost you your car and your life...

[Steve P.]

I bought and mounted one like Big Block Sam showed you. I paid about $50.00 at WalMart for it. It only has a power in switch,,,,   BUT it has a lock,( good to have ), and it makes use of a clutch to let out cable.. It's OBVIOUSLY not the best on the market, but it has pulled more than a dozen #3200 - #4200 cars on and off my trailer in about 6 months..

The first thing I used it on was a dead Dodge truck. On the sand and pulling it up a hill besides up the ramps. The 30 foot cable is also great.. 

Like I said, it's cheap and so far it's been doing everything I've asked..  I don't even have a battery in my trailer box yet. It runs off the power circut in my 7-way plug....  I would imagine it will be much more efficient once I get the battery hooked up close and direct...