MTFCA Forum

I’m looking for a new trailer winch to pull the T onto the trailer. I have had witches with wire cable before. All did well. I was just wondering about witches with rope. The winch will be stored in the dry. Any suggestions of which is recommended is appreciated.
Tom

I installed a winch last year in my enclosed trailer that has a rope lead. Absolutely love it. Doesn't mark up the floor when you free spool it out and you don't need to worry about small wires poking you.

Just curious, what winch did you buy?

Tmooreheadf wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 22, 2023 9:44 am

Just curious, what winch did you buy?

Tom, in both of our race trailers and the hauler truck we are using the Harbor Freight winches with remote controls. I do not buy the synthetic rope from H/F, -but instead buy the colored 10,000 lb rated, ¼" synthetic rope that are listed all over eBay for about $20.00. Most of those have the metal spool in the end by the hook. The only thing that is tricky is you will need to work at getting the end of the rope attached into the hole in the winch drum, but as soon as you have a few wraps on the drum, they work well.

One thing for us/me is I do not like to wait on a winch to pull the vehicle in. In our haul truck, we have a 12k rated winch and in all the others we are using an 8k winch. A smaller 2,500 lb. or 3,500 lb. winch will do fine for your application however the gear reduction to be able to use a small motor to pull that load with those winches makes the drum speed too slow for my liking. The heavier weight rated winches never slow down with a load as light as a T or A, therefore the car is usually inside within 60 seconds from start to finish.

.

A person also does not need to worry as much about "drum" damage with fiber rope as they do with wire rope. Just ensure the rope spools evenly across each layer and does not all spool on one end of the drum to prevent line pull and amp draw issues.

The two issues with the most potential for rope damage are: Physical damage: Sharp edges and rough floors. Second, UV light exposure will degrade the man made material of the rope. Protecting the rope from abrasion and storing the rope out of sun light will extend the rope life.

REMEMBER: The amount of rope on the drum drastically affects the pulling capacity of the winch, the amps it draws to obtain/maintain that pull, AND the braking ability to hold the load. The maximum line pull is available with the drum having just ONE layer of rope spooled on it. When the rope spools into the second layer, the capacity drops due to the loss of leverage as the drum is now effectively larger. The third layer reduces the capacity more and so on. With reduced line pull comes reduced braking as well. A rough but quick safety adjustment is: For every layer of rope on the drum, reduce the rated capacity by 20%. As the winch loses leverage, it will draw MORE amperage to maintain the same line pull.

This owner's manual, from Harbor Freight illustrates and explains this very well. https://manuals.harborfreight.com/manua ... 572064.pdf This manual explains BOTH wire rope and fiber rope.

I recommend purchasing a winch with double the line pull rating compared to the heaviest vehicle you expect to winch due to the fact, you will never winch with just ONE layer of rope on the winch drum.

Tom

I added an all aluminum enclosed custom
car hauler trailer last Spring that I am using.

I researched & bought this winch on Amazon.
I am very pleased with it.

I recommend you go to a Batteries Plus
or similar store to buy batteries for the
remote & have them installed because
the tiny cover screws on the remote control
are difficult to access.

@ https://www.amazon.com/Tyrannosaurus-El ... TO807sVsVU




FJ

Tom, I bought a hand crank winch that has a strap from Harbor Freight. A couple of advantages: No wiring required. No metal cable to mar the trailer. No remote to loose or potentially have a dead battery. No restriction on cranking time.
: ^ )

Keith

As noted above, sunlight will degrade synthetic rope. It may or may not fade. Some imported rope degrades very rapidly if left exposed to sunlight. I would be very cautious about using it. It's a good idea to have someone in the driver's seat of a car being loaded up any steep incline.

Also: Most inexpensive power winches have a very short duty cycle at any significant load. As line spools on the drum, both the capacity and duty cycle are reduced. Any electric winch will live a longer, happier life if full rated current is available any time it is in use, and remains available for the full duration of the pull.

I bought a X-Bull winch. I was looking for a winch with rope, wireless remotes. I ended up with a 12,000 pound unit, it came with two wireless remotes. I don't know why two. Also, a wired remote. I wanted wireless in case I was loading by myself. 12,000 is a bit of overkill as I'm not lifting a car up off its wheels! X-Bull was cheaper than Harbor Freight, but I suspect it's made by the same company. I bought the mounting plate from HF and it fit perfectly. I bolted the mounting plate to the floor with U bolts, 3, going around the frame of the trailer. The battery is wired to the charging circuit for the truck. I carry 2" PVC pipe that I put in the gap where the dove tail and the trailer meet so the rope has a smooth surface in case the rope is down that low. Won't drag on the floor wood.





Good Luck,
Rich

Don't hate me. "The Devil made me do it". Re-read original post. Which is it? Winch or Witch?

I have installed my trailer winch using a 1-7/8 trailer connector and then just install the hitch balls at the front of the trailer. I have two trailers, one open and one enclosed. Additionally I have on occasion connected the winch to a vehicle hitch to move something working by myself.

Don't know how it went from winch to witch . I was gonna blame fat fingers but those two letters ain't no place close to each other!
And thanks for everyone's candid submissions. Gives a guy a bunch to consider. I will not have the winch bolted down always. I will be using a bracket that allows the winch to be taken off when not in service. I should not have sold the old winch when I sold the old trailer!

In reading all of the above, I see no mention of the use of a snatch block. My 2000 lb capacity winch has served me quite well and when I occasionally need extra power, use of the snatch block makes a huge difference. Of course this slows things down a bit, but I am not interested in being able to winch a car up into a trailer particularly quickly; I don't do it all that often and I prefer to take my time and work slowly, carefully and as safely as possible. FWIW,...harold

I put a Harbor Freight Badland Apex 12,000 pound winch in with the synthetic rope. Definitely overkill but it was on sale. Also, I mounted a piece of 2 1/2" tubing to a plate and bolted it to the floor. Mounted the winch on 2" tubing and slid it in with a pin. Now the winch can come out if needed, put in a truck receiver to use it or on my open trailer which I have the same mount. I wish I could show a better picture but the trailer is in storage for the winter.

Rich in Colorado wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 22, 2023 11:40 am

I bought a X-Bull winch. I was looking for a winch with rope, wireless remotes. I ended up with a 12,000 pound unit, it came with two wireless remotes. I don't know why two. Also, a wired remote. I wanted wireless in case I was loading by myself. 12,000 is a bit of overkill as I'm not lifting a car up off its wheels! X-Bull was cheaper than Harbor Freight, but I suspect it's made by the same company. I bought the mounting plate from HF and it fit perfectly. I bolted the mounting plate to the floor with U bolts, 3, going around the frame of the trailer. The battery is wired to the charging circuit for the truck. I carry 2" PVC pipe that I put in the gap where the dove tail and the trailer meet so the rope has a smooth surface in case the rope is down that low. Won't drag on the floor wood.





Good Luck,
Rich

Thanks for information.