• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Trailer winch recommendations ?

Roughbird72

Well-Known Member
Local time
12:26 PM
Joined
Oct 18, 2014
Messages
284
Reaction score
237
Location
North Central Indiana
Yesterday my cheap trailer winch proved why it was cheap.
What winch would some of you recommend to load a 3500# - 4000# vehicle on an open trailer?
 
20150715_191209.jpgI use a Warn 8000#. I mounted it to a plate with a piece of 2" square tubing on the bottom. Then i welded a 2" reciever hitch on the front edge of my trailer. My winch runs off my booster box or i can reach the truck battery with jumper cables. This way i can remove the winch and store inside and i can also hook into the receiver on my truck for winching.

I dont know why my pics come up sideways......:(
 
Harbor Freight has 12,000 lb winches on sale I'd go with the biggest one for what a 4,000 lb goes for! You never know when you might need the extra pulling power!
 
Fix the warn and remove most of the cable as 8000# is only on the first wrap
 
On my stolen car hauler, I had a Ramsey REP5000 mounted and never had an issue with that winch, even when hauling a crew cab pickup onto the trailer. The largest vehicle I had winched with that was a 1950 Dodge H-H-A 2-ton flatbed truck I hauled back from Nebraska. The heaviest was probably my wife's '78 NYBS when I went to Iowa to pick that up in '07. Did everything I needed it to do. Retail on the Ramsey was about $695.00, IIRC. Mind you, this was mounted on a car hauler that has spent its entire life outside, uncovered and exposed to the elements for 15 years. And it never let me down. You buy quality, you get quality. You buy cheap, you get cheap.

01515_lVb2zHYmvoC_600x450.jpg

00a0a_f0kObYjBHKc_600x450.jpg
 
I am very impressed with my smittybilt http://www.smittybiltdepot.com/Smit...aspx?t_c=18&t_s=300&t_pt=100700&t_pn=S/B97417

I have a 9500 that is about 3 years old, I have used it about 15-20 times, mostly pulling people out of the mud, I used it last week to pull out a dodge ram (cummins) 1 ton truck that was to the front fenders in mud, the rears were about half way into the mud (that heavy diesel sunk like a rock). His winch didnt have enough cable to reach anything, so I ran a 50 foot chain from my rear bumper to a tree then ran my 9500s cable to his rear bumper, he was in neutral and I yanked him right out, the winch wast laboring much and everytime I use it the other wheelers always ask who make it...

The 17500 I have on a trailer, it was one of the first gen 2's, I pulled a winnibego with no front tires or wheels up onto the trailer with it the FIRST day I installed it, that winch is STRONG!!!! For $600 I cant think of one that will do more...

I have a warn on my dually that I spent $1200 on, would I do that aggain? NO ******* WAY, lol... dont get me wrong its awesome and the warn name is very known, but I would rather buy 2 of them 17.5's lol.. Also superwinches factory is 15 minutes from my house, I will NEVER buy another one of them pieces of garbage, I had one on my CJ and that thing freewheeled me down an embankment almost killed me, when I called tech support they said there were safeties in it for that not to happen and it was impossible, when I brought it back they had nothing to say, just handed me a new one... I sold it at a yard sake and warned the buyer about what happened to me, he was young and didnt care, lol. I could never trust it again...

But anyway check out smittybilt, its outsourced, but a decent unit, I like em...

ALSO, I wish I went with nylon rope on the trailer, I went with steel cable and my brother has the rope, its so nice for the trailer, its strong and so easy to work with...
 
Ive had ramseys, smittybuilts, and warns. I will only buy warns at this point. Never had any problems with them. A lesson learned from my grandfather before he passed away in 95: buy the best tools you can afford then take care of them. That advise hasnt failed me yet.
 
Bought a 3000 lb Superwinch in the early 80's and still using it. With a good battery, it'll pull a 68 road runner with two flats up on my flat bed with a bit of help pushing. Snatch block it and and you have 6000 lbs pull. Ramsey and Warns are good ones too. As for the China Freight ones.....some last and some don't.
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top