Recommended Electric and Manual Winch for Car Trailer

Question:

I am looking to get a hand winch to pull a car on a trailer. They are rated by pounds. Is the weight rating pounds it can drag on the ground? The heaviest car is about 3000 ponds but that is rolling weight what would you recommend?

asked by: Davey

Expert Reply:

Most Car trailers will utilize the electric winches that have much more power and strength.

For a hand winch, I recommend the Dutton-Lainson Hand Winch, TUFFPLATE Finish, Two Speed with Direct Drive - Hand Brake - 3,500 lbs. # DL14881. This will only give you that max capacity of the winch on the single layer of cable around the drum and it will be a lower capacity with each additional layer of cable. I recommend the Fulton Galvanized Winch Cable with Hook - 50' x 7/32" - 5,600 lbs # FWC7500100 for this application. This will not drag non-rolling cars onto your trailer and is the strongest manual winch we have available. They just aren't designed for this kind of weight. You'd need to use chains and a come along for the manual loading.

To move rolling cars, I highly recommend you go with an electric winch like the Bulldog Winch Trailer Winch - Wire Rope - Roller Fairlead - 4,400 lbs # BDW15019 which will be slow moving but get the job done. For a winch able to drag a non-rolling or barely rolling car onto the trailer, I recommend the Bulldog Winch Trailer Winch - Wire Rope - Roller Fairlead - 7,800 lbs # BDW10031. This has a greater capacity and the roller fairlead will also help.

expert reply by: Jason S