Recommended Brake Winch for Use on Ramped Utility Trailer for Loading 3000-lb Tractor  

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The best type of winch for your application is a brake winch, which automatically stops the drum's rotation when you stop cranking. This will be the safest type for your trailer and also will be easier to crank.

A wheeled vehicle like a car or tractor is considered a rolling load in the winch world and this places less stress on the winch than a non-wheeled item. The degree of incline on your ramps has an effect on winch capacity. On level ground a winch can pull a rolling load 10 times its rated weight; in other words on level ground a vehicle that weighs 10,000-lbs can be pulled by a winch rated for 1000-lbs. As the incline increases the multiplier is reduced; at a 10-percent incline a winch can pull 5 times its rated load. This relationship is detailed in the article.

The other factor affecting winch capacity is the number of layers of cable on the winch drum. For every additional layer, the capacity is reduced by an additional 10 percent. You will therefore want to use a cable only as long as you need with as few extra layers on the drum as possible.

With all of that said, it is always a good idea to use a winch with more capacity than you need. A winch used well below its maximum will be easier to crank and last longer.

Mounting the winch is another consideration. A winch's bottom mounting plate MUST be fully supported by the underlying surface. It cannot deliver its rated capacity unless mounted with all of its surface properly supported. In your application it might be a good idea to use an item like Dutton-Lainson Worm Gear Hand Winch # DL10950 since you could mount this to your trailer deck surface, presuming it is strong enough - something you will need to decide, and still be able to crank the handle. With this you can use 25-foot cable # DL24100.

expert reply by: Adam R

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