How to Choose the Correct Electric Winch for a Small Car Trailer

Published 01/19/2018

Question:

Need to know if a 2-ton electrical winch will winch a car up on a trailer

asked by: Chris

Expert Reply:

Choosing the correct electric trailer winch for your needs is a bit of a tricky task. The weight capacity of a winch will be affected by many factors such as the weight of the object, angle at which the object is being pulled, the number of layers there is on the drum, in addition to static vs rolling loads.

The angle at which the car will need to be pulled up the trailer in addition to layers of wire on the drum will be offset by the rolling load therefore a 4,000 lb winch should be suitable to pull most small vehicles up and onto a trailer. I have attached our "how to choose an electric winch" help article for you.

I recommend taking a look at the Bulldog Winch Trailer Winch part # BDW15019. A winch rated higher than its intended use will be recommended for most applications. A winch that is operating on the mid to low range of its capacity will have far less stress than a winch operating at the upper limit of its capacity. The reduced stress will increase longevity.

The above Bulldog winch is an excellent cost effective option. It has a 1.8 HP motor, 44,000 lb rolling load capacity, and a heavy duty roller fairlead. I have attached a demo video of the winch for you as well.

expert reply by: Conner L