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Winches....
cliftyhanger - 20/4/11 at 08:32 AM

I have been given a trailer, very handy indeed. However, no winch fitted.
What sort of size do I need without breaking the bank. I am assuming the 1200lb ones mean they will pull with a force of 1200lbs (500kg or so). Does that mean they will be OK to pull a 1000kg car onto the trailer?
Any recommendations??

TIA
Clive


daniel mason - 20/4/11 at 09:20 AM

do you need the whinch? i can almost push my car onto my trailer by myself. 2 people will push it on easy if its a 7 type car.or if its running can you drive it on?


bigfoot4616 - 20/4/11 at 09:56 AM

my trailer came with a winch but i have never used it as i have no problem pushing the striker on to it myself.
as i don't have much spare width i find it easier to push it on than drive it on


Wadders - 20/4/11 at 10:38 AM

You can pick brand new 12v 900kg winches up on ebay for £40-£50 that work a treat
Loads of different brands and packaging, but i reckon they all come out of the same chinese factory.
Some come with a roller fairlead which is handy but not essential.

Al


cliftyhanger - 20/4/11 at 12:54 PM

Yes, I need a winch, the cars I will move with it have often not moved for sometime, and generally weigh 800-1000kg ish, you may be able to shove them on a trailer, but I wouldn't even give it a go

tried a leccy one, was probably one of the cheapy jobbies, a while ago. It was actually fitted to this trailer, but the winch was as useful as an chocolate teapot. So I want a manual one.

So, anybody actually know what the 1200lb means on a winch


ElmrPhD - 4/6/17 at 08:46 PM

Ever get an answer? I need to get a winch for my new (1984) trailer. I only need to pull my MNR up with it, but I suspect that at some point that might have to be done with a flat tire...or worse.
No idea what size (manual) winch I should be looking for.


mark chandler - 4/6/17 at 09:30 PM

My £50 12v eBay winch has done plenty of work, they are perfectly good for this. If you need double the power use a snatch block.


907 - 5/6/17 at 07:00 AM

If I picked up cars every day I would have an electric winch, but for occasional use I have a manual wind one.

Description
Description



It uses a webbing strap rather than a wire rope, as wire is either rusty or covered in grease, tangles when tension is released,
and is generally a pain in the proverbial.
Overall it's probably quicker than electric if you factor in the faffing about with batteries, charging, connecting up etc, and if
the trailer gets left outside then no worries about water ingress. (hence the green mildew)

My MiXy and Suttol get driven on & off. The winch is only used on other peoples cars.


Just my opinion.
Paul G


ElmrPhD - 5/6/17 at 07:24 AM

Thanks for the helpful replies (they really are), but what I'm really searching for is what capacity is needed? In my case, it's for small cars (MNR Vortx and 1972 BMW 2002tii), but I can easily imagine the race car might need to get dragged up with a flat tyre at some point...
So, I'm thinking 1000kg/2200 lb might suffice???


ElmrPhD - 5/6/17 at 07:25 AM

Oh, and I don't really want an electric winch. Just an old-school manual crank type for me.


bonzoronnie - 5/6/17 at 09:32 AM

The rating on a manual winch will refer to its rated pull capacity.

My hand winches on my boat trailers work as intended.

Can drag the full weight of boat & engine onto the trailer.

Will even recover from damp sand etc
In essence, pulling the full dead weight + friction.

Would imagine a car will be a lot easier to winch as the force needed to do so is greatly reduced, you only have the rolling weight to overcome.

That said.
Flat tyres or seized brakes will need a higher rated hand winch.


nick205 - 5/6/17 at 09:44 AM

quote:
Originally posted by 907
If I picked up cars every day I would have an electric winch, but for occasional use I have a manual wind one.

Description
Description



It uses a webbing strap rather than a wire rope, as wire is either rusty or covered in grease, tangles when tension is released,
and is generally a pain in the proverbial.
Overall it's probably quicker than electric if you factor in the faffing about with batteries, charging, connecting up etc, and if
the trailer gets left outside then no worries about water ingress. (hence the green mildew)

My MiXy and Suttol get driven on & off. The winch is only used on other peoples cars.


Just my opinion.
Paul G



My thinking exactly!

My Dad's had trailers at work for collecting lawn tractors etc. for years. Each has a manual winch on it and they work fine. Some of the tractors don't start so driving them on's not an option.


Angel Acevedo - 5/6/17 at 06:08 PM

On Manual winches I´d think the limit is the reduction ratio.
That is: An 80kg man can only excert so much pressure on the lever. The reduction ratio will detemine how many times these 80 kg gets multiplied to perform actual pulling.
My T&G Common Sense...
I may be tottaly wrong...


ElmrPhD - 6/6/17 at 07:41 AM

Thanks. Very interesting, but...
...still looking for numbers.
Would a 1000kg hand winch suffice for a 7 or other small car, potentially with a flat tire ("racing incident"?
I'm sure the muscle men out there can push it by yourselves, but my muscles are not so impressive...
Steve, in the NLs


907 - 6/6/17 at 09:44 AM

That one on my trailer is an AL-KO 901 and will pull 900kg. ( It will pull a Passat Estate onto a trailer.)

I also have a Champion 12v electric winch bolted to the floor in my garage rated at 2500 lbs.
I use that to pull cars up steep ramps to work on. It's pulled an Ultima and a Noble no problem.


Hope that helps.
Paul G

[Edited on 6/6/17 by 907]


ElmrPhD - 6/6/17 at 01:41 PM

Cool!
Thanks Paul!
That's the kind of info' I was looking for.
Cheers,
Steve


907 - 6/6/17 at 05:35 PM

Re U2U from Steve.

Must be the breeding season.

Description
Description



How to tie down. All 4 wheels.

Description
Description



[Edited on 6/6/17 by 907]


ElmrPhD - 6/6/17 at 05:41 PM

Leave me alone, Paul - I'm busy studying your photo archives!


hkp57 - 7/6/17 at 01:31 AM

As others are saying a manual flat web winch, I got one off ebay and it works a treat.

Nothing more sure that an electric one will have some kinda problem like flat battery on that one cold rain sodden night you are picking up a mates broken down car at the side of the motorway lol

the thing with the manual one is to make sure its a 2 speed gear on it.

2000LB MANUAL BOAT MARINE TRAILER HAND POWERED WINCH + 8m WEBBING STRAP + HOOK


PS. I have only ever used it once and that wa to pull my Wifes Marlin Roadster with no clutch and the trailer was on a hill.

Description
Description


[Edited on 7/6/17 by hkp57]


907 - 7/6/17 at 06:04 AM

quote:
Originally posted by hkp57
As others are saying a manual flat web winch, I got one off ebay and it works a treat.

Nothing more sure that an electric one will have some kinda problem like flat battery on that one cold rain sodden night you are picking up a mates broken down car at the side of the motorway lol

the thing with the manual one is to make sure its a 2 speed gear on it.

2000LB MANUAL BOAT MARINE TRAILER HAND POWERED WINCH + 8m WEBBING STRAP + HOOK


PS. I have only ever used it once and that wa to pull my Wifes Marlin Roadster with no clutch and the trailer was on a hill.

[Edited on 7/6/17 by hkp57]






That looks a much cheaper alternative to the one that came with my trailer chassis. Thumbs up.

( I just did a conversion to kg from 2000LBS and it came up as 907 )

Paul G



[Edited on 7/6/17 by 907]


Bluemoon - 7/6/17 at 06:29 AM

quote:
Originally posted by 907
Re U2U from Steve.

Must be the breeding season.

Description
Description


[Edited on 6/6/17 by 907]


It's like rabbits you really don't want two in the same place, your garden will be a sea of trailers soon...


ElmrPhD - 7/6/17 at 09:41 AM

Yeah, that's a wonderfully cheap alternative, but as I step on to the learning curve...I am seeing that the safety of a braking mechanism drives up the cost substantially. So, how necessary is such a braking mechanism?
I am amazed at the vast array of possibilities and especially prices, from 15 to 700 euros!


v8kid - 7/6/17 at 10:46 AM

Use it once on a hill and you'll find out


ElmrPhD - 7/6/17 at 11:06 AM

I live in Holland - what's a hill???

quote:
Originally posted by v8kid
Use it once on a hill and you'll find out


v8kid - 7/6/17 at 11:14 AM

quote:
Originally posted by ElmrPhD
I live in Holland - what's a hill???

quote:
Originally posted by v8kid
Use it once on a hill and you'll find out



Its a thing you need a ratchet on your winch for :0


907 - 7/6/17 at 12:38 PM

quote:
Originally posted by ElmrPhD


I live in Holland - what's a hill???





The long folded sections laying on the top of my trailers are called ramps....


but when you fix them onto the rear of the trailer they are called hills.