Trailer Winch - recommendations?

[ed1le]

I need to replace the manual winch on our trailer. What we have now is a smaller, boat style winch. It has served us well (on trailer when we got it several years ago) but the cable finally snapped on me this weekend. The cheap fix is to simply replace the cable but exploring the option of upgrading to a stronger (and easier) electric winch. Just curious if anyone has any suggestions.

[TheJDMan]

Both Superwinch and Warn sell a line of trailer mounted winches that are nice. But keep in mind that as soon as you switch to a trailer mounted electric winch you will need to install a battery on the trailer to power it. These days most 3/4ton and up tow vehicles are wired from the factory to charge the trailer battery while towing not sure with 1/2 ton trucks. A 4000# rated winch is probably more than you would ever need. Another consideration is if you have an open or enclosed trailer. If you have an open trailer it is nice to be able to remove it easily to reduce the chance of it being stolen when the trailer is unattended. I have a 4000# Warn bolted to the floor next to the front wall of my enclosed trailer with 35ft of cable. The only thing I would do different is now days you can buy wireless remote controls which would be nice.

[BMR Sales]

Stay away from Harbor Freight Crap Winches!

[ed1le]

No, wasn't even looking at Harbor Frieght or other "off brands". Superwinch and Warn were the main two. My biggest uncertainty was the rating.
I intend to operate it off the trucks battery with a quick release connection similar to the trailer hookup. It's an open trailer so I do like the idea of being able to remove it both protection from the weather and for safe keeping.

[SSLance]

I repurposed an old side truck box onto my open trailer...and put my harbor Freight 5000 pound winch and battery inside it to protect them.







It works great plus gave me a plus to keep my straps, gloves, wireless remote for the winch and anything else I might need to secure with the trailer. The battery is wired for a backup on my electric brakes and the truck charges the battery when rolling down the road. The winch drug a full sized 4x4 C10 up onto the trailer with one of the brakes locked up just sliding the tire with no trouble at all.

[ed1le]

That's a pretty nice setup, Lance. We have a perch on the trailer for the winch already but I suppose I could torch it off and do something like this. I like how it conceals and protects everything.

[SSLance]

I built this perch for under the box



The winch is bolted to it through the bottom of the box. I put another brace on it to the tongue which you can kind of see here.



It supports the box and the winch and gives the winch a strong point to pull from. The whole setup works pretty well. I like the winch too, it'll free wheel out or winch out to unload, and winch in. The wireless remote works well too. You probably only need a 2500 pound winch, but since this was a "cheaper brand" I stepped up to the 5,000 pound version. I think I paid about $250 for it on sale at Harbor Freight.

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

I've actually heard a lot of good on the HF winch, including an article from Petersen's 4x4 I believe. A lot of the Jeep guys have had great luck with them, so I decided to go with a 12k lb unit. It's been sitting around for 6 months though so I don't have any feedback yet. I don't want to just slap it on there, and want to build a setup a lot like Lance's (great looking arrangement!), so I'm going to get everything all figured out first. I figured for under $300, I'd give it a shot with the protection plan. I priced out a similar Warn for near $1k, which wasn't in my budget for a trailer. I wouldn't use it on a 4 wheeler where recovery would be required, but to be used maybe a dozen times a year while living a pampered life in an enclosed box, I'll try the HF Badlands unit.

[BMR Sales]

I said stay away from the H-F because of the Bad Luck I had with them. Installed 2 of them on my Trailer & neither one of them Worked. When I returned the 2nd one, the Girl at the register said "You Again?" Apparently I looked like a Guy that had gone through 4 of them.

[Chevrolaine]

Damn Lance that's a slick set up! Thanks for the idea!

[groho]

someone mention winch. . . how bout my ex wife!!!!!!!!

Needed a chuckle, sorry, couldn't resist.

[ed1le]

someone mention winch. . . how bout my ex wife!!!!!!!!

Needed a chuckle, sorry, couldn't resist.

Winch, not wench! ;) lol


HF has received some good reviews in last couple years for different products in several of the popular car magazines. Their engine stands ended up withstanding the heaviest load, Torque wrench specs were very surprisingly accurate and their 18V Cordless impacts performed exceptionally well (in comparison with Craftsman, Snap On, MAC, DeWalt, etc). I wouldn't rule them out but found some good deals on Amazon for name brands -

Smittybilt 97204 XRC-4 Winch - 4,000 lbs Capacity: $180 + free shipping
Superwinch 1145220 Terra 45 ATV & Utility Winch (4500lbs/2046kg Rating): $212 + free shipping