VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions 12v Electric Winch - Best Buy?

I'm thinking about buying a winch for my trailer which could be used to pull my '34 coupe up on it. I have looked online and found a bunch of different sizes and a wide range of prices. I have only used a friend's a couple of times so I don't feel comfortable in making a decision. I want to spend the least possible but get something that will work.

The '34 would be the heaviest thing I would ever pull up on the trailer as my other stuff - lawn tractors, etc. are lighter. It would only be used a few times a year. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I went through this decision tree last September. Finally someone told that they bought their winch from Harbor Freight and it worked just fine for them. And - if it broke then they'd just buy another one since they're so cheap. (The winch, not the person.)


Turns out, a lot of the local parts dealers didn't have a very good selection in stock. And, it seemed, they only had their high-priced models available.

So - I broke down and got the Harbor Freight one for about $119 or so... Also got the metal mounting tray.

Installed it fairly easily. Love the remote control (on 15' cable).

Have loaded my car twice using it. No problem. I'm beginning to think that you don't need to spend a lot of money if your car is 2,000 lbs or so. (eg. 1931)

---Bill B

Harbor Freight also sells a remote control winch for about $50.00. This is extremely desirable, as you can be at the steering wheel and control the winch in either direction.

I have one of these winches that I will use to open the door on the back of my trailer that is the ramp. The original spring has the same problem I do, it has lost its resiliency.

I also have the small winch that has the remote control wire. This winch only operates in one direction, but serves the purpose.

Ray & Bill,

Thanks for the replies. I was looking at Harbor Freight but concerned their product might not be reliable. I usually only buy from them when I need a tool I will use only a few times. They have some sort of guarantee that I have never used. I might consider getting it this time.

Regardless of brand when loading vehicles I suggest a winch with remote and in-and-out options.

DD

My winch came with a pulley so you can double up the tow line and move rather large cars. However, I have never had to use more that the single tow line.

The rule of thumb I use when buying at Harbor Freight is I never buy anything that my life or livelihood depend on. I've had a number of Harbor Freight tools fail. If my life or ability to provide for my family is at risk from the tool or equipment I use I do not use anything from Harbor Freight. My point being if you're going to try to save a few buck by buying HF don't put yourself in harms way when you use the item(s). Assume they will fail and plan accordingly. With few exceptions I've discovered that you do get what you pay for when it comes to buying HF. What is your life worth????

Ray, what brand winch do you have and where did you buy it? Tiny, I appreciate the concerns - do you have any brand recommendations?

I have a 18 ft trailer, I bought a Warn Winch 4000 from a place called Northern tool, I doubled up the cable on a roller hook and have used it to drag up a big 3/4 ton suburban daughters tahoe mid 60's mercury and classic cars works great,

I don't know the brand. Was purchased from HF some years ago.

I just bought a Smittybilt 3000 XRC winch. I didn't plan on buying one right away but after looking all over the web it looked like the best buy for my needs and J.C. Whitney had it on sale with free shipping until midnight tonight.

It looks to be quite a bit more heavy duty than some of the others I looked at and only cost a bit more. It is regularly priced around $240-250 plus shipping but JCW had it priced at $139 including the free shipping.

For that price you get a 3.9 HP motor, a remote control switch, 1/4" x 36" cable with hook, battery, etc. I guess time will tell if I made a wise decision. I usually don't buy something so quickly but it looks like a good deal.

No I don't have a specific brand recommendation, I've not purchased a winch but if/when I do it won't be from HF. Neither will I buy jack stands or a floor jack from HF. Cheap won't do you any good if you're dead.

Youngfalcon,

Agree with Tiny. HF is cheap and life is expensive.

Remember, if you have trouble pulling your car onto trailer, you have the option of adding a "snatch block" to the line to increase your pulling power considerably. Pulls slower, but not near as hard on your electric motor. I assume you meant that you received 1/4 inch by 36 ft line vs 1/4" by 36"??
If you have 16 ft trlr, with snatch block in line, than that cuts your pulling length down to 18 ft. Thats pretty close to rear of trlr.

Best to you

Jim.

I took Tiny's advice (see my post from last night) and bought what looks like a good one. Jim, can you explain what a "snatch block" is?

Thanks for the replies!

snatch block It works like an old block & tackle. You pass the winch cable through the snatch block and hook it back on or close to the winch. You then connect the snatch block to the vehicle. As the winch pulls it increases the pulling force by 2 while lessening the strain on the winch by half. The speed of the pull is half as well.
More snatch block options.

You an ol' Ironworker?? Sound like one.

Jim.

Nope, just old.