Community Forums

TandW · 10-21-2022, 10:38 AM

Does anyone have a car toter trailer that has a winch on it? If so, what make of winch does it have and how well do you like it? What are the winch specs? Thanks for replying as I want to get a recovery winch for my toter.

Dave Pelletier · 10-21-2022, 02:13 PM

I have a Warn 8,000 lb winch in my car trailer....no problems or issues.

Dave

kdauto · 10-21-2022, 03:46 PM

I have an 8000lb winch on my car dolly. I think it may be a "Champion" brand, but not sure, it's been 15 years or so.

8000 lbs will haul any car, minivan or smaller SUV up the ramps. Heavier full size SUVs would need double lined with a snatch block to prevent burning the motor.

Nwcid · 10-21-2022, 04:27 PM

8000-10,000 is a good rating for a winch.

Brand will depend on your presences, how much you want spend and how often you use it.

It is really hard to go wrong with a Warn or other top band name but there is a cost to that.

I have always had Warn on my ATV's. On my newest machine I went with a 5000lb Harbor Fright Badlands winch. For $170 it was hard to pass up. I know several people with these winches and they have been happy. I have used mine a ton over the last 2 years and have been happy.

Keep in mind that it takes a fairly good power source to run a large winch. Cabling is not cheap and will likely cost more than the winch. This is one of the reasons I have not put one on my trailer yet....

TandW · 10-22-2022, 06:42 AM

Cabling. Would any of you be using a battery close to the winch and an alternate way to charge the battery?

kdauto · 10-22-2022, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TandW

Cabling. Would any of you be using a battery close to the winch and an alternate way to charge the battery?

If you have a battery near the winch it's actually the best situation. You can wire your winch directly to the battery terminals with short cables. 4ga less than 3' long on an 8000lb winch is plenty. A standard charge line for the 7 pin connector is fine. You'll only be winching for a short time and very sporadically anyway.

On my car dolly I have no battery. I have a separate 4 pin plug for powering the winch in the rear bumper of the Suburban. I ran heavy gauge wires front to back, fused of course. I have 2 pins for 12v+ and 2 for ground so there's more contact area. Had no issues winching.

JIMNLIN · 10-26-2022, 09:37 PM

12000 lb Badland on a 14000 gvwr tandem axle gn trailer spooled with synthetic rope.
When I pulled trailers for a living we moved a lot of wheeled equipment so every trailer had a winch.
This is my first synthetic rope on a winch. I won't go back to a steel cable.