Lo-Buck Trailer Winch

Lo-Buck Trailer Winch

I know, drive em and all that, but, whatcha gonna do when you have a dead runner on your hands or need to pick up a new project or help a friend out? Not to mention make life easy for Sweetie. Lotsa reasons for using a car trailer and I apologize for none of them.

That said, here’s a couple of easy ways out for an inexpensive trailer winch. Granted, an electric winch would be nice, but in the six months I’ve owned the box trailer I’ve used it three times and needed the winch twice.

First up, a photo of my old flatbed trailer - long gone so don’t let the for sale sign fool you.

The winch seen is a 1600# DL brand. Price on it about ten years ago was just over $30. Purchased from a local boat shop and the price included a 20' flat nylon strap that worked pretty well. Ultraviolet rays deteriorate straps and ropes so you need to keep it covered when not in use. Easily accomplished with an HD trash bag and some electricians tape.

At times the 20' strap was a touch short, but adding a length of rope wasn’t too big a deal. Once the car was up on the trailer and safely blocked, easy enough to disconnect the rope from the car and strap hook, reconnect with the strap and winch the car the rest of the way up.

The ramps shown are 6' and it didn’t take too long to crank cars up on the trailer. Way faster than using my 2 ton chain hoist first time I picked up a car with this trailer. That little bit took forever.

Fwiw, the winch height worked out right as far as a convenient height for hand cranking as well as a good angle for the pull strap. Winch frame constructed from 3/16 x 2" angle.

Heaviest car hauled on this trailer was my old 50 Plymouth coupe.

 

This head on photo shows the 1800# winch - also a DL brand - which cost $36. plus tax at the trailer place. It’s equipped with 1/4" wire rope (purchased later, maybe $10.) about 30' long and works well to drag the dead runners up the 7’ ramp.

 

Shown in this overhead shot are the front and rear transverse legs of the winch frame. They are sufficient to brace against the moderate side loads the winch may encounter, but the pull is just about dead center all the time so no real worries there.



Measurements on the winch frame are:
Constructed from 1 x 2" x .120 wall rectangular tubing.
24 ½" long, 17 3/4" wide transverse legs and 22" high.
The angled brace is at an approximately 45 degree angle.
Length on the frame was set so it could be through bolted to the strong steel floor braces on the trailer. 3/8" grade five bolts used.

The winch is at a fairly good height for cranking. A little taller would be better, but it’s ok where it is. Any taller will require a longer angle brace and then you’re starting to impinge on floor space due to the frame would need to be longer and maybe wider.

So far, the heaviest car I’ve hauled with this trailer is my 31 on 32 rails roadster. The roadster at present weighs just under 1900#, but that’s sans battery, fluids etc. When hauled it had all the additional pieces required for completion - cept for a fuel tank and battery - packed within and the weight was probably 2200#. The winch cranked it up into the trailer with no problem.

 

This last photo shows the old mainsheet blocks to my sailboat. I think I owned it about a year and after we started racing it, the hot rod genes came to the fore and I changed several things on its rigging and this simple block scheme was the first to go.

The blocks are rated for a safe working load of 3400# if I remember right. When I sold the boat I kept these blocks and they’ve been invaluable in dragging stuff up a ramp into the pickups. Like you’d suspect, they work well for dragging a car into the trailer too. First long trip with the trailer - to put the 31 in storage in the Southland - I dragged it into the trailer with the blocks. It required chocking the wheels and taking another bite on the rope between blocks and roadster several times, but it didn’t take too long. There’s about 40' + of 3/8" Dacron yacht braid strung in the blocks and with a four-part system you can only pull 8' or so at a time. At the end of the 8' it’s chock the car and take another bite.

The trailer came with four very nice fold down rings that sit in a recess in the floor. Two near the front and two at the rear. I got four more, spaced them equidistant between the original rings and bolted them to the trailer’s 3/4" plywood floor and through 1/8" backer plates about 8" square. These have turned out way handier than I first thought.

There are some ½" tie-down eyes bolted to front and rear of the sturdy fender boxes. These backed with ½" fender washers and tied down with nylocks as were the added floor rings. (One of the tie-down eyes is seen at the bottom of the sailboat block setup.) There are some other lighter duty tie-down rings installed at the front of the trailer and I have a couple more of the HD floor rings to go in. Just need to decide where.

The flatbed trailer I was using worked just fine for my purposes and it got used for hauling other stuff besides cars. The box trailer was purchased for the upcoming move - if I ever get the house sold - and the reason for all the additional tie-downs is so I can lash the shop equipment down and not have to worry about it sliding around inside. Not to mention that keeping prying eyes away from all the goodies is a decided plus.

Car trailers are just another tool regardless of what some may think. It’s been more than useful for me and Sweetie likes it as well. Not shown is the sorta cl***y potty room I built in, in the left front corner. Always a hit with the ladies, more than a few gents have used it as well.

Only chains you’re gonna find inside this trailer are electro-plated and galvanized....

 

Very nice idea--I've been debating on what to do for a winch on my open trailer, especially since I've got a line on a push-only '58 Buick a guy is going to give me for the price of taking it away.

Another wonderful thing about an enclosed trailer is that it's like having an additional 1-car garage next to your shop. Where better to store one project while you're working on another!
-Brad

 

C9- I have a similar winch[3500lb] on my ol work truck flatbed.
-its cabled up and over a short swinging boom post with pulleys that reachs to either side of truck and extends about a foot outboard. It will pick up a 500 cu in Cadillac Motor with 400 turbo with ease!
it also will swing the motor around to set it in the middle of bed[or opposite] [will load] it into another truck setting alongside this one.
those hand winches are a great buy!

 

Good idea. This has worked well for me. Just don't ever let the boat winch freewheel when unloading a car. Trust me. Ruined a winch damn near killed meself!!

 

ya know, i've got an 18' flatbed that i use a hand crank ONLY as an emergency.
mountd a battery on the trailer and use one of those cheapie electric 40,000lb from northern tool....best 200 bucks i've ever spent.

btw, sam's club had 'em on sale a couple of weeks ago for less than 100 bucks, prolly shoulda bought a spare.

 

Are those real moccasin's or Sears moccasin's, snazzy. Nice work!