Winches are essential mechanical equipment for any trailered vehicle because they allow heavy loads to be raised and lowered with minimal human effort. Winches on trailers are the most effective means of lifting heavy vehicles. By strategically installing a winch on a trailer, you can increase productivity, precision, and efficiency.
Different winch mounts are required for various trailers. Flatbed, gooseneck, tilt deck, and enclosed car trailers all have distinct mechanisms for mounting winches.
A few of the most common methods for installing winches on car trailers have been described in the subsequent paragraphs.
Best Car Trailer Winch Mounting Ideas
-
Mounting Winch on Flatbed Trailers
To use a winch with a flatbed trailer, it is most practical to attach it to the trailer’s railing.
If your trailer doesn’t have a railing, you can still attach a winch by using a floor-mounted plate. Both U-bolts and welds into 2-inch receivers on the plate will do the trick for this. In case of unforeseen circumstances, a mounting plate can be quickly and easily dismantled.
-
Installing a Winch on a Trailer with a Tilt Deck
Tilt-deck trailers are the second variety of car trailers. These car trailers are commonly used for loading and unloading heavy objects because of the ramp and the ability to change angles quickly and easily. You can save time and money by not having to buy a ramp to load or unload this trailer.
The winch for the tilt deck trailer must be attached to the trailer’s lower deck using a winch plate. To install a winch, first, a plate must be bolted to the deck.
The winch can also be attached to a D-ring and installed on the deck. This will aid in the lifting of heavy objects and the securing of the winch while the worker moves in various directions.
Having the winch positioned in the trailer’s dead center is not necessary and reduces the winch’s pulling capacity.
-
Mounting Winch on Gooseneck Trailers
A goose-neck trailer is an improved form of the traditional flatbed trailer. That it has a neck like a goose inspired the name. These trailers can carry the most weight of any on the market. Any potential hassle caused by the location of the trailer’s winch should be minimized.
Attaching the winch to this trailer will require a special mount. To begin, find the exact middle of the trailer and mark it. The next step is to check if the plate fits. The winch can then be attached to the welded mount using bolts. A D-ring attachment is required here for effortless heavy-load lifting and multi-angle manipulation.
-
Mounting Winch on Enclosed Trailers
If you are transporting something that would be ruined by a drop, be extra careful. If you need to transport fragile items, an enclosed car trailer is your only option.
Either of these methods can be used to attach a winch to enclosed trailers.
The first option is to install the winch inside the trailer, on the ground level. However, a bracket is required to mount the winch in this situation. The rope will not drag if the winch is raised 6 inches off the ground.
Alternatively, the winch could be installed beneath the trailer. A floor-mounted winch mount is what you need for that. Next, you’ll need to adjust the trailer’s floor to accommodate the winch’s mounting plate. The winch should be bolted inside and secured.
Finally, a winch mount can be installed on the box of a trailer tongue. To do so, you’ll need to have brackets welded onto the trailer to hold the winch.
Putting a Winch to Work: What Kind of Energy Source Should You Use?
Once the winch has been installed, it will need to be wired up for operation. The ability to pull heavy loads necessitates a lot of power. Both the vehicle’s internal power source and an external battery can be used to run a winch.
-
In-Car Electricity Supply
The winch can be powered by tapping into the vehicle’s electrical system, which requires a quick disconnect, a disconnector is needed for this purpose. Two wires, one long and one short connect to the disconnector. The longer wire is the power cord, while the shorter one serves as the ground.
Find a seat in the back of your car, as this is where you’ll be connecting to the quick disconnect. The negative terminal of the car battery must be connected to the shorter wire, and the positive terminal of the long wire must be connected to the positive terminal of the car battery.
Repetition: the battery’s negative end must be grounded. Connect the long wire to the battery through a circuit breaker. Finally, connect the winch’s two end wires to the disconnector as directed in the device’s user manual. This circuit diagram shows how the winch’s wires should be connected.
Eye protection should always be worn when working near batteries to avoid injury.
-
From an Externally Mounted Battery
Alternative methods involve using a battery that is specifically designed to power the winch and is mounted on the trailer. The trailer’s battery is no longer required, and the trailer can be used independently of the towing vehicle if a separate battery is mounted on the winch.
All you need to do to make the most of your trailer’s battery is connect a toolbox to it and wire up the necessary accessories. Just like before, a wired connection is involved. While operating the winch, disconnect the vehicle’s connections from the trailer’s connections to prevent electrical overload and subsequent circuit damage.
Where do you Hook a Winch when not in use?
When you have time to spare, you can decide how to shield the winch. You can either secure it with the hook in a convenient location on the trailer or use a neoprene cover to keep the elements out.
Can Winch be Removed from the Trailer?
Depending on how you have it attached, the winch can be taken off. Simply unscrewing the bolts will allow you to remove them from wherever you have set up the winch plate.
Consequently, I have discussed various mounting options that are available depending on the car trailer.
Mounting Winch On Aluminum Trailer
You have two options. Optionally, the trailer’s battery can be charged from the towing vehicle’s +12v feed in the trailer harness while the vehicle is in motion (the winch will work regardless of the tow vehicle).
Or you could have the winch plug into a connector on the back of your Excursion, but then the winch wouldn’t work if you used a different towing vehicle. However, you cannot run the winch directly from the tow vehicle because the standard trailer connector cannot supply enough power.
ALSO SEE: Can I Use Fix-a-Flat for a Slow Leak?
Best Winch For Car Trailer
-
WARN 103255 VR EVO 12-S Electric 12V DC Winch
A Warn winch is practically perfect in every way. It was a breeze to mount on my winch plate and works perfectly. With the exception of the negative cable, which is not an issue, it is highly recommended that you prewire the winch before you need it. It’s beautifully made, and I love the sleek synthetic line!
The wired and wireless abilities of the remote worked flawlessly right out of the box. To be perfectly honest, my issues with this winch are minor and picky. It would first be helpful if the positive cable that goes straight to the battery were a hair longer.
I had to change my route several times to ease the stress. Also, the fairlead’s hardware shouldn’t be galvanized and should be a good match. They supply you with a high-quality black fairlead and galvanized hardware (easily remedied with paint).
I’m aware that there are cheaper alternatives on the market that are just as good, but if you can swing it, snag this bad boy!
-
Smittybilt X2O COMP – Waterproof Synthetic Rope Winch
In other words, this winch is fantastic. There is no need to go into debt for brand recognition. Used it on a 2008 JKU Wrangler and it worked wonderfully. The reliability is superb, setting it up is a breeze, and the wireless capability is essential. There were two major complaints that killed the project. initial 5-star status reversal.
The wireless network’s limited range is a minor issue. Despite the fact that the manual recommends a maximum range of 50 meters, the clear line of sight distance is only 50–60 feet even after using a high-quality replacement battery.
It’s not a deal breaker by any means, but it’s disappointing that the value is only a third of what the manual predicted. Even in solitary situations, it would be helpful to be able to use the remote throughout the entire line.
The solenoid mounting is the real downfall and the reason for only 4 stars instead of 5. There are attractive brackets included for mounting over the spool. I didn’t like that, so I put it on top of the motor.
There are only two screws holding it together, and they are on the side of the spool. As a result, the opposite side of the box will flip up and down.
Everything else about this design, however, has left me feeling very unsatisfied. Finally, I used adhesive spacers to create a level surface and minimize vibration between the motor housing and the solenoid. Not necessary for a brand-new item.
The winch is powerful; we used it to fell a widowmaker tree that had been left behind after a storm, and then we dragged it up a hill.
It came as a pleasant surprise to learn that only one finger is needed to hold onto the cable while walking it out on the free spool. The remote’s smooth rubber coating makes it a joy to hold.
-
ZEAK 13000 lb. Premium Electric Winch 12V
As soon as I took this winch out of the box, I knew it was going to be a good investment. Both the motor and the reel appear to be extremely sturdy and well-made. The fact that the circuit breaker had its own jumper wire and sturdy carrying case was a welcome bonus.
The terminal ends of the included wiring are already crimped, so you can get right to work connecting the wires and installing the winch. It’s not necessary to do much mental gymnastics to figure out which wire goes where because they’re all color coded.
It took me about 30 minutes to put everything together once I got started. The mounting plate for the winch on my car hauler trailer was fabricated by my dad and I.
The winch has since been put to good use, allowing me to successfully load multiple vehicles onto the trailer. To be honest, I can’t think of a single thing I don’t like about this winch. The lever to release the mechanism is my favorite part.
Made of sturdy metal, it snaps into place securely but easily releases when you want it to. This is the heaviest duty winch lever I have ever used.
-
OPENROAD 10000lbs 12 Volts Electric Winch
Specification
10000lbs of load pulling capability
5.5hp producing series wound motor
3-stage planetary gear train
Wireless remote control and wired control switch
IP67 waterproof rating
Winch control power-off button
Load holding brake
-
STEGODON New 9500 lb. Load Capacity Electric Winch
Specification
9500 lbs of load pulling capability
4.1KW/5.5HP 12V DC motor
3-staged planetary gear train
State-of-the-art 500Amp solenoid
Synthetic rope
Sliding ring gear clutch
Wireless remote control
-
TYT T1 Series Winch 13000 lb. Advanced Load Capacity Electric Winch
Specification
13000lbs of pulling load pulling capability
6.0HP/4.5KW series wound electric motor
3-stage planetary gear train
500Amp High-performance solenoid
Aluminum hawse fairlead
Automatic load holding breaks
Sliding ring gear clutch
Remote switch(optional wireless remote control)
IP67 waterproof rating
Conclusion
Winches on trailers are typically mounted in the rear of the trailer, either near the back of the towing vehicle or at the very end of the trailer itself.
Winches on a trailer have their power source because the trailer can be detached from the towing vehicle. They can get the power they need without draining the vehicle’s battery.
The Winch, along with its battery, straps, and cables, is stored in a box called a toolbox that is secured to the tailgate of the trailer. So that is all you need to know about the best car trailer Winching Ideas.