Need a winch at the front of your trailer to drag home those AWESOME Craigslist finds? Check out this post for some ideas on how to mount it.
I really don’t like my straps/tools being out in the weather, so I had previously welded this job box onto the front of my 18′ car hauler trailer. The problem I started having though was that I was picking up many ‘dead’ vehicles and pulling them up with a chainfall was getting old.
Electric winches are getting cheaper every day, so I decided it was time to take the plunge and get one for myself. They can be had for cheap on Amazon with free shipping: ATV Winches
So any winch that you buy usually comes with a small mounting plate that also has tabs (two tabs sticking up middle right of picture) at the front for mounting the roller fairlead to (rope guide). In this picture you can see that I tacked the bracket inside of my job box at the front of the trailer. I also added a piece of 3/16″ steel that extended out from it through the front of the box for extra support.
Here you can see where I cut a slit in the box to extend the extra support out and weld it to a substantial front crossmember of the trailer. (probably overkill, but I like it that way)
Drilled holes through the front of the job box to match the fairlead holes in the bracket that we had welded to the floor of the box.
Next, I mounted the winch. The two main bolts on the winch I ended up drilling all the way through the job box and the wood of the trailer then installed nuts from underneath the trailer (extra strong). Also in this pic is the new battery box mounted.
This box always holds at least four ~10klb capacity ratchet straps for strapping down vehicles. So the straps would not get caught up in the winch, I tacked in a small piece of scrap plate to make a divider.
Works pretty good at keeping the two away from each other.
8 On this trailer, I have two d-rings set up at the front so if I am pulling a really heavy load on, I can use a snatch block on the vehicle and hook the end of the line back up to the front of the trailer. (using a snatch block essentially doubles the pulling power of a winch)
There you go. Just an example of one way to mount a winch at the front of your trailer in a weatherproof box. Get your welder out and try it for yourself. By making it yourself, you can get exactly what you want!
Amazing……..cant’t believe it………nice try and great winch you made
My father has been considering getting a flatbed trailer. Thanks for explaining that getting a trailer hitch box on the trailer. That does seem like it could help protect him and others from getting hurt on the hitch.