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The
The HalfDork
2/5/15 5:38 p.m.

up hill on top of that, I used a Wall-Mart winch and when it over heated used a come along, 2 hours later, man that sucks..............

iceracer
iceracer PowerDork
2/5/15 5:44 p.m.

Walmart selling wench,s can get them into trouble.

1988RedT2
1988RedT2 PowerDork
2/5/15 5:49 p.m.

In reply to The:

Somewhere on this vast expanse of knowledge, I related my tale of frustration, pain, and ultimate success in loading a non-running '66 Chevy II hardtop onto a trailer without the help of any other persons or a winch at a location 3 hours from home. Glad it all worked out for you!

Giant Purple Snorklewacker
Giant Purple Snorklewacker MegaDork
2/5/15 5:56 p.m.

Better uphill than downhill. This should go in a "Confessions" thread but... once, a long time ago when I was a trailering noob I tried to load my wife's non-running Passat onto my open deck trailer. Since the car didn't run and was at the top of a downhill dirt driveway and I considered myself quite clever... I drove the truck/trailer in front of the car with about 50' of running room to coast it.

I got in, put the car in neutral and aimed it at the ramps... but I got going too fast. So... just as the car hit the middle of the ramps I hit the brakes. Which loaded the front tires. Which slid the car up the steel ramp and slammed weight onto the dovetail. Which lifted the trailer nose. Which lifted the weight off the Tundra's rear wheels. Which were holding this whole mess in place on a downhill, dirt, gravel driveway. With an antique barn at the bottom. So, the Passat, the trailer and the truck were all rolling/sliding down the drive right at this guys barn door with my wife, the homeowner and his wife all screaming "Nooo!!!" and "Oh My God!!!".

Frankly... I kindof panicked and didn't even pull the hand brake and let off the pedal to try and right this trainwreck. The drive leveled off just enough that it all stopped about 5' short.

I used the winch from there :)

In your case, manual trans... put it in 3rd and use the starter to drive it on.

bigdaddylee82
bigdaddylee82 Dork
2/5/15 5:59 p.m.

Does up a 40' driveway with a 20% slope in crunchy, ice packed, snow into my garage count? I mounted a heavy D ring to the front cinder block wall of my garage with some Tapcons, then used a series of heavy ratchet straps, a come-along, and some scrap 2x4s cut into wedges for chocks. That was a long night.

JThw8
JThw8 PowerDork
2/5/15 6:00 p.m.

weaksauce, you had a winch and a come a long and a rolling vehicle, what more do you need? I loaded an Alfa GTV with 4 flat tires and locked up brakes with a come a long and generous lubrication of the ramps.

patgizz
patgizz GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
2/5/15 6:37 p.m.

this is why i have a superwinch 4500 on my trailer. and make sure the battery is charged before i go. i had a 3/4 ton 4x4 suburban on the trailer halfway before the guy i bought it from realized he left it in park before he started steering it up the ramps.

bearmtnmartin
bearmtnmartin GRM+ Memberand Dork
2/5/15 6:40 p.m.

Next time, take a pulley and a long length of good rope or steel cable. You disconnect the trailer and block the wheels. Pull the truck ahead a couple feet. Attach the pulley to the front of the car you are loading and run the rope or cable through it, securing one end to the back of the tow vehicle and the other to the front of the trailer. Drive the tow vehicle forward. Car and trailer are pulled together and eventually one is on top of the other. easy peasy! I loaded a dead 20000 pound skidder this way with my pickup, but I set up a Z drag to give me three to one advantage.

tr8todd
tr8todd HalfDork
2/5/15 6:47 p.m.

Dude, it had wheels didn't it? Today I used a two wheel dolly to drag a 500 pound boiler up an ice covered driveway, thru the garage, in a door, thru the family room, out a door, around the back of a house with ice and snow, then thru another door and then finally down a flight of stairs. The guy they sent to help me was easy 400 pounds, and in a walking boot because he broke his foot. Installing it was the easiest part. Left the old one right next to the new one because there was no way I was breaking it down and carrying it out section by section.

The
The HalfDork
2/5/15 6:49 p.m.
Next time, take a pulley and a long length of good rope or steel cable. You disconnect the trailer and block the wheels. Pull the truck ahead a couple feet. Attach the pulley to the front of the car you are loading and run the rope or cable through it, securing one end to the back of the tow vehicle and the other to the front of the trailer. Drive the tow vehicle forward. Car and trailer are pulled together and eventually one is on top of the other. easy peasy! I loaded a dead 20000 pound skidder this way with my pickup, but I set up a Z drag to give me three to one advantage.

wow, my head hurts just from reading this.....

HiTempguy
HiTempguy UberDork
2/5/15 6:54 p.m.

Get 25'+ tow strap. Block trailer wheels.tow car onto trailer slowly with tow vehicle.

Its extremely safe if you go at a crawl. I'll never dick around with winches again.

bearmtnmartin
bearmtnmartin GRM+ Memberand Dork
2/5/15 7:00 p.m.

In reply to The:

Its just one pulley. Not that complicated.

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess MegaDork
2/5/15 7:26 p.m.

I prefer to load non-running Lotus on trailers. They are much easier because they are so light.

wae
wae HalfDork
2/5/15 8:44 p.m.

I used to routinely get a flat-tired, non-running DSM on the trailer about once a month with nothing but a regular ratchet strap. The car was stored on the trailer "temporarily" while I waited for the guy to get me the paperwork so I could unload it and he took about a year. Every time we wanted to rallyx or autox, step 1 would be to push the DSM off the trailer and step N would be to put it back on. Oh, to have had a come-along! I think I used ratchet straps to get the Neon on the trailer a couple times too. The last time I did that, my hand was rubbed so raw, I had it wrapped up in gauze for five days and was in an obscene amount of pain. The $100 Master Lock 12v winch was a pretty easy purchase after that.

mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/5/15 8:49 p.m.

last time I did it.. I did not have a winch or a comealong.. I used a 3 inch ratchet strap

JFX001
JFX001 UberDork
2/5/15 9:04 p.m.

A '67 Bronco with two flat tires from the frozen tundra of a farmers back 40. No winch. I thought that I had it far enough towards the front until I got out on the main road and the tail started wagging the dog. Pulled over, loosened the straps and inched it forward. Took way too long...I was more pissed at being unprepared than anything else.

bikerbenz
bikerbenz Reader
2/5/15 10:13 p.m.

caution language

Trailer loading fail

bgkast
bgkast GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
2/5/15 10:46 p.m.

No, but I've loaded a non-running bulldozer that had been sitting in the same spot for decades with a come along. Buck up.

Appleseed
Appleseed MegaDork
2/6/15 12:59 a.m.

I shoved them on with a Bobcat. 100% of the time, it works every time.

codrus
codrus GRM+ Memberand Dork
2/6/15 2:28 a.m.
Appleseed wrote: I shoved them on with a Bobcat. 100% of the time, it works every time.

Forklift?

Appleseed
Appleseed MegaDork
2/6/15 4:02 a.m.

Toothed bucket.

The
The HalfDork
2/6/15 8:51 a.m.
I've loaded a non-running bulldozer that had been sitting in the same spot for decades with a come along.

I think this one takes the cake, I cannot imagine how that would work.

bgkast
bgkast GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
2/6/15 9:18 a.m.

In reply to The:

Very slowly!

Klayfish
Klayfish UltraDork
2/6/15 9:25 a.m.

That's why I lift weights...

jimbbski
jimbbski HalfDork
2/6/15 9:50 a.m.

I one time loaded a car that didn't run into an enclosed trailer with ratchet straps but there were two of us. While one cranked on their ratchet the other released their ratchet and set it up to continue. It still took 30 minutes on a cold winter day.

I now have a "Superwinch" ATV 2000 12V winch on my open trailer. I use a double line pull to cut the load in 1/2. It takes a bit longer to load a car but not by much, as the winch hardly slows while under load.

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