# How To Winch Non-Running Car Into Garage



## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

What's the slope of your driveway? 
Ours is about 1' in 20' so the cable tension would be 200 lbs with tires pumped way up.

Two or three guys maybe could push it up this slope in installments but have somebody in the car to set the brake so they don't lose what they gained or get run over.

I can leg press 400 lbs a few times so with my back to the car & my legs at a 45 degree angle I should be able to push horizontally at about 280 lbs. 
Wear boots, not sneakers.

You can test this with your comealong & some very stiff springs in parallel. 
It takes about 45lbs to stretch a storm door snubber spring 1".


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## rogerwh (Mar 1, 2021)

That operation sounds very unsafe. I would hire a rollback tow truck, to load the car and deposit it in the garage.


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## TrevorB (Oct 31, 2019)

quatsch said:


> What's the slope of your driveway? Ours is about 1' in 20'.


About 4” in 20’ but if it gets away from me it could be catastrophic, as the property is on a hill.


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## Chris616 (Dec 31, 2019)

Welcome to the forum.

The force required to winch your vehicle up into the garage isn’t going to be that extreme. I’ll admit that, not having a means to drill holes in concrete at the time, when I had to do this (for a 2500 lb vehicle that was parked on the inclined pad in front of the garage) I anchored my come-along to the stud wall at the end of the garage (which itself was anchored to the concrete) and paid close attention to any indication that something other than the vehicle might be moving. Have someone in the vehicle to use the emergency brake, if required and don’t use anything elastic between the come-along and vehicle. A better way to anchor the come-along, if you don’t mind grinding off the anchor bolts flush with the concrete floor later is to use a concrete anchor point like this.

Chris


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## TrevorB (Oct 31, 2019)

rogerwh said:


> That operation sounds very unsafe. I would hire a rollback tow truck, to load the car and deposit it in the garage.


Thanks for the suggestion. This is a good idea for an initial drop off but it would be costly to do on a frequent basis while I work on the car.


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## TrevorB (Oct 31, 2019)

Chris616 said:


> Welcome to the forum.
> 
> The force required to winch your vehicle up into the garage isn’t going to be that extreme. I’ll admit that, not having a means to drill holes in concrete at the time, when I had to do this (for a 2500 lb vehicle that was parked on the inclined pad in front of the garage) I anchored my come-along to the stud wall at the end of the garage (which itself was anchored to the concrete) and paid close attention to any indication that something other than the vehicle might be moving. Have someone in the vehicle to use the emergency brake, if required and don’t use anything elastic between the come-along and vehicle. A better way to anchor the come-along, if you don’t mind grinding off the anchor bolts flush with the concrete floor later is to use a concrete anchor point like this.
> 
> Chris


Thanks Chris, this looks like a great solution. Much appreciated!


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## Steve2444 (Sep 28, 2020)

4" in twenty foot driveway not bad...
In my younger days I would get a smart trusted friend with a truck and a large tire (with no rim) and have him slowly push the car into the garage as I steer.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

TrevorB said:


> About 4” in 20’ but if it gets away from me it could be catastrophic, as the property is on a hill.


60lbs. 
One person could do this with his back to the car back.

You should be able to test this with minimal risk.


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## rogerwh (Mar 1, 2021)

quatsch said:


> 60lbs.
> One person could do this with his back to the car back.
> 
> You should be able to test this with minimal risk.


Are you actually saying, it would only take 60 lbs. of pushing to get a 4,000 lb. car into a garage??


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

How To Install A 120V AC Electric Winch| Pull Your Vehicle Into Your Garage or Shop - YouTube


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## TrevorB (Oct 31, 2019)

Nealtw said:


> How To Install A 120V AC Electric Winch| Pull Your Vehicle Into Your Garage or Shop - YouTube


Thank you! Very helpful video.


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## SpentPenny (Dec 15, 2020)

You can anchor a snatch block at the front of the garage with bolts set in epoxy made for the purpose. Then you can temp mount the winch outside the garage by staking it into the ground if nothing else. Using a snatch block cuts the tension on your winch and cable in half.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

TrevorB said:


> Thank you! Very helpful video.


Paint a marker on the cable when you are out to length so you can pull the slack to what is needed when you push the car out. Then it won't get away on you.


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## TrevorB (Oct 31, 2019)

SpentPenny said:


> You can anchor a snatch block at the front of the garage with bolts set in epoxy made for the purpose. Then you can temp mount the winch outside the garage by staking it into the ground if nothing else. Using a snatch block cuts the tension on your winch and cable in half.


Great suggestion to incorporate a snatch block. Thank you.


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## TrevorB (Oct 31, 2019)

Nealtw said:


> Paint a marker on the cable when you are out to length so you can pull the slack to what is needed when you push the car out. Then it won't get away on you.


Yes. And I’ll keep tow straps on the cross member for convenience too. Thanks.


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## TrevorB (Oct 31, 2019)

Thanks everyone for the great ideas. Much appreciated!


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## Brainbucket (Mar 30, 2015)

I pull mine up with my riding lawn mower.


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## b.rooster4321 (Apr 22, 2020)

Can you push it with another vehicle used couch cushions between the two


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

My Vette broke down at a store (clutch problem) and I had it towed home and deposited on the street in front of my house. When I was ready to tackle the job I had some buddies help push it up into the driveway. Another (female) friend sat in and steered—engine still ran in neutral, so power steering worked. Later on, I decided I needed it repositioned in the driveway, so I took my Mustang and backed it up near the front of the Vette, dropped a thick folded up blanket over the back bumper of the Vette, and closed the Mustang up to it. I put the Vette in neutral and used the Mustang to push it up the driveway a few feet to where I wanted it. I did get a few funny looks from passers-by. 

Actually very similar to Rooster's idea, above.


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## TrevorB (Oct 31, 2019)

Thanks. After hearing yours and roosters idea, I won’t feel so weird trying this if necessary.😅


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## Chris616 (Dec 31, 2019)

quatsch said:


> 60lbs.
> One person could do this with his back to the car back.
> 
> You should be able to test this with minimal risk.





rogerwh said:


> Are you actually saying, it would only take 60 lbs. of pushing to get a 4,000 lb. car into a garage??


It’s impossible to calculate this exactly, since the biggest variables on how much force will be required are unknown.

On a flat surface after the car has just been driven and the wheels have no flat spots I can move my 3500 lb manual transmission car with less than 60 lb of force (never tried it with an automatic transmission). More force will be required for things like:

Cold tires with a flat spot at the bottom.
Low tire inflation pressure which increases how much they deform (steel train wheels have little deformation resistance which is one of the reasons trains are so efficient).
Low outdoor temperature adding resistance to the grease in wheel bearings.
A layer of rust on the brake rotors.
Some extra for going uphill (but the grade is less than one degree).


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

It depends on what accuracy you want for the answer.

My Subaru Impreza TS happens to be parked on a slight downgrade, such that if you give it a push, it continues to roll slowly, not accelerating or decelerating. In this case, gravity does the pushing.

By measuring the pitch of the grade [1/4" fall vs. 24" run] you then know the force needed to push this car on a level road to overcome the resistance due to all causes.

With normal tire pressure it comes out to about 40lbs.

If you'd like I can post my calc. It may be in error, who knows, I haven't done vectors very often.

And with a comealong where you measure the mechanical advantage & with an extension spring of known spring constant, you can gauge the tension in the cable.

Thank you for *not* telling me I'm full of it,
or harassing me,
or badgering me,
or defaming my username.


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## SW Dweller (Jan 6, 2021)

Before you put holes in the concrete better find out if your slab is post tension or not.


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## Jim Port (Sep 21, 2007)

Easy to see why it can take a couple of people to move a car on flat ground.


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

Do not cut any holes before trying the just plain old push method, whether man-powered or vehicle-powered.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

The hobby is building a car not body building. He knows what it like pushing the car and only asked about a winch. 
14 ft aluminum boats are not heavy but the trailer comes with a winch.


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

And I gave him another option without having to a) buy a winch, and b) figure out how to secure it to his structure.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

Nealtw said:


> The hobby is building a car not body building. He knows what it like pushing the car and only asked about a winch.
> 14 ft aluminum boats are not heavy but the trailer comes with a winch.


The trailer winch is there for a different reason.

BTW, my comealong has a mechanical advantage of 13:1. Properly anchored, you could easily use this to pull the car up, 15' at a time.

The winch cable tension + a safety factor decides the winch cable diameter.
How fast you want the car pulled up decides the winch HP.

Almost anyone on this forum can put out a HP for a minute or so. 
You can measure this by running up several flights of stairs & clocking it. You have to know how much you weigh & the vertical distance traveled. 
Heart problems? Morbidly obese? Don't!


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

quatsch said:


> The trailer winch is there for a different reason.
> 
> BTW, my comealong has a mechanical advantage of 13:1. Properly anchored, you could easily use this to pull the car up, 15' at a time.
> 
> ...


A winch rated for 1500 pounds will pull a rolling bus. Add a snatch block it will pull a semi.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

Nealtw said:


> A winch rated for 1500 pounds will pull a rolling bus. Add a snatch block it will pull a semi.


Above my pay grade!


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

quatsch said:


> Above my pay grade!


Didn't the chart come with that come a long.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

Those specs are currently residing in parts unknown.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

OK, real world specs: 
1000 lb lift, 2000 lb "pull"

Working backwards from this, this thing can pull a 4000 lb car up a slope that rises 5' out of 20'.
If your slope is that steep you need to anchor this comealong securely.

And if you know the steel cable diameter you can guess at the breaking strength of the cable, and so the safety factor.

I have a micrometer. 

That's tomorrow.


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## 123pugsy (Oct 6, 2012)

The safety factor for the cable breakage is irrelevant. Let it break. Keep a 4 x 4 block across the driveway in case of breakage, dumb mounting, tear out, whatever. Move the wood forward every few feet the car advances so car can not gain speed in the event of a failure.
I screwed an eye bolt into my bottom plate and attached the come along. Piece of cake.

Engineering: If the come along doesn't work, get something more powerful.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

123pugsy said:


> The safety factor for the cable breakage is irrelevant. Let it break. Keep a 4 x 4 block across the driveway in case of breakage, dumb mounting, tear out, whatever. Move the wood forward every few feet the car advances so car can not gain speed in the event of a failure.
> I screwed an eye bolt into my bottom plate and attached the come along. Piece of cake.
> 
> Engineering: If the come along doesn't work, get something more powerful.


Evidently the comealong OEM disagrees, the cable breaks at about 5600 lbs.


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## 123pugsy (Oct 6, 2012)

Evidently, the car rolls easily and if it breaks, there is a block behind the car on the ground to stop it.
My come along didn't read the manual.
The sky also wasn't falling at my house.


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## sparks in the dark (Aug 21, 2021)

quatsch said:


> Evidently the comealong OEM disagrees, the cable breaks at about 5600 lbs.


So generally speaking with something rated with human safety, a factor  of 3 is used (if I remember correctly). So if say a climbing carabiner is rated to 500lbs, it's actually rated 1500 lbs. Now I'm not sure if a comealong falls under this category. 

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

> The sky also wasn't falling at my house.



BTW, with no risk you can check these angles & such with a four wheeled wagon, some heavy person riding in it & an extension spring.

According to a Hillman Hardware, the industry wide safety factor is 4, but with personal safety it's 10 or more.


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## 123pugsy (Oct 6, 2012)

Hook up the come along and start pulling. OP will know if it's straining too much. Pretty basic.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

> Don't drink


Good.


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## 123pugsy (Oct 6, 2012)

Why good?

If I was drunk and did what I just did in my garage, the result would be the same. I took my less than 200 LBS weight, leaned against the back of my hot rod, and it started rolling forward. It's about 1500 # as it sits.
I figure 5600 LBS of pull could roll a cement truck or three.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

You've got this!


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

I would grab a 6' 2x4 lay it on edge on the floor against the back wall of the garage, and screw it into the bottom plate of the wall (4" construction screw every 6") and the studs it crosses. Install 2 heavy duty eye-bolts. Connect the comealong to one and a heavy-duty ratchet strap to the other, and alternate winching the car in with them.


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

Anchor to a nearby tree, if you have enough cable/chain. Protect the bark with cardboard.

Scale up your own experiment with a little wagon & an extension spring or a bathroom scale.

This thread will not die. . . Do I need to find a wooden stake?


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## stanstr (Feb 19, 2012)

4” in 20’, is almost not a slope at all. 
It should be fairly easy to just push it in. 
If you're worried about it, just put bricks in front of each tire, and as you push it have someone else move a couple of the bricks so it doesn't roll back down.
*-OR-*
Have someone sit in it, covering the brakes if it starts to roll down the driveway.

How far do you have to push it? 10 feet? or 50 yards?

It's easiest to push it by putting your butt against the bumper, holding on the the bottom of the bumper with both hands . Your legs and back can move it easier than leaning in it forwards and pushing with your hands.


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