We carry a range of winches and ratchet straps to suit most purposes from car and boat trailers to securing loads on roof racks. Our manual winch capacities start at 400lb and go up to 2500lb. We have two inexpensive 12volt electric winches with a choice of 3000lb or 4000lb capacity. When choosing a winch it is useful to remember that most winch capacities are given as a direct lift weight. Therefore a much lower capacity winch will suit most people’s needs. This is especially true with car transporter trailers. As a rough rule of thumb, a winch will pull 20 times the lifting capacity if the vehicle is undamaged and on level ground. A gradient will reduce this but a relatively small capacity winch will pull a car onto to a trailer. There is a choice of either a winch fitted with a strap or a plain winch to take a bowden cable. Strap winches are much more user friendly and there is not the risk of injury from needling that can occur with winch cables. However they are more susceptible to damage from a sharp edge on a vehicle for instance. An electric winch is worth considering if you use your trailer regularly but a manual winch will do the job just as well and cost considerably less. To complement the car trailer winch we have wheel tie down straps that secure the vehicle to the trailer.

We also stock what we believe is a unique product, the Winch-Rak. This is a winch which attaches to the towball on your car. This can be very useful if you are trying to tow your caravan out of a muddy field. Park the car on solid ground and winch the caravan to the car. Or instead of backing a car down a slipway into the water to recover a boat on a trailer, use the Winch-Rak to pull the trailer to the car. It even comes with a cordless drill attachment to take the strain out of winching a load.

Ratchet straps can be confusing if you are not used to them. They have revolutionised the securing of loads in a wide variety of uses. The way they work is by attaching the ends of the straps and pulling the slack through the ratchet. All you need then is a few clicks of the ratchet to tighten the strap. Releasing them again is quick and easy as the ratchet handle is moved into the release position taking off the tension, allowing you to release the strap. For most people’s purposes the ratchet strap with hooks on the ends of the strap is the best option. This will allow you to attach the strap to hook on the side of a trailer or around a roof rack crossbar. However there are other options. The ratchet strap with an endless web is particularly useful for strapping down a canoe on to a roofrack. The strap has no attachments and simply passes around the load and back into the ratchet. There is also a version that has a sewn loop in each end of the strap. This is good where there is a hook to attach it to and they cost less than a strap with hooks fitted. We will always pleased to advise you on the correct strap for your needs.

Whilst we stock the conventional bungee cords in a range of sizes, a really useful alternative product is the Slidetite range. If you have ever used a bungee cord and struggled to attach it because it was too short then the Slidetite is for you. There are four versions but the hook is by far the best seller. Larger and safer to handle than the traditional metal bungee hook, the Slidetite hook can be attached and removed in seconds meaning the right length every time. To complement the hook, there is the joiner allowing you to join two ends of bungee cord, the clipper, similar to the hook but clips on to a basket or round bar, and the plate allowing you to anchor bungee cord to the base of a trailer or a boot floor. Bungee cord can be bought by the metre to go with the Slidetite range.