When working in the garage, there are times when a vehicle needs to be moved outside. Maybe it’s to gain additional workspace, or possibly to access another vehicle stored above it on a lift. Reasons aside, it’s not always convenient to push a vehicle back into the garage, and it’s practically impossible if the driveway has even the slightest incline. While starting the engine is an option, the practice of cold startup and immediate shutdown isn’t ideal for a multitude of reasons. Not to mention that your neighbors might not share your appreciation of deep rumbling exhaust if you work late into the evening. What’s a hobbyist to do?

Experiencing these sorts of scenarios countless times over the years, we’ve considered adding an electric winch to our garage for some time. It took a recent clutch failure in our Firebird to end the procrastination. Our four-post lift was occupied with a different project at the time, so we were forced to park the disabled Firebird beneath it following the tow truck ride home. We pondered attempting the clutch repair while lying on our backs, but ultimately chose to wait for the convenience of the lift. That then presented the challenge of regularly moving the Firebird while working on the other project and eventually getting it onto the lift for its repair. We knew an electric winch was the solution.

Warn Industries is a premier manufacturer of electric winches and hoists. After explaining our intent to Warn’s technical support team, the company’s 120 V 1500 AC Utility Winch was recommended. Affixing a winch to the concrete floor is among the simplest and most effective methods for garage/shop use. We formulated a plan that consisted of a plate-steel mounting flange to spread the shear force on our concrete floor. By positioning the winch directly in front of our four-post lift, we can now pull vehicles onto the lift or beneath it. Once all the components were in hand, we had the installation complete in less than an hour.

The Warn 1500 AC Utility Winch (model 85330) provides 1,500 pounds of pulling capacity, which proved quite sufficient for our needs. It includes a 10-foot power cord that plugs into a typical household 120- V outlet, a 10-foot remote cord for operator convenience, and a 3.16-inch diameter cable with a total reach in excess of 40 feet. The 1500 AC sells for less than $500 from many mail-order retailers.