My garden hose storage box has a rail that keeps going left to right to evenly distribute the hose on the reel.

Its their something similar for winches?

I used my winch once and its already a mess

 

Did you have tension on the wire as it rolled in?

 

Yep....it pulls all to the right side of the winch bunching up too much

That's the side the tow hook is on. I thought about mounting a D ring in the middle front of the winch but that just moves the bunching. Would love something that keeps moving left right and back.

 

I only have that problem when I wind up the winch without a car being pulled. I hold the cable to keep tension and move it side to side manually.

When I am winching in my car it never seems to be a problem.

 

Ah, got it.
Careful if you do try the d-ring. A wire cable under side tension cuts through those like butter.
Lots of us prefer the rope cable over wire. Mine seems to self distribute itself on the drum when winching in the car. I did relocate the winch such that is a straight feed from the tow hook, though.
I hope you find the guide you describe. That is a good idea. Reminds me of a fishing reel.

 

+1 on the synthetic rope. Easy on the hands and easier to guide.

 

Your winch needs to line up with your tow eye. Get that right and never let the spool snarl and it will layer smoothly. I always power out a bit under tension before clipping to car. Keep the tension until winch takes over.
If you loan your trailer to anybody you can be sure the cable will be fooked up when it returns. Friends will do that for you.

 

Synthetic rope is your solution.