Information on different types of winches and tips to buy the right winch

Tips & Information for buying  the right Winch

Working of an Electric Winch
Precautions for Winch Safety


As the various types of winches are developed for the military and industrial applications; speed, strength and dependability are the main criteria which decide the quality of a winch. And, ease of operation along with the use safety are two important factors which make the winch manufacturers constantly change the way they build and market their different winch models.

With market getting flooded with different winch types and models from different manufacturers, choosing the right winch for your vehicle is becoming as difficult a job as winching itself.

There are winches made today for 4-wheeling that are light-weight units and are electrically operated. electric wincheshave obvious advantages and disadvantages but the solution lies in choosing the winch that is able to perform for you in the given set of situations. Given below are few tips which are sure to help you out in buying the right kind of winch for your 4-wheeler.

Check the rating of the winch

Purchase a winch that is rated at least 1 and 1/2 times the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). Take your rig to a truck scale and weigh it after loading with whatever you can think of. Multiply that weight by 1.5 and you have the minimum rating for the winch, usually around 8000 or 9000 pounds for most Jeeps and Land Rovers. And for the big vehicles like full-size Broncos and Blazers and trucks, you can go for 10,000 or 12,000 pound winches. Of course, with the correct accessories like pulley blocks (not SNATCH blocks) you can double the capacity of any winch.

(Don't forget to take into account that 12% drop in pulling power for every extra wrap of cable on the drum - a 9000lb winch has a line pull of approx7000lbs on the third wrap).

So choose your winch wisely!

Choosing the type of winch

As has already been said, your choice of winch is largely going to depend upon the situations you would be most frequently using it.

Light weight eltric wecinches

It is quite often possible that you will only need a winch to pull the average car up onto a trailer or the flatbed, in that case a
small electric winch with a pulling power of 3,000- 4,500 lbs is fit enough for you. These smaller type winches also have small drums which can only take the thin hi-tensile type of wire ropes with a maximum length of 15.2 Mt. ( 50' ). These type of winches fall into the category of domestic winches.

If the winch is going to be used to pull a load up a set of ramps and onto a trailer then the ramp incline, along with the slope of the ground the trailer is parked on, will also need to be taken into consideration. The higher the slope, the higher the resistance, and the harder the winch will have to work. The rolling load can allow a smaller winch to be used, but keep in mind that the winch will not always be on the layer of winch wire closest to the winch so you would require a winch with a line pull capacity at least equal if not 1.5 times to that of the load being moved.

For example, if a car weighing 4,000 lbs is going to be pulled onto a trailer, an electric winch with a line pull capacity equal to 4,000 lbs. should be used.

Electric Winches for Vehicle Recovery

Vehicle recovery falls into two categories - Light and Heavy.

In the light sector, there are three popular models and sizes, the one you choose will depend on the type of work you wish to undertake. For example, if you want to pull cars and light vans then a 6,000 lbs line pull winch would suffice.

Most trucks and SUVs will require a winch with a capacity around 6,000 lbs. However, there is little difference in price between some of the 6,000 and 8,500 lb winches, and spending few extra dollars will buy you a winch which will not be working as hard as the 6,000 lb winch and would in turn extend your motor’s life.

For pulling accident damaged vehicles or recovering vehicles stuck in fields and ditches you would require electric winches with higher line pull than 8,500 lbs. or 9,000 lbs.

Advantage of Electric Winch

As said earlier, if you want to winch light vehicles you can choose your winches in the 6000-9,000 lbs range. And you can easily go for an electric winch which is the most common winch.

The advantage of Hand powered and Electric winches is that these are the only type of winches that will get you out when your engine is dead. But care must be taken not to winch your batteries flat and so that it has enough power left to start the engine after winching.

Another advantage of Electric winches is that these are easier to install. When you are choosing the electric winch for your rig the amperage draw is another important consideration which you should never ignore.

You can very well understand the significance of ampere draw if you know the working of an electric winch. Under normal recreational winching, the average alternator and battery will do the job. We would recommend having at least an 800 or higher rated Cold Cranking amp rating on the battery. Similarly also check the rating of Alternators. Alternators are rated when they are "fresh" (that is, cold). When they get hot, they lose capacity fast, so some of the stock units will only put out 30 or so amps when you need it the most. If you anticipate doing some serious winching, which comes with serious 'wheeling, then change over to heavier rating. You can also go for dual batteries.

(Please note that for the average recreational 4-wheelers, the stock battery and alternator are just fine.)

Installation of Electric Winch

Mount your winch firmly, either using a brush guard mount assembly from the winch manufacturer or a bumper made to accept a winch. Install the roller fair lead. Use the proper hardware, like grade 8 bolts and "nylock" nuts. Some people prefer the grade 5 hardware because it tends to stretch but the rating of the grade 8 stuff is worth the extra pennies.

Now that your winch is installed and you are ready to go, don’t forget to take the accessory kit along with you! You will need to have a wide tree protector strap which is around 3" wide and 8 feet long.

You'll need a snatch block rated at twice the capacity of the winch, some "D" shackles, heavy gloves, short length of 3/8 chain. You need not buy the accessory kit, most of the time you will get it from the manufacturer.

Testing of the Electric Winch

Well, now that you have the winch, the accessory kit and basic skills to use you are almost ready to go! Why not take a trial! Pull the cable out almost all the way, connect it to the phone pole and pull your rig to it. Wind the cable up under light load, keeping it nice and tight. Lay the cable just next to it self with no gaps or overlaps, just before the hook goes in the roller fair lead. Then hook it to the tow hook or some place on the bumper and hook it up, not very tight but snug. Don’t leave the clutch lever open! Afther these operations, your winch is finally ready to help you out!

Receiver mounted Winches

Receiver mounted winches are very useful, but remember their static pull load is limited by the receiver they fit into. For a class III hitch that is 5000lbs you can use a winch that is only suitable for downsize trucks and jeeps.

On a vehicle, the best mounting system to be used with a receiver mounted winch is the cradle mount. With a front and rear receiver hitch and a winch mount plate, the winch can easily be transferred from the front to the rear of the vehicle, making recovery from either direction possible.



Through our nationwide network of dealers and manufacturers, we are selling all types of Milemarker winches at the going rate.

Call toll free 800-841-1102 or contact us today.

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