Choosing the Right Winch for Your Vehicle

A winch is an essential part of a 4WD recovery kit. There are electric and non-electric winches. When it comes to electric winches, there is so much variety that you can find such as wired and wireless options. You can find many reputed online stores to purchase winches and other recovery equipment.

A very important consideration when it comes to selecting 4×4 winches is choosing a winch with the right capacity for your vehicle. You need to know the gross weight of your vehicle for this. This value has to be multiplied by 1.5 to arrive at the recommended minimum winch capacity. If you are wondering where to find the gross weight of your vehicle, this will be noted in the vehicle manual or you can even check if it is displayed in the door jamb of your vehicle. If you are thinking that bigger is better then you will tend to select the winch with the largest capacity you can find. But this is actually not recommended as it can damage your vehicle or the vehicle rescuing you during recovery. Going a little bit above the minimum recommended capacity is okay but it is best not to go overboard such as doubling the value.

You have to consider the winch rope as well. The synthetic rope is one option you can consider. It is lightweight and very easy to work with. There are also different colours of synthetic rope so you can actually match the colour to that of your vehicle or go with something contrasting. There is reflective synthetic rope which will improve visibility in low light conditions. You need to clean this rope regularly as poor maintenance can contribute to the degrading of the rope from the inside. If you are going over rough obstacles, there is a risk of the rope fraying. So it is best to use an abrasion sleeve with it. Wire rope is more of a traditional choice. This contributes to a durable winch cable and you will be able to use it for a long time if you exercise proper care. But over time, wire rope has a tendency to develop burrs and you may notice rusting in some places if the rope is not properly maintained.

The rope will be directed onto the winch drum using a metal lead. This is called a fairlead. If you are using a wire rope, you can choose a roller style fairlead. For synthetic rope, hawse style fairlead is recommended. Some roller fairleads will also work if they are well designed. Think about how you will attach the winch to the vehicle. Depending on the winch, it will allow for recessed placements and top mounting. You can either attach universal winch plates to your vehicle or make use of a semi-hidden winch kit that comes with certain vehicle models. You may need to research about proper fit for your vehicle. Check the recommended winch mounting systems for your vehicle model before you go ahead with the purchase. If you want to retain the aesthetics, you can use a recessed winch system.