Get Yourself Unstuck: The Ins & Outs of Winches

If you like to get back off the beaten path with your vehicle, like me, you will probably find yourself stuck at some point on one of your hunting trips. If you are constantly hunting on muddy roads, in deep snow, and/or by using rocky two-track trails out west, then it’s high time to invest in a winch. Before you just go out and buy the first winch that pops up on your Google search there are a few things you should consider to help you make an informed decision on what winch will work best for you. 

Where to Mount My Winch

The one thing that needs to be taken care of ahead of purchasing a winch is how you are going to attach the winch to your vehicle. The majority of offroad vehicles equipped with a winch do so through heavy-duty offroad bumpers. This is because a new heavy-duty bumper is designed to have a winch mounted therefore has extra reinforcement and mounting holes already made for winches. The second most common is in a receiver hitch cradle. These cradles can make it easy to move the winch from vehicle to vehicle and even from front to back of a vehicle giving you a single winch much more versatility. However, to be used on the front you will need the addition of a front-mounted receiver. The third option is a portable winch which does not mount to the vehicle and can be used in a variety of ways outside of vehicle recovery. If one of these is used you will still have to make sure you have a good solid point to attach to your vehicle such as a rear receiver or tow hooks. Cradles can make it easy to move the winch from vehicle to vehicle and even from front to back of a vehicle giving you a single winch much more versatility. All of these options come with their pros and cons.

Cradles can make it easy to move the winch from vehicle to vehicle and even from front to back of a vehicle giving you a single winch much more versatility.

I am working on building a cradle system for my 2014 Ram and 1079 International pickup so I can share a winch between the two. I have had a bumper-mounted winch on my 2009 Toyota Tacoma and enjoyed that as well. 

Capacity

Deciding the capacity of your vehicle is the single most important component to picking the correct winch. The general rule of thumb is to pick a winch with a rating that is double the weight of your vehicle. My biggest recommendation is to weigh your vehicle completely loaded down with bumper upgrades lift wheels tires and gear to get a weight that is more closely representative of the heaviest a vehicle will be. Also, if you plan on pulling a trailer try and get a winch with a heavier capacity.

Here is a 12,000-pound Apex Winch by Badlands. 12,000-pound winches tend to be the most common.

Capacity can also include the weight that can be pulled at a certain amount of winch line. Winches generally have less pulling capacity toward the end of the winch and can be something to consider. There are ways of increasing the capacity of a winch when performing pull-through snatch blocks or pulleys. Those may be viable options to get more from your winch.

Steel Cable or Synthetic Winch Line

Finally, consider what type of winch line you will use. The two options are steel cable and synthetic. A steel cable tends to be cheaper winches and has more strength at a small diameter and is less resistant to cuts and nicks that may lead to failure. Synthetic winch lines generally are more expensive but in general less catastrophic when a failure occurs and because of that in my opinion safer.

Metal components are heavy and can store energy causing them to fling uncontrollably if they fail. Synthetic cables will simply fall to the ground if and when they fail.

Many of today's winch manufacturers make winches with both line types, however, when asked the majority of people will tell you synthetic is better mostly for the improvement in safety. Metal components are heavy and can store energy causing them to fling uncontrollably if they fail. Synthetic cables will simply fall to the ground if and when they fail.

Some companies now make fairleads that allow you to not even need a hook on the end of synthetic winch lines and with the advancement in soft shackles can allow you to completely remove metal from your winch setup. That being said steel cables have been used for decades and are still reliable but just need an extra level of caution when using.