The most important tip when it comes to winching is simply to make sure you get the right one for you! Before clicking buy, you want to ensure you’re selecting your perfect fit, ideal for the job at hand and capable of handling the load you’re working with.

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Luckily, you’re in the right place! Putting all the info in one handy blog, keep reading to see our pro tips for ensuring you’re getting the right winch for you.

How to Buy a Winch

As a step ahead of diving in and making a purchase, the process of buying a winch should start long before. Ahead of browsing, you need to pause and do some measurements and research. You need to know the average weight of the load you’ll be moving – this will differ depending on the job and purpose. The bigger the job, the stronger the winch you’ll need.

Choosing the Right Winch for Your Needs

The right winch for you comes down to two major things; load and scenario. Amongst other things to consider like waterproofing, speed and cable length, before making any purchase it’s good to really consider your usage. Are you going to be using your winch for vehicle recovery? Off Roading & Green laning? ATV?Industrial? Each purpose requires subtle differences in needs and wants, so maybe make a priority list ahead of browsing!

Below, we’ll break down differing things to consider that you might want to look out for.

How powerful does your winch need to be?

The power of your winch totally depends on your needs. If you’re going to use your winch regularly for industrial or construction needs, you’ll require a higher-powered winch. You could also consider a hydraulic winch which doesn’t get as hot so require fewer cool-down breaks, and usually have a high load capacity for bigger jobs.

Simple electric winches are easy and reliable but are better for intermittent usage as they get hot and require breaks.

Most of our winches come in a choice of either 12v or 24v, giving you full control over picking the power rating you need or want.

Speed of Traction

Depending on the job at hand, speed might be important to you. Speed of traction deals with the speed with which the cable is pulled back into the drum to move the load from one place to the other. With some working as fast as 1.2m per minute at full load, you can have the job done in no time.

Take a look at the specs on each product page to see the line pull and speed.

Winch Capacity

Capacity is probably the most important as it's pointless owning a winch that isn’t strong enough to move what you need to move. A good rule of thumb is to aim for a capacity close to double the weight of what you’re looking to move. This is especially important if you’re planning on using your winch for vehicle recovery with heavy loads.

Waterproofing

If your winch is going to be sat outside, it’s good to consider waterproofing. With unreliable weather, you don’t want to risk your equipment being damaged and making it impossible to get the job done. For waterproofing, keep an eye on the sealing of the drum, motor and the quality of the solenoids. Double sealing will ensure water is kept out of the mechanics, while strong steel solenoids won’t rust or be damaged by water.

For more information, please visit Smart Load Release Winch.

Cable Length

The length of the cable is another thing to consider to make sure you can get your job done easily and smoothly. As well as the length of the cable, it’s important to consider the drum size. The longer the cable, the larger the drum will have to be – so keep that in mind if you need to save on space!

Cable Type

The type of cable is another thing to consider! The most common choice lets you choose between steel rope or synthetic rope – but don’t get mixed up! There’s no compromising at all on strength as the synthetic rope is just as robust and hard-wearing as the steel. Synthetic ropes are however lighter and likely to do less damage in case of failure if you’re looking for an easy-to-transport winch.

Winch Buying Tips

Pulling all our tips into one handy list, these are the main things to consider when looking for your perfect winch:

Everything You Need To Know BEFORE Buying a Winch

• March 8,
• / Story By Ali Mansour - Off-Road & Truck Editor

If experience has taught us anything, it’s that you can’t plan for every off-road scenario. One thing you can do, however, is make sure your vehicle is as prepared as possible. The easiest way to do that is by outfitting your truck or SUV with a winch. A self-recovery winch is an easy way to ensure you and your wheeling comrades can make it through your off-road adventure.

With so many winch options on the market, it can be difficult to decide which is the best fit for your vehicle. To help, we’ve put together a list of the most important things you should consider before purchasing a winch. These will not only narrow your search field, but ensure that you end up with the right tool for the job.

Electric Versus Hydraulic

When it comes to a self-recovery winch, there are two main types- electric and hydraulic. More often than not, electric is the better choice for most vehicles. They are easier to install, require less maintenance and are less expensive. Most electric winches designed for trucks and SUVs range from 7,500 to 16,500 pounds.

Winch Capacity

Before you commit to a winch, you’ll need to make sure that it’s properly rated for your vehicle. To determine this, you’ll need to know your vehicles GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating). Once you know this number, you will multiple it by 1.5. For example, an SUV with a 6,000 GVWR would need a winch rating of at least 9,000 pounds (6,000 x 1.5). You’re always better off moving up a little from this figure. In this example, we would start our search with winch capacities starting at 10,000 pounds.  

AMP Draw

Going with an electric winch means you’ll be asking a lot from your vehicle’s electrical system. To find out just how taxing this will be, you’ll want to look at how many AMPs the winch draws. The lower the AMP draw, the less taxing on your vehicles electrical system.

Line Speed

The faster you can get out of bad situation the better when off-road. If you want to find out just how quickly your winch will get you moving, take a look at the line speed. This will let you know how many feet-per-minute the line will move. The only possible downside of a fast line speed is that the AMP draw may be higher than something with a slightly slower speed. Also, a winch boasting a faster line speed will also tend to be more expensive. Almost all winch manufacturers list their AMP draw and line speed numbers. So, you can easily compare which is the right fit you.

Steel Cable or Synthetic Rope

Steel cable versus synthetic rope used to be one of the most highly debated topics in the off-road world. These days, rope is by far the most popular option. Steel cable remains the more durable option and is often less expensive. The main draw of synthetic rope is that it’s lighter and easier to handle. Although synthetic rope is more susceptible to damage from constant sun exposure and abrasion. The impacts of sun exposure varies with how much the drum is exposed. Some synthetic ropes have sleeves that protect against abrasion, which helps prevent damage on the trail. We tend to gravitate to rope more often than not.

Controllers

One big change we’ve noticed in the world of winching over the years is the shift to wireless winch controllers. The big advantage of this is that allows you or someone assisting you the ability to safely operate the winch from a distance. You also no longer have to route a long cable into the cab and worry about it getting snagged on something. The obvious worry here is that the controller batteries might die mid use. For this reason, we prefer winch setups that allow you to plug in the remote with a provided cable in addition to being wireless.  

Winch With Us

We’ve used multiple winch types from a variety of manufacturers over the years. Maybe the brand we’ve had the most experience with is Warn. We recently upgraded our Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 with a VR EVO 10-S. The combination of a low AMP draw, included features, and relatively quick line speed made it a smart choice for our Jeep. To learn more about our winch upgrade, as well as some critical tips for correctly tensioning your winch rope, be sure to visit our YouTube channel.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Custom Drone Winch.