Snatch Blocks

Snatch blocks are incredibly useful for anyone that’s planning on doing any off-road recoveries.  A snatch block is attached to a second anchor point than your winch and doubles the winch cable back onto your winch.  This halves the load on the line, allowing you to pull twice the amount of weight.  The trade off is that the load takes twice as long to reel in as normal straight pull will.  While this is useful, where snatch blocks will really help most off-roaders is in short, difficult or heavy pulls, and in off-center pulls.

Using a Snatch Block

Winches have different levels of strength depending on how cable is left on the spool when it is being pulled.  Manufacturers rate their winch’s pull capacity when the winch is at the strongest, with one line of cable still left on the spool.  However, if you’re only doing a short, straight pull there’s a lot of cable left on the line.  This isn’t a problem for light pulls, but what if the load you’re pulling is heavy or your vehicle is stuck in deep mud.  The pull may take a long time as you try to wrestle with the mud and keep the winch from overheating.  However, with the use of a snatch block you can take some of the weight off the winch and also pull out some more cable, using the strongest part of the winch to pull your vehicle out of the mud.

Snatch blocks also help on off-center pulls.  If you’re pulling off-center, you have to stop the winch every few seconds to rewrap the cable because it tends to bunch up unevenly.  However, with a snatch block you can step the cable to run straight from the winch to the snatch block and then from the snatch block to the car, making two straight line pulls.

Tree Straps

If you’re doing any off-roading, tree straps are just as essential as your winch.  In fact, in many areas they are required if you plan on anchoring your winch to a tree.  Winch cables, especially the ones made of steel are rough and can put a dent in a tree’s bark.  In the worst cases, this causes a ring where the bark is stripped off the tree and leaves the tree vulnerable to pests.  Eventually this results in the death of the tree.  Not only can the tree fall on the trail, complicating life for other people venturing off-road, but it also destroys the nature that you can to enjoy.

Avoid this and use a tree saver or tree strap for your 12V winch.  It makes sure you left Mother Nature exactly the way that you found it.

Clevis “D” Shackle

Another essential accessory for your 12V electric winch is a Celvis, or D Shackle.  These are the link between your tree strap and the winch cable.  There are other models that you can buy but the D shackle is the easiest to use and the strongest.  Just make sure that you buy a model that is strong enough to support the load your winch with a snatch block attached can.

Gloves and a Shovel

The last two things you need aren’t for your winch specifically, but can help you immensely.  A pair of gloves is great to have when you’re handling a steel cable, which might have a few strands come loose and leave you with annoying cuts.  If you anticipate having to use a hand winch at all as well, they’re also great to prevent blisters on your hands.

The shovel is used for when you are in deep mud.  In these conditions your tires might not be able to get any traction, putting a huge amount of stress on your winch.  You can avoid this by using the shovel to dig out the area under your tires and replacing it with rocks or branches to give you some traction to start your pull.

12V winches are great tools, but for them to work at their best, you need some accessories.  Snatch blocks, tree savers, D shackles, and gloves and a shovel, will make sure that your winch pulls the biggest amount that it can quickly and easily.

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1. Tips for Using Your 12V ATV Winch

First, don’t buy your winch on price alone.  While price is a fairly good indication of quality, the most expensive winches aren’t always worth the premium that you pay for.  Search online for reviews of the difference winches that you’re looking to buy and search for some recommendations from friends that have the same needs as you.  Cheap winches, however, will almost always give you what you pay for.  They come with cheaper cable, which could snap easier, and cheaper parts, which can lead to a breakdown at an inopportune time.

Before you start looking at individual winches, you need to find out what the overall weight you need your winch to pull is.  If you’re going to be using your winch to pull a boat or a car, don’t just use the car’s listed weight as the bare minimum that you need for a  winch.  Remember, you still have to add in the motor, for boats, fuel, and anything that you might be carrying, like food and water.  If possible, try to have your boat or car weighed when it is loaded up.  If this isn’t possible, make a good estimate yourself, but leave yourself with plenty of room for error.

Next, make sure that you find 12V winches that have enough line on their spool to pull the distance that you need them to.  Winches can come with anywhere from 25 to 100 feet of cable and you don’t want to be stuck with too little.  You don’t want to always buy the winch with the most cable however.  Winches are at their most powerful with one wrap of line left on the spool, and this is how manufacturers measure their strength.  So don’t buy a winch with 100 feet of cable when you will only realistically be using 25 feet of it.

A Winch Used for Work on the Farm

You’ll also want to make sure that the winch you chose is weather and water resistant.  This is particularly true of winches on ATVs which are mounted to the front of your vehicle and subjected to all kinds of abuse from rain, snow, ice, and mud.  You’re going to need your winch to work especially well when the weather isn’t cooperating, so make sure that you account for this and get one that can withstand all that mother nature can throw at it.

Finally, before you settle on the winch that you want, make sure it has the accessories that you need.  How do you want to control the winch?  Many winches can be controlled from the comfort of your car or with a remote control.  Both of these options can make winching much easier depending on the task.  You may also want to find a 12V electric winch that has a hand crank attached to it.  In case your winch fails, you will always be able to use old fashioned elbow grease to get yourself out and to safety.  And don’t forget about any other add-ons you might want to add later.  Some people prefer to use synthetic winch rope to steel cable, but with some winches it can’t be used because of sharpened edges.

Finding the right winch for your job will give you peace of mind and make sure the winch will work for you for years to come.  When picking out your winch, always find winches that are rated to carry the loads you want to pull, have enough cable in them, but not too much cable, are weather-resistant, and are comfortable for you to use.  If you follow all these steps you should be able to find yourself a quality 12V winch in no time.

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First, always make sure to bring along not just your winch, but also any accessories that help you make the most out of your winch’s power and abilities.  These can includes tree savers to protect the environment, a recovery strap, d-shackles, a shovel, and most importantly, snatch blocks.

Snatch blocks can server three different purposes.  First, they allow you to reel in roughly twice as much weight as your winch can normally support.  They do this by doubling the amount of line that your winch pulls in.  Doing this also helps you on heavy, short pulls.  Your winch is at its strongest when there is one layer of line left on the spool, so getting as close to the end of the spool is necessary when you’re doing heavy loads.  In fact, on any load you should try to leave as close to one layer of cable on your winch as possible.  Finally, since you can hook up a snatch block to a different anchor point than your winch, you can use the snatch block to help aid in off-center recoveries where you need to pull at an angle.  Instead of pulling at an angle you can have a straight line to the snatch block from the winch and a straight line from the snatch block your ATV.

If you do have to pull at an angle, you should do two things to make the process easier.  First, point your tires in the direction of the winch to air the winch as much as possible.  Second, always keep an eye on your winch cable.  Pulling at an angle will cause your winch cable to wrap unevenly around the spool.  This can damage both the cable and the winch.  Pull in small amounts until the cable starts to roll unevenly and then stop to readjust the cable before you move on.

A Heavy Duty ATV Winch

For heavy loads, consider having someone sit in the car and give some throttle to it to assist the winch in the recovery.   Also try to use snatch blocks if possible and only winch in increments of a minute and a half or less.  Pulling for longer can cause the motor to overhead and damage or break your winch.  Have the winch work for a minute and a half and then let it cool off for a little before pulling your car the rest of the way in.

While you’re winching, always try to keep the engine running so that you don’t deplete your battery and if you’re using your vehicle as an anchor point to winch out another vehicle, make sure that your car is secured before you start winching.  If you don’t secure your car, you could end up with two cars in the mud and not anchor points to get them out.

Pay particular attention to your 12v winch cable before, during, and after your winch.  When you’re letting the cable out, make sure that you inspect it as you do so to make sure there is no bird’s nesting, tangles or other weak points.  If the cable breaks, the can recoil, snapping in the faces of you and any other innocent bystanders, so try to prevent this from happening.  When you attach the cable, attach it as low as possible to the anchor point, this will make sure that you have the most leverage.  If you’re planning on letting cable out instead of pulling it in, always have tension on the line.  If there is no tension on the line, you could end up with the line getting tangled or kinked, and this will reduce the overall strength of the cable.  Finally, when you respool the cable, always make sure that it wraps up tight and even.  This is a big concern with uneven or off-center recoveries like was discussed earlier.

Finally, if you’re stuck in very deep mud, try to give your tires some traction first before you attempt to winch out your car.  Use the shovel that you should have brought along and dig out the area around the tires and fill the holes with tree branches, rocks, or anything else that can provide traction.  This will reduce the amount of work that your winch needs to do and get you out of the deep stuff quicker and easier.

Riding your ATV around the wilderness is incredibly exhilberating.  Unfortunately, occasionally you might get stuck in deep snow or mud and might need a helping hand to get out.  This is where your 12V electrical winch comes to the rescue.  As long as you attach it right, all that’s required is you hook it up and press a button and you’re out of trouble.  These are some great tips to use your winch, but always make sure to read the owner’s manual and if possible, seek out your local off-roading club for some training in using your winch.

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1. Essential 12V Winch Accessories

The first thing that you have to do when you’re shopping for a winch is decide how much power your winch needs to have.  This isn’t just the weight of your boat, but also the weight of your boat with your motor, fuel, and any other gear that you plan to take on board.  The motor can be especially heavy, so make sure that you look at the owner’s manual for your motor and boat to figure out the weight.  To be safe, you should pick a winch that can handle the entire weight of your boat.

However, since your trailer and boat will be in the water, you winch won’t have to haul the entire weight of the boat if you’re just using the winch to haul your boat in and out of the water.  Because of this, at a minimum you can pick a winch that can only support around three-quarter of the weight of your boat.  However, there are several other factors that can increase or decrease the amount of weight that your winch will have to pull, chief among them the incline of the ramp you are using, so be careful if you’re choosing a winch that can’t pull the entire weight of your boat and don’t cut it too close.

Something else to look for when your shopping for 12V winches for your boat is a remote control for the winch.  You can get a corded or wireless remote, but they can be a huge help to get your boat onto your trailer easier.  With a remote, you can hand guide the boat up onto the trailer while still controlling the winch, so you can easily stop and start the winch as the boat comes in if it pulls up wrong or the winch cable starts bunching on one side of the spool.

Finally, there are many trailer winches today that come with an additional hand crank attached to them in case the electric crank fails.  If possible, you should try to find a winch that has the capability to turn into a hand winch.  While 12V electric winches make your life easier, they still can fail at inopportune time, either through battery or winch motor failure.  If this happens and you don’t have a backup, you’ll end up with you boat in the water and no way to get it out.  Avoid this and find a winch that doubles as an hand winch.

Winches make loading your boat onto your trailer much easier than traditional hand cranking methods.  Try to find a winch that can pull in at least three-quarters to the entire weight of your boat, motor, fuel, and other gear.  Winches that have remote controls and the option to turn into a hand winch are incredibly useful.  As a final precaution, make sure that you never use your winch as a tie down after you’re done loading your boat onto a trailer.  Once you’ve loaded your boat, disconnect the winch and use separate tie-downs to attach your boat.  Failure to do this will decrease the lifespan of your winch and winch cable and also puts your boat in danger as you’re driving down the highway.


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Synthetic winch rope is actually stronger than steel cable and can pull greater loads while keeping a smaller diameter.  Using synthetic rope, you can put more cable on the line, allowing you to do longer pulls.  However, while the rope is stronger on straight pulls, it can’t withstand abrasion as well as steel cable can.  Thus, if you are going to be using a winch cable in areas with lots of sharp rocks or other surfaces, you might be better off using a steel cable.  If you only plan on running your cable around rough surfaces once in a while though, you can take some precautions to make sure that your synthetic cable stays in good working order.

First, as with when you are using a steel cable, always check the synthetic cable for any weak points when you are unwinding it and always use a tree saver strap.  This will save your cable and the tree as well.  If you see that the cable is going to have to pull over rocks or other rough surfaces, make sure that you put down a heavy blanket or some other form of padding between the rock and the rope so that the rope doesn’t rub against the rock.

When you’re done off-roading and head home for the day, never leave your synthetic cable on the winch.  It it’s gotten muddy or wet during the day, leaving it on the winch could cause it to rot.  Instead, spool it out, rinse it with a hose, and let it dry in the sun.    While you’re doing this, make sure that the fairlead on your winch isn’t sharp.  If it is, it will dramatically shorten the lifespan of our synthetic winch cable, so try to replace it if you can.

Synthetic Winch Cable

Using synthetic rope can make your 12V winch safer, by removing the recoil hazard, and can also allow you to put more cable on your drum if you need to pull over a longer distance.  However, they are extremely susceptible to damage from abrasion and rotting.  Avoid this by taking preventative measures and taking good care of your rope and your cable will stay in good working order for several years.

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Whatever task you want a winch for; an electrical version will take a lot of the backbreaking labor that you would otherwise be doing yourself.  Not only that, it moves the load safely and securely.  Generally, the only part of a winch that will fail and cause injury is the winch cable.  However, with a proper inspection before every time that you use the cable and as long as you aren’t trying to winch objects heavier than the winch is rated for, the danger of a cable snapping and recoiling is almost non-existant.

12V Winches come with cables that are anywhere between twenty-five and sixty feet.  When you’re shopping for a winch, you want to find the one that has the amount of cable that you will need, but not too much.  Manufacturer’s measure the amount of pulling power a winch has when it is at its strongest, and that is when there’s one wrap of the cable left on the spool.  Make sure you always use a winch that is rated to pull the amount of weight that you plan on pulling.

Remote Control Electric Winch

The gear ratio is another essential figure to look at on any electrical winch.  The gear ratio will range from 100:1 to 250:1.  This number is the number of turns to motor makes to turn the spool one full turn.  So if you find a winch that has a gear ratio of 200:1, it mean that the engine makes 200 turns for every one turn of the spool  Higher gear ratios provide more power, but they also mean that you’ll be pulling your load in much slower.

12V DC winches are essential tools for many hobbies, from ATV enthusiasts to wakeboarders that use them to pull themselves in.  Look around at the rest of our site to find some great tips on how to pick out the right winch for you and whatever activity that you plan on doing.

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