Tips for Using Your 12V ATV Winch
–A 12V winch is an essential part of any ATV enthusiast’s toolbox. If you’re miles off-road on a dirt track, you don’t want to end up walking back the way you came or having to spend hours pushing your ATV or 4×4 out of the mud. Most people do have winches, but then an alarming number of people don’t use them well and thus still end up stuck. Here are a few different tips for using your 12V ATV winch so that you don’t have to worry about being caught off-road without a way out.
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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Tags: 12 volt winch, 12V ATV winch, 12v winch, electric winch, winch tips, winching tips