If you spend a lot of time off-roading, winches are important. If you get really stuck, recovery straps may not be enough to get you out. This is when that important winch comes into play. If winch recovery is a new thing for you there are some things you should know.

Winch Rigging Techniques & Other Winching Tips

1. Battery power setup is important. Any vehicle equipped with a winch needs to have a battery that is as large as your vehicle allows. The battery should also have as many cold cranking amps (CCA) possible. Cold cranking amps ratings are a great way to quickly check the power of your battery. More power is always a good thing. You should also look at the MRC rating if the battery. The MRC is the “minute reserve capacity”. A higher rating provides more power for the winch to operate for longer. You can calculate how durable your battery is with a simple formula: Time Duration of Pull = (A/W) x T, with A being the reserve capacity rating (usually 25), W being the winch amp draw at rated pull and T being the reserve capacity time of your battery, in minutes. The higher the time duration, the better.
2. Test your alternator. Your alternator is another important aspect or using a winch. The alternator charges your battery, and remember you need a strong battery for efficient use of a winch. If your vehicle is older, testing the battery becomes more important. When you do need to replace your alternator, choose one with a higher amperage rating.
3. Extending winch power cables. Battery cables are very important if you wan optimal performance of your winch. Use the shortest run of cable possible for the battery to the winch and use number 00 welding cables for ground and positive cables. Never ground the cable to the frame of the vehicle or the bumper as this can increase how hard the battery needs to work.
4. Winch pulling capacity. The power the winch needs to pull will increase as the amount of the rope on the drum decreases. You will get more pulling power if you increase the distance between the hook and your vehicle.
5. Avoid winch pulls that take a long time. Avoid pulls that last longer than 1-2 minutes if you want your battery and winch to last. Long pulls will just put more stress on the winch motor. This will damage it and reduce performance.
6. Break in new winch cable rope. It’s a good idea to break in new rope. This will let you know if it’s defective, plus it’s good to pre-stretch it before you have to use it to prevent any weak spots from forming. You can do this by attaching it a stationary object and slowly pull while applying moderate brake pressure.
7. Spool winch evenly. Always respool your winch correctly because it can form weak spots and kinks if you don’t.

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Remember, your battery is important so test it regularly to ensure your winch will work at its peak when you need it to. If you get stuck and you don’t have a winch, contact Citywide Towing Service to get you back on the road!