How To Choose The Right Winch

Choosing the Right Winch. There are a few factors to consider when choosing your winch but, ultimately it will come down to your application, vehicle, and personal preference.  When choosing a winch the first thing you need to consider how much your vehicle weighs. Since you will be pulling a rolling mass, essentially “dead weight”, you will need to make sure you purchase a winch that can handle not only the weight of your own vehicle but other vehicles as well. Rule of thumb is that you should have a winch with a minimum stated capacity of 1 and 1/2 times the loaded weight of your vehicle. You can estimate it, that’s ok. Just estimate high. My Friend in his F-150 would have been waiting even longer if I opted for the smaller winch instead of 9,000 lbs. winch I mounted on my rig.

My Opinion: Go big or go home. The bigger the winch the more options you have when it comes to helping yourself and others. My 9,000lbs. T-MAX Winch is mounted on a 4,500lbs. Jeep Wrangler and has not given me any trouble getting my rig (or full-size pickups) out of a tough spot.

Another important factor in your decision making process should be what type of winch cable will work best for you. Steel is tried and true. It has been around for centuries and lasts. However, steel also holds energy while under tension and if it snaps, becomes a deadly weapon that can destroy windshields, trees, or severely injure someone in the vicinity. Synthetic line is stronger, lightweight, and does not carry the same dangers if it fails. However, synthetic line is also more expensive than your basic steel line.

My Opinion: Synthetic. I chose synthetic line for my winch mostly because of the safety factor. I also shaved roughly 20 lbs. off my front bumper when I replaced my steel cable.

After deciding on a winch, your next step is to choose the style mount you want to use for your vehicle. There may be multiple options or just one for your particular vehicle or bumper setup. It is extremely important that you carefully install it following the manufacturer’s instructions.