If you’re in the market for a 12v winch for your 4×4, the most important thing that you need to look at is the line pull weight of your of the winch. But while most people know to look at this, they underestimate it many times, sometimes with terrible consequences.
The line pull weight on a winch tells you the total weight that the winch can pull. If you pick a winch with a line pull that is too small, you won’t be able to pull your car and could possibly damage your car or yourself and others standing nearby.
It sounds simple to find a winch with the right weight, but most people underestimate the number. Why? Because they forget to include the entire weight of their vehicle in when they are looking at winch weights. Remember, the winch will have to pull the entire weight of your car, which includes fuel, gear and water. If you find a winch that just covers the manufacturer’s weight of the vehicle you could end up with a winch that isn’t powerful enough to pull your car out of the mud.
Another sticking point for people buying winches is they forget that for every wrap on the winch/’s drum, the winch loses at least twelve percent of its total power. Since manufacturers measure the power of their winches when they are at their strongest, when there’s one wrap on the drum, you want to make sure you buy a winch with enough line pull to spare so the winch still have power when the line start spooling and so that it can handle heavy, short pulls.
Finding the right winch is simple, but only when you know what to look for. Make sure that you have a good idea of what line pull ratings you need before you go out to search for your next 12v ATV winch.
Cool video on why a winch might be needed!
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