How to Save Money When Buying Smart Load Release Winch

To winch or not to winch? It’s a question many 4WDers have asked themselves when looking to hit the tracks and put their rig through its paces. Unfortunately, it’s not a question with a simple answer that is the same for everyone. To decide if a winch is for you, you’ll need to have a look at your rig and consider a few different things.

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What type of trip are you planning?

This is potentially the most important question when looking at investing in a winch. You need to have a good think about what your upcoming travel plans are and where they’re taking you. If you only plan to travel on well maintained or sealed roads between home and campsites, then a winch is probably overkill. On the other hand, if off-roading and pushing your rig to its limits is more your speed then a winch could be a good idea.

If you’re planning on hitting some tracks or travelling alone then a winch is a cheap insurance policy that can save you from having to foot an expensive recovery bill or getting permanently stuck. Having one means that if you do get stuck, you can often get yourself out without much issue. Without, it’s a case of either waiting for a friendly stranger to haul you out or scrambling to find a potentially expensive tow (that is if you’re not too remote, otherwise you might need to say goodbye to your precious vehicle).

Which winch is which?

Like many overlanding accessories, the saying ‘you get what you pay for’ rings true. Yes, there are cheap winches available, but when this one piece of kit can mean the difference between you getting home and having to abandon your rig on the track, it pays to spend a little more.

The next decision you’ll have to make is between steel cable and synthetic rope. While steel cable is more durable, affordable and requires less maintenance than synthetic rope, it is prone to rust and burrs as it wears. This decreases the strength and makes it more difficult to operate. Being less prone to fraying, it is the better option if you’re planning to spend more time in abrasive terrains including rocks and sand.

Synthetic rope has been a winch option since the ‘90s, made from polyethylene it’s much lighter and a perfect option for weight sensitive vehicles. It’s also much less dangerous if it breaks. Being highly flexible makes it easier to wind back up but it also makes it susceptible to fraying, chemical and heat exposure damage. If you plan on doing a lot of water or deep mud driving, synthetic rope is the way to go as it floats, making water recoveries much easier.

Picking the right sized winch is also important. -pound winches are perfect for smaller trucks, but -pound winches are often more common and the way to go, giving you a bit of weight leeway. For heavier 4WDs up to if you’re towing a fifth wheel or camper trailer, you’ll want a -pound winch. It’s important not to go smaller to save money as winches do have a limit and you don’t want to spend the money only to destroy it on the first use.

So, you've got the winch, now what?

Unfortunately, to be able to recover yourself safely and effectively you will need a few extra bits of gear. Having a winch kit is essential and often does not come with the winch itself. This kit ensures you’re using the new accessory on your vehicle safely. A winch kit generally includes a tree strap (to avoid damaging your wire or the anchor tree), a pulley block (to decrease the load on the winch and increase it’s pulling power), a pair of heavy duty gloves, shackles, and a small piece of rod that allows you to feed the wire into the winch without injuring your fingers. Like using a snatch strap, you will also want to use a dampener with your winch just in case the wire or rope breaks.

Having a good battery is also critical because there’s no point having a winch if, when the time comes to use it, your battery cannot power it. This will mean looking at the power requirements of the winch and assessing whether your current battery is up to the task. If not, it may mean adding another battery to the cost of the winch. If you’re looking to add or upgrade your batteries for more winching power, lithium batteries can be discharged lower than standard lead acid or AGM batteries, meaning you can use your winch for longer before draining the battery. To learn more about the different types of batteries available check out our guide to auxiliary batteries. Having an in-vehicle battery charger means you can charge your batteries while driving, for maximum winching potential.

No matter what size or type winch you’re after it always pays to do your research and make sure you’re purchasing the best, most suitable winch within your budget. It’s also important to know how to properly use your new winch so you’re ensuring safety for yourself, your vehicle, and the people and environment around you.

For more information on setting up your power system with enough power to run a winch, check out our post on nailing your 12V power setup.

The automotive world has seen dozens of advances in technology that have added to the cost of each vehicle, but which are so clearly superior that it made little sense to retain the old technology as a cheaper option. No modern carmaker would think of offering front drum brakes instead of discs to save a buyer some money, and no sane buyer would request them. The same goes for carburetors versus fuel injection, bias-ply tires versus radials, lap belts versus air bags—the list goes on.

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Yet again and again on overland forum threads discussing winches and winching, a few people persist in recommending steel cable over synthetic rope—and not solely on the basis of cost. One recent commenter actually made the claim: “Steel line is more forgiving than synthetic for the inexperienced off-roader.”

I try to be as diplomatic as possible on such threads. However, whether or not it’s smart, many of those “inexperienced off-roaders” look to forums for advice, and telling them they’re better off using steel winch line brings to mind those old-timers who used to claim things like, “You’re better off not wearing a seat belt because you might be trapped if there’s a fire.” (Presumably this is the fire that breaks out after your head-on collision.)

I’ll be considerate of steel winch cable and grant that it has a couple of advantages. It is considerably cheaper than its synthetic equivalent—in fact, these days if you buy a winch with no cable already installed it should be easy to pick up a steel cable for nothing at all from someone who has switched to synthetic (I have a couple lying around myself somewhere*). Steel cable is also more resistant to being cut when tensioned over a sharp object such as a rock or a poorly fabricated bumper opening, and it is more resistant to internal abrasion damage if frequently immersed in mud or grit (and not subsequently cleaned).

And . . . that’s about it. On virtually every other count, especially the critical question of safety for the winch operator and his assistant, synthetic line is far, far superior. In fact, most competitive four-wheel-drive events have simply outlawed steel winch cable.

Why is synthetic safer? Three reasons: low stretch, low mass, and linear recoil. 

Both SK-75 Dyneema—the standard for high-quality synthetic winch lines—and steel cable stretch less than one percent under load. However, a Dyneema line weighs about one-seventh what an equivalent steel line does, so the stored energy released during a break is far, far lower. (100 feet of 5/16ths-inch steel cable = 18 pounds. Equivalent synthetic = 2.7 pounds.) Additionally, the twisted construction of steel cable means that as it breaks (a process that actually takes several microseconds as individual strands snap) it experiences a violent untwisting motion, which can cause it to flail wildly as it recoils. The 12-strand woven construction of Dyneema obviates this. Finally, of course, the sharp frayed end of a broken steel cable can do a lot more damage than the end of a pliable length of Dyneema.

I once watched a synthetic winch line part from about 15 feet away. The vehicle involved was being winched up a short but steep and rocky slope as part of a trials competition, so the system was under full tension. It appeared the line was cut over a rock on the crest of the slope because there was no protective sheath over the line, and the operators neglected to lay down a protective mat. Whatever the cause, the result was utterly lacking in drama; there was barely even any sound discernable over the ambient noise. A soft pop, and the two ends simply sprang about five feet apart and fell limply to the ground. (Note here, however, that this lack of drama will occur only if there is no stretch or extra mass anywhere in the system. If you attach a synthetic line to a steel extension cable, you’ve introduced much more potential kinetic energy.)

It’s worth mentioning here that if your steel winch cable does break and manages to not delimb any bystanders, you’re pretty much dead in the water. You've lost whatever length of line is attached to your thimble or hook—five feet if you're lucky, 50 if you're not. You can use wire rope clips to repair the end, but you'll lose up to 20 percent of the rope's original strength—worrying if you've just broken it. If a synthetic line breaks, it can be respliced in the field to virtually full strength and put back in use (in fact you can knot it for a quick repair, although the strength will be reduced). And synthetic line doesn’t develop those nasty single-strand steel burrs, which can punch through a glove.

Other effects of the weight difference are not to be dismissed lightly. The extra mass of that steel cable is all the way out at the end of the vehicle, where its effect on handling and stress on the suspension is magnified. Just pulling 75 feet of synthetic line uphill to an anchor is a joy compared to the same task with a steel cable**. 

Respooling (or spooling for the first time) a nicely limp synthetic line is infinitely easier than doing the same with steel, which has a powerful tendency to twist and coil back on itself. Laying down winch line evenly and tightly is critical to subsequent smooth operation, to avoid tensioned line diving down through gaps in the lower layers. Duncan Barbour, ex-manager of the British Camel Trophy team, reports that the biggest drawback he sees with synthetic line is the tendency to not spool it under sufficient tension—its ease of handling can actually encourage improper technique. A new line should be spooled by pulling another vehicle up a slight incline, not by simply leaning back on the line as you feed it in. (Incidentally, there are a few videos floating around suggesting crossing the line over itself as you spool it, rather than laying it on in even, tight layers. Don't believe them.)

Much has been written and said about the temperature sensitivity of Dyneema. Indeed, when heated to around 175 degrees Fahrenheit, it begins to lose tensile strength. However, interestingly, once cooled it actually regains full strength. Not until heated beyond the critical point of around 275 degrees do you suddenly find yourself with a irretrievable blob of molten plastic. That lower mark—possibly even the higher one—can be an issue if your planetary-gear winch has a brake inside the drum. If so, you should freespool when pulling line rather than powering out, and use caution when reversing a vehicle down a slope, to avoid prolonged braking. (Thor Jonsson at Viking Off Road once had a fellow return a broken Dyneema line and demand a refund. Interrogation revealed that the guy had lowered a half-dozen of his buddies’ trucks in succession down a steep ravine using an internally braked winch—and also that the winch itself had burned out.) Many planetary-gear winches now come with external brakes, which eliminate the problem. It’s also not an issue with the spur-drive Warn or the worm-drive Superwinch Husky. If you already own a winch with an internal brake, you can buy a sheath that will help protect the inside wrap of the line.

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