Up there with the long-handled shovel, the best ‘bang for your bang’ self-recovery gear has gotta’ be a Domin8r X 12000lb winch , because armed with a little know-how, it can be used to pull you out of nearly any sticky situation.

When you break a winch down, an electric motor sends drive through a planetary gearbox. This gear set multiplies the motor’s pulling power, as well as allows the winch to be controlled like the gearbox in your 4WD, and shifted into forward, neutral and reverse. In between the motor and gearbox is the winch drum, which is what the cable or rope is spooled onto. Pulling power is applied by the motor, multiplied by the gearbox which then turns the drum to pull the cable in or out.

Keeping everything safe inside the drum is an internal spring-loaded braking mechanism that prevents the winch (and your 4WD) from running away. Then there’s the control box, which is one of the most sensitive components of the whole kit as its job is to direct the current from the battery to the winch. Because a winch can draw up to 400A (that’s about 20 times more than a pair of HID spotties), the solenoids are one of the most common casualties if a winch is not looked after.

Of course, a winch is only useful if it works, so knowing what’ll kill your winch is the first step. Over the years we’ve found that the best way to ensure its reliability is to keep it well serviced, sealed and not allow it to overheat during long pulls.

Overheating is as bad for your winch as it is for your engine. And because every winch is different it pays to check the operation manual for your model. But as a general rule, we recommend using the 30 seconds on – 60 seconds off winching method during a recovery. This means for every 30 seconds of winching time, allow it to rest (holding your foot on the brake pedal) for 60 seconds which’ll give it time to cool down.

The other killer is water. Even if you do a crossing through relatively clean water, your winch motor housing can fill right up and when the water drains out, fine sand particles are left inside to corrode the internals. It’s a good idea to block off the drain holes and seal the whole lot up with some decent silicone – keep in mind, this may conflict with your warranty.

We get asked a lot whether I think winch or cable is better? Truth is, both have their pros and cons. Running rope means there’s less weight over the front end, it floats on water, it’s got less recoil if it breaks (it’s still got potential to kill, though) and can be spliced back together. The downside is it’s not as robust as steel cable. With wire you’ve got bugger all chance of repairing it if it gives way, it’ll cause massive damage to anyone or thing in its path and it weighs more, but it is more resilient, which means less chance of breaking in the first place.