{"id":8455,"date":"2021-09-22T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/?p=8455"},"modified":"2021-09-16T15:50:37","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T05:50:37","slug":"expert-tricks-to-make-your-winch-work-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/expert-tricks-to-make-your-winch-work-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Expert Tricks To Make Your Winch Work Better"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You\u2019ve seen me push my tough little jigger of a D-MAX up some incredible tracks over the years. For a ute with just a couple of inches of lift and some good boots on it, it does so well to keep up with \u00a0various big rigs, especially on the seriously tough tracks. In fact, I\u2019m constantly blown away by just how far I\u2019ve been able to get the mighty extra-cab Isuzu, but I\u2019ve always got one fact in mind. It\u2019s better to make the call to use the winch early and safely get yourself through a particular obstacle, than it is to continually keep flooring it back and forwards. All that does is chew up the tracks, and risk denting your pride and joy. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve never been afraid to use my Kings Domin8r X winch<\/a><\/strong> to get the D-MAX through, up or over something. Here are some tips and tricks I\u2019ve picked up along the way that\u2019ll help next time you\u2019re running your 4×4 winch<\/a><\/strong> line, whether it\u2019s recovering yourself, or your mates!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First things first. When you\u2019re winching, it\u2019s good practice to ensure that the <\/strong>4WD winch<\/strong> <\/a>controller wiring doesn\u2019t hang loose between the control box and the inside of the vehicle. To make sure this doesn\u2019t happen is easy! Connect the controller to your 12v winch<\/strong> <\/a>control box, and wrap the lead around the upper cross-tube of the bullbar twice. While keeping tension on the lead, feed it back and around the driver\u2019s side wing mirror and wrap it twice around. Now it\u2019s in place to be passed through an open window, and there\u2019s no way it\u2019ll hang loose and risk getting caught by a turning wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plenty of times I\u2019ve used the D-MAX as a recovery point for one of the other boys when there isn\u2019t a suitable tree around. The easiest way to do this is grab a tree-trunk protector<\/a><\/strong> and feed it into the towbar, securing it with the towbar pin or a rated recovery point. Now you\u2019ve got the perfect option for securing the 4×4 winch<\/a><\/strong> hook to the other end of the tree-trunk protector. Before winching starts I always ensure I\u2019m in the vehicle with the engine on, the handbrake on and my foot firmly on the brake pedal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes it\u2019s not about simply winching forwards \u2013 you may need to use your electric 12,000lb winch<\/a><\/strong> to winch off to the side, away from a tree or a dirt bank. I actually could have kept driving in many of these situations, but all that\u2019d do is jam the passenger-side panels hard into the dirt and stuff them all. Winching at anything up to a 45\u05c4\u00b0 angle is perfectly acceptable, but you\u2019ll need to unspool the winch rope when you\u2019re back on flat ground and re-spool it in, because it\u2019ll have bunched up on that side you were winching towards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rated recovery points are the single most important thing you need to take away from this yarn, because people still use tie-down points to connect their winch hook to, and people die every year because of it. The simple rule of thumb is this. If it is welded to the chassis with a couple of small spot welds, it\u2019s a tie-down point for securing the vehicle on a towtruck. If it\u2019s bolted to the chassis with massive fat high-tensile bolts, or it\u2019s an eyelet on the front of a bullbar that\u2019s one single piece with the bullbar, it\u2019s okay to use as a recovery point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selecting a tree to hang your 4WD winch<\/a><\/strong> off isn\u2019t rocket surgery, but I\u2019ve still seen trees pull out of the ground that otherwise looked like they\u2019d be the go. Generally speaking it needs to be at least a foot in diameter, and it\u2019s preferable if the tree is alive as that means the roots will have spread deep. Always, always use a tree-trunk protector<\/strong> (even with synthetic rope) and generally speaking, always keep the tree-trunk protector as close to the ground as possible<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exception to the rule of placement of tree-trunk protector as close to the ground as possible is when you\u2019re doing a 4WD winch recovery<\/a><\/strong> up and over a rise with synthetic rope. It\u2019s great stuff and almost perfectly suited to winch recoveries, but it can easily cop abrasive damage from rocks and tree roots. In this case, it\u2019s better to position the tree-trunk protector up the tree. The rough equation I use for finding a suitable tree is that for every two feet up the tree the tree-trunk protector is positioned, the tree should be one foot thicker in diameter than what you\u2019d normally consider okay connect your 12v winch<\/strong><\/a> to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In really tricky terrain, a favourite trick I\u2019m a big fan of is pre-spooling out your 4WD winch<\/strong> <\/a>line and wrapping it around your bullbar or lights. What this does is save you from having to dig your way through festy mud to get to your 4×4 winch<\/strong> when you need it most!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A quality 4WD recovery kit<\/strong> <\/a>doesn\u2019t have to cost the earth these days, and in fact it\u2019s almost better if they don\u2019t. You can now pick up one for around $100, which is good because 4×4 recovery gear<\/a><\/strong> should be replaced regularly if it\u2019s been used heavily. Mud and grit does get into recovery straps and can weaken them to the point that they will lose strength. It\u2019s a much easier pill to swallow if you have to replace a $100 kit every year or two compared to one that costs four times that amount!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always, always use a winch dampener when performing a winch recovery<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> Sometimes it just doesn\u2019t matter whether you follow all the right steps or not, things go wrong and something will let go in the recovery process. A dampener is a failsafe that prevents a failed shackle or recovery point from turning into a deadly missile aimed straight at your head. Never use a 12v winch<\/a><\/strong> without one!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve seen me push my tough little jigger of a D-MAX up some incredible tracks over the years. For a ute with just a couple of inches of lift and some good boots on it, it does so well to keep up with \u00a0various big rigs, especially on the seriously tough tracks. In fact, I\u2019m…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123456,"featured_media":8457,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123456"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8455"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8458,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8455\/revisions\/8458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}