When upgrading your existing 4×4, there’s nothing more vital than a reliable, high-performance 4×4 winch.
So much more than summer travel essentials, winches are common upgrades designed for serious off-roading as well as absolute necessities that will give you all the muscle power you need to get out of some rather sticky situations.
Here Overlandsite explains more about the basics and importance of winch use for 4WD vehicle owners:
“A winch is used to pull objects or vehicles out of muddy or snowy situations. By using a rope that is wound up onto a winch drum, an electric or hydraulic system is used to pull the stuck vehicle out of the mud or snow. Commonly seen on tow trucks, nowadays, winches are also popular among individuals who may encounter a situation where their vehicle will get stuck while enjoying off-road adventures.”
Understanding why a winch is important is just the beginning. As with any 4×4 upgrade, selecting the right winch for your vehicle make, model and series is the key to ensuring optimum safety and a speedy, seamless recovery process in the toughest of settings.
Understand that low cost could mean serious compromise
There’s a winch for every need and budget. Whilst, here at 4×4 Works, we put the quality and reliability of every one of our 4×4 upgrades at the very top of our list of priorities, our competitors don’t always have the same approach.
With this, low-cost winches are sold in abundance across the web. But when it comes to winches the lowest price point doesn’t represent the best value, performance or reliability.
Low-cost winches have a reputation for breaking easily, which is the last thing you need when you’re stranded far from home. When fixing a low-cost winch, spare parts can also be hard to come by, meaning complete replacement and a trip back to square one in your quest to upgrade your 4×4’s winch kit.
Never overlook the bestselling winch kits on the market
Bestsellers are bestsellers for a reason, and when exploring the winches that are most suitable and provide the long term reliability every 4×4 owner needs, there’s no better brand than Warn.
The US-based, world market leader has been developing and delivering winches and winch accessories for more than 70 years. They specialise in preparing those with a love for off-roading with the best reliability, durability and performance. As a proud stockist of Warn winches, we bring the three main Warn ranges directly to you.
Our mid-level Warn VR Evo winches fit easily into most bumpers and winch mounts to provide a solid, reliable construction which is ideal for everyday use or off-road adventures.
Our Warn Zeon and Zeon Platinum ranges go one step further, setting a new benchmark in performance for 4×4 winching to deliver relentless pulling power that will serve you well in the most extreme scenarios.
Take care when selecting the right winch for you and your 4×4
When selecting the right winch kit for your needs, either from Warn or another brand, it’s important to check that your chosen winch fits into your bumper or winch mount before ordering. Even the highest quality and most reliable winch kit will fail if the vehicle is overloaded, so consider your 4×4’s gross vehicle weight (GVW) when making your selection.
Accessories, modifications and other upgrades can weigh heavy on your vehicle and make winching inefficient.
As a rule of thumb, you should choose a winch size that provides 50% more pulling power than your vehicle’s GVW. You can achieve this by calculating your GVW (which should include the base weight and any passengers or cargo) and multiplying this by 1.5.
Don’t underestimate those extra winch kit features
It’s not just the size of your winch that matters. The brand of your winch kit should be recognised for its reliability and performance, so avoid purchasing a winch kit from an unknown, budget manufacturer.
Additional features like remote controls will also come in handy during recovery, with wireless controls enabling you to operate your winch from a safe distance. A certain level of waterproofing is another feature that should be prioritised to ensure your winch can keep performing whatever the environment.
Ready to choose the right winch for your 4WD? Shop our range of winching and recovery gear today.
Image: Shahjehan / Shutterstock.com
