Whether choosing a winch for your 4×4 or pickup truck, having a general understanding of the mechanics that make the winch mechanism work is crucial to finding the right winch kit for your unique requirements and budget. Here Mechanicology explains how a winch works in its most basic form:
“A winch uses a motor to create torque which spins a spool. As the spool rotates, it wraps a cable around it. Once the cable has been wrapped completely around the spool, it becomes taut. Tensioning devices such as springs keep the tension constant while the load increases. In addition, brakes prevent the spool from spinning freely.”
As you’ll quickly discover however, every winch is only as good as its components. While manual hand, hydraulic and PTO winches exist, the popularity of their electric counterparts hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Here we share all you need to know about the key components of an electric winch and exactly what they do to make self-rescue and recovery the breeze it should be.
Motor
Whatever the scenario or setting, you’ll need power to complete that winching or hauling task. That’s where the electric winch motor comes in! The winch motor is propelled by your vehicle’s battery. The motor works to deliver power to the gear train to turn the drum and spool your synthetic or steel winch rope.
Gearbox
That power won’t go anywhere without the gearbox. Also referred to as the ‘gear train’, it is the gearbox’s job to relay power from the motor to the drum to ensure the rotational force the wider winch needs to haul effectively and efficiently.
Drum
The drum or spool is what the winch line is wrapped around and is generally positioned at the centre of the winch. Electric winches combine the drum with an internal braking system to minimise slack as the winch line is being spooled back into place.
Rope
Your winch rope or line is of course an essential piece of the puzzle. The rope wraps around the drum, passing through the fairlead as it spools in or out to get your vehicle exactly where it needs to be.
Fairlead
As the component that guides the rope onto the drum, the fairlead is a small yet significant aspect of the winch setup. It actively reduces line wear over time – especially if your winch is used regularly at off-angles – and minimises the fraying that causes failure.
Fairleads are generally available in two different designs, roller or hawse, each of which offers its own pros and cons. As the name suggests, roller fairleads use a set of vertically and horizontally mounted rollers to guide the winch cable through, ensuring minimal wear when used at any angle. It is however important to note that roller fairleads should never be used with synthetic ropes.
A hawse fairlead sports a rollerless, machined design providing a smooth surface to guide and protect the line as it spools. These are best paired with synthetic winch ropes.
Hook
The hook attaches to the end of the winch rope or line and connects to your chosen anchor point. Whether used in conjunction with a bow shackle, soft shackle or tree trunk protector, most hooks come equipped with a safety strap
The safety strap can be used to hold the hook at a safe distance with minimal risk of injury as the line is being retracted.
See how all these key components come together by browsing our full range of winches today.
