How an ATV WinchWorks, RideNow Mesa, AZ
There is nothing that can compare to the thrill of driving an ATV, ORV or a Side by Side in challenging, rugged environments. There is also nothing like the sinking or terrible feeling a person gets when they drive their rig into a ditch and have trouble getting it out. This happens once in a while in the amazing Gold Rush show on Discovery Channel and those are some massive machines!
They do not have winches on huge machines like that so they have to get help from other machines to help get it out of the mud. But the off-roading world is a little different; you may not have a team of other vehicles around you to help get you out of sticky (pun intended!) situation.
To save you from the embarrassment and frustration when this happens, you should consider getting an ATV, ORV or a Side by Side winch.
The Purpose
Winches have a very simple purpose; they exert force which pulls an object towards it with the help of a rope or cable. The object with lesser resistance is the one which will move.
If your ATV, ORV or Side by Side is stuck in a muddy area, just tie your cable to something that has a lot of mass and can behave like an anchor - such as a tree or perhaps a boulder. Once the winch is engaged, the motor will turn the drum. As the cable is drawn, your off-road vehicle will move close to the anchor. It won't take long for your vehicle to be free from the ditch.
If you use a tree branch, just be careful your winch does not pull your rig into the air like what happened in an older movie call the Gods must be Crazy which happened to an SUV!
The winch can also be used for hauling objects towards the ATV, ORV or Side by Side. This can be useful when a friend gets their vehicle stuck too. Your winch can be used to help them get out of a tight spot. A fantastic winch can be the difference between a minor inconvenience and spending the entire evening walking back home in the wilderness!
Types
Now, there are multiple winches available today. For off-road ATVs, you can choose between hydraulic and electric winches. The battery of your vehicle is the winch's power source. You'll just need to hook up some wires with the battery, and you are good to go. Hydraulic winches tap into the steering pump's hydraulic system to pull power. But electric winches are the better choice for ATVs. But not all are the same.
The electric motor of the winch gives power to the gear train. There are a couple of gear trains for winches, worm and planetary. Planetary trains use multiple gears for turning the drum of the winch. This usually results in faster cable pulling. It creates heat too. Worm gear trains just come with 2 gears. They turn slower and don't generate that much heat. But just because they're slower doesn't mean they aren't more powerful.
Ratings
You will also be able to get an idea of how strong a winch is by checking its pull rating. This is the highest amount of weight that the winch manufacturer claims the winch will be able to pull with ease. This number is usually listed in pounds.
One last differentiator is the type of line which is used by the winch. There are certain winches which make use of steel cables while others use synthetic rope. Some can even accommodate both. Synthetic rope is strong and less dangerous if it breaks as compared to cables.
But synthetic ropes can wear down faster and melt if there are heat sources nearby. Cable will not melt, but it may splinter. This is whyit is always a good idea to wear some sturdy gloves when dealing with a winch.