Get your ATV out of the mud with these 12v Electric Winches
Getting off the beaten track in an ATV or quad bike is great fun, but there will come a time when you will encounter some rough terrain often resulting in being bogged. If you don’t have a support vehicle to help pull you out the next best thing is an electric winch.
Electric winches come in all sorts of configurations including:
- Bullbar mounted
- Rear mounted
- Portable
- Wireless Remote or Corded Remote
Anyway, let’s get straight into our ATV winch reviews. In our opinion, the best winches are:
- RUGCEL 2000-lb. ATV/UTV Electric Winch
- Novawinch 3000LB Electric Recovery Winch ATV Utility 12V with Steel Cable Roller Fairlead
- Champion 3000-lb. ATV/UTV Winch Kit
- VIPER Midnight 3000lb ATV/UTV Winch Kit with 50 feet BLACK Synthetic Rope
- Megaflint Trailer Winch, Reversible 12v Electric Winch for Boats 4X4 up to 6000 lbs
How to buy the right Electric ATV Winch
Even with so many fantastic options in front of you, it can be hard to make a decision. We understand that. Hence, we have come up with some factors you should consider to make the purchase decision easier for you. Let’s have a look at those factors:
Type of rope/cable
Since winches are made to lift heavyweight machines, your natural thinking might be that each winch comes with a durable rope. While you are right, there are still some things about the type of rope you should know.
Steel Winch Cable
First up, there is steel cable. Steel cables have been around for a long time, and they are quite common to use with winches. Unlike other types of ropes, steel ropes are not damaged by sunlight. One flaw with steel ropes is that they are cumbersome. Without proper gloves, you risk hurting yourself.
Synthetic Rope
Synthetic ropes are relatively new. However, they are slowly becoming quite common. Such cables are much easier to handle, and they don’t pose a significant threat to injure someone either. One problem synthetic ropes have is that they require constant maintenance and are often damaged due to the changing weather.
Pulling power
The whole point of buying a winch is so that you can pull vehicles, boats or other machines with it. If a winch cannot even provide that, there’s no point in buying that winch. If you own a truck and you want a winch to pull a truck, then make sure it is capable enough to do so. Different types of winches have different pulling powers. Some can pull a vehicle, while others can pull trucks. Some winches are multi-purpose as well. If you are confused about the pulling capacity of a winch, then check for pull rating of the winch. It tells how heavy the vehicle should be for the winch to pull it properly. The pull rating should be either equal to your vehicle’s weight, or it should be more than your vehicle’s weight.
Wired Winch or Remote/Wireless Winch?
Do you want to control the winch from a distance? Or are you comfortable managing it from inside the vehicle? If you prefer the former controlling system, then you should go for a winch that can be controlled with a remote. Since you control a winch from a distance with a remote winch, you are much safer. However, wireless winches are expensive as compared to wired winches.
Different Types of winch
Hand winch
Also called hand operated winch, a hand winch is perfect to use when you want to lift light machines. It has no connecting with the vehicle’s engine whatsoever, and one person is enough to control it. Such winches have a lever arm which acts as a handle and a barrel axis that functions as a fulcrum. One of the best things about hand winches is that they are perfect for when you want to work in remote areas, such as the woods.
For example, if you have to work somewhere that does not have any power outlets, then you should go for hand winches. A hand winch is further divided into two types: a crank winch which is suitable for pulling weight between 500 kilograms and 1 ton. On the other hand, a lever winch is ideal for pulling approximately 2 tons of weight. A hand winch is the simplest type of winch. It doesn’t require electricity for functioning; just a person with a strong arm is enough.
Electric winch
If you have seen a winch, chances are that it might be an electric winch. This is the most common type of winch. While they have specific uses, they are especially suitable for handling low to medium weight. As compared to other types of winches, electric winches are quite easy to install. They have other benefits too, which is why a lot of people prefer to buy it. Electric winches generate power from the battery of a vehicle. If you want, you can also use another source to power the winch’s motor. One flaw with electric winches is that since they run on battery, they consume battery very fast.
That is precisely why electric winches are best for light usage. Pulling heavy machines that require a lot of time to pull is not recommended with electric winches. One significant benefit of an electric winch is that they are easier to install. They do not require a professional. With the instruction manual in front of you, you would be easily able to install it yourself. Another significant benefit of an electric winch is that you can quickly move it from one place to another. It may be heavy, but since it doesn’t have loads of wires connected to it, it is not a hassle.
Boat winch
People who own boats can agree that loading and then unloading a boat on a trailer is one of the hardest things to do. You end up spending all your energy on it. In short, it is nothing but exhausting. That is where a boat winch comes in. With a boat winch, you can quickly load and unload your boat, which makes for a smooth experience. Since there are different kinds of boats, there are multiple boat winches as well, choose from a simple hand winch, or an electric boat winch.
Some examples of boat winches include small boat winch, yacht winch, fishing boat winch and a lot more. Some winches are capable of handling small vessels while other boat winches can handle massive vessels excellently. Since they are used for boats, which means they are used around water. For this reason, this type of winch is waterproof. There are several materials used for manufacturing boat winches, and all the materials have their pros and cons. Some of the materials include aluminium, zinc and powder.
Popular Winch Questions
Q. Do I need a winch for my ATV/MOTORBIKE/BOAT?
A large number of people will actually never require a winch, but for those who actually use their vehicle offroad then a winch is recommended. If you are driving in remote areas where the roads are not sealed it’s highly likely at some point you will become bogged and require tools to get your vehicle free. This is where a winch can come in handy.
Q. How strong should my winch be?
There is a simple rule of thumb that any winch should be 1.5 times stronger than the weight of the item it is pulling. So if your vehicle is 1000kg, then the winch should have a capacity of 1500kg.
Q. How do you double the pulling power of a winch?
By using a pulley block you can increase the pulling power of a winch. This is physics 101.