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Electric winches make it easy - easy to hurt yourself and/or damage the vehicle. Here’s how to avoid all that... and still get yourself unstuck without paying much in the way of sweat

Words by John Cadogan and Photography by Robb Cox

Calling an electric winch a substantial investment is like calling George Bush Jnr a bit of a fibber. (What weapons of mass destruction?) Once you’ve parted with the $1600-odd spend for the winch itself, you’ll need something to hang it off - something substantial, like a quality winch-compatible bullbar. Call it not much change from $1200. You might benefit from a second battery as well, seeing as how winches under load consume current faster than Lindford Christie carves up an athletic field on a good day. Call it 500A when cranking in anger. Factor in 800 smackers for that extra battery, including dual-battery ‘separator’ or ‘isolator’, which manages the charging of each and keeps them electrically apart.

All up, you’ll be around four grand lighter-on in the banking department once you’ve sprung for all that and the accoutrements of recovery - shackles, a tree protector, a winch extension strap, a drag chain, a snatch block and, of course, gloves. Four grand might represent 10-20 percent of the cost of the vehicle - a big slug, in other words. So, wouldn’t it be nice if you returned from your first winching exercise with your vehicle intact, as well as all of your fingers still attached? That’s the whole point of this story. See, power winches make applying huge loads so simple that even a child could do it. The reason an adult, with training, is required is to make sure the process does not end in tears. With electric winches, getting the details right matters.

Before we get to the procedure itself, let’s get the fundamentals out on the carpet. You need to attach the winch to something immovable, called - somewhat un-creatively - an anchor. This is often a tree, though you can also use another vehicle or a massive boulder. It goes without saying that anchors must be carefully selected to ensure they are robust enough for the job at hand. Large, live, healthy trees are a prerequisite. Small, dead or crook ones are out. Properly engineered recovery points on a stationary vehicle are an alternative anchor point - provided the vehicle is secured by being in gear (low first, or ‘P’) with the handbrake on and all four wheels chocked. Let’s not be looping the cable around anything not specifically engineered for recovery, including comparatively flimsy shipping tie-down points.

Rocks? Let’s be ensuring these won’t pop out of the ground at the merest whiff of a load because they will doubtless promptly thereafter roll down the hill and scone us all, okay?
You need to be very aware of the consequences of loads being applied, and what might happen if they suddenly let go. Wire rope exhibits enough recoil when loaded to kill someone, potentially, if it breaks. You certainly wouldn’t be the first. And then there is the (not so) small matter of the vehicle being recovered, which might then run downhill backwards into a bunch of spectators. People need to be removed from all these hazards. Winching can be a spectator sport, but only if the spectators are safely away from the risks posed by recoiling cable, flying shrapnel and runaway vehicles. Only those actively involved are allowed in close proximity, and even then, discretion is advised. It’s not possible in a magazine article to cover every possible bush recovery situation. What we can show you now and for future reference are the basic operational procedures for power winches. But to apply those principles in the bush, you need proper training and experience.

BUT FIRST...
Shiny new winches are not meant to be used right out of the box, at least not in anger. First, you need to ‘re-spool’ them. ‘Spooling’ relates to winding the cable onto the drum.
To digress, electric winches work like this: the switchgear on the plug-in hand controller operates a low-current circuit connected to a bunch of heavy-duty relays (these are under the black control box) that take care of the high-current cables feeding the winch motor directly off the battery. The motor drives a reduction gearbox (usually a planetary one) that lowers the speed, but massively boosts the torque (by about 160 times). The output shaft of the gearbox drives the drum, which is like a big cotton reel for wire rope. The wire rope comes out of the ‘fairlead’ at the front of the set-up (usually a ‘roller fairlead’, which is exactly what the name suggests, mounted over a cut-out in the bullbar).
The cable, or wire rope, is wound really neatly around the drum when the winch is a virgin, but it’s only a cosmetic winding job. You probably won’t ever get it that neat again, but your re-spool will be far better for practical applications. Fact is, the cable needs to be re-wound (re-spooled) under load before you can get into it for a real recovery.

If not, you will merely drive the active (under load) part of the cable (that is, the bit being pulled in, on the outer layer of the drum) down into the layers below, jamming it there and damaging it. To re-spool, find a safe, moderate hill, set up a winching operation as described below, and winch the vehicle up the hill. Do it four or five times to condition the cable and get it ready for the real thing. After that, do it every few months and after a serious recovery session. At this point, we should also point out that winches are not maintenance-free devices. At the very least, spray the cable regularly with lithium-based grease. Take the cover off the relays and liberally apply a water-dispersing and protective (marine-grade) spray. And check the functionality before heading bush, the better to avoid frustrating ‘false starts’ when you really need the damn thing to work. That means, as a minimum, connect the hand controller and back the cable out a few metres and then back in to confirm the winch is working. Remember, electric winches are better than splash-proof, maybe - but they are not waterproof. They hate water, and they hate corrosion. Involve the professionals in at least an annual once-over, otherwise you’ll be looking at forking out big-time all over again.

HOW TO WINCH

1 - Secure the vehicle. This process starts before you get out. (Remember winching operations often take place on hills - you do not want the vehicle running away backwards.) Leave the vehicle in gear (low first/reverse, or ‘P’, handbrake on). When you get out, chock all four wheels with local materials.

2 - If using a tree as an anchor, connect the ends of a tree protector with a rated shackle. Keep the angle between the ends of the tree protector under 90° to prevent excessive load in the tree protector. Mount the tree protector low on the tree trunk to minimise the torque exerted on the tree (which might pull it over if the protector is too high).

3 - Load-rated bow shackles look like this. Two sizes are commonly used in 4WD recovery: 3.2t (left) and 4.7t (right). These load ratings are the shackles’ working load limits (WLL), not the breaking load. Either is okay, load-wise, but you get more ‘real estate’ on the 4.7, meaning you can hook more recovery gear to it.

4 - Shackles aren’t meant to be done up tight. If you do, they will bind up under load and be difficult/impossible to undo afterwards. Tighten the shackle finger tight and then back off half a turn or a full turn.

5 - Engineered recovery points can be used as an anchor as well, the advantage being you can position the anchor vehicle where you want it (within reason). If you do this, however, realise that you are extracting a stuck vehicle with a mobile one - so at least chock the wheels, leave the vehicle in low-range first gear or reverse (or ‘P’ in an auto), and apply the handbrake. If using a hook like this, another advantage is that no shackle is required.

6 - No matter how tempting it seems, never wrap the cable around the tree. It will kill the tree and kink the cable, ruining it as well. The greenies don’t need any more anti-4WD ammunition, the tree deserves to live, and you don’t want to weaken the cable because it might just neck someone if it breaks. Always use a damn tree protector.

7 - People come up with all sorts of creative rigging solutions, many of which, like this one, are downright dangerous. Just loop the tree protector around the tree in the way nature intended.

8 - A webbing winch extension strap extends the reach of the operation, allowing you to latch onto anchors at a greater distance than the cable alone will reach. Buy the longest one you can find, because you can always double it back on itself (or triple or quadruple it back) if you need to shorten it up. You can’t make a short one longer, however.

9 - To get the cable out of the winch, move the clutch lever to the ‘disengage’ position. In winch-speak, the cable drum is now ‘free spooled’. It’s not exactly effortless, but you can walk to the anchor dragging the cable behind you by the hook. Important safety tip: disengage (or ‘free spool’) the drum only when dragging the cable out. Leave it engaged when the winch is in use. If you drive off with the winch free spooled, you might end up unwinding the cable as you drive along.

10 - Connect the hook on the wire rope to the chosen anchor. Just bung it over the shackle on the tree protector, or directly onto a vehicle recovery point without the shackle. If you’re using a winch extension strap, don’t bother with the shackle either - just place the hook over the eye of the strap. Minimising the amount of metal is a good policy - it means less shrapnel if something breaks.

11 - Re-engage the winch clutch. Obviously.

12 - Don’t go near the cable if you’re not wearing leather rigger’s gloves. Broken cable strands rip into bare hands like a meat grinder. (Tetanus, anyone?) The gloves also keep yer mitts clean, preventing the missus arcing up from all the grease prints in the cabin.

13 - Get a tarp or other heavy fabric item (your Driza-Bone, for example) and sling it over the middle of the cable span. It helps absorb the potentially deadly recoil if something breaks under load. This is an important safety provision, not a bit of unnecessary fluff.

14 - Time to plug in the winch controller. Wrap it around the bullbar to prevent damage during the pull. You have to keep it away from the cable. Say it becomes snagged in the cable - it could get sucked into the drum where the load will certainly shear through the electrical insulation. That could keep the winch running regardless of what you do with the controller switch. If you then rush in to unplug it and get caught up in the cable, you could get well mangled. Electric winches are extremely unforgiving when it comes to sucking people down their throats.

15 - Take up the slack by feeding the cable in. Look closely at the stranded vehicle. When you see it just start to nudge forwards, out of the blocks, stop. Give everything from the anchor to the vehicle a second inspection. If everything seems on the money, safety-wise, release the handbrake and drop the vehicle out of gear. You can now start winching.

16 - Incidentally, ensure that the vehicle with the winch is running. If the engine is off, the winch will flatten the battery (if no dual-battery system is fitted) then how will you start it again? Even if there is a dual-battery system, run the engine - the alternator will begin topping it up, even though the winch has the capacity to drain it faster then the alternator can replenish it.

17 - From time to time it is necessary to stop, mid-pull, and make adjustments. Never step over a loaded cable. Far too dangerous...

18 - Operating the winch well to the side keeps you out of the firing line if something breaks. Standing near the cable makes you a target - you could even get run over by the vehicle if it lurches forwards.

19 - The controller cable allows you to operate the winch from the driver’s seat. This allows you to steer to keep the vehicle on course during the pull. Tempted to drive and winch at the same time? Don’t. You could overload the winch if the vehicle bounces backwards.

20 - With the vehicle free, leave the tension in the cable. Chock the wheels, but try not to stand downhill when the vehicle is just ‘hanging’ on the cable. Jump in and apply the handbrake and put the vehicle back in gear (or ‘P’). Only then can you slack off the cable and pack everything away.

21 - Re-spool the cable (wind it back on the drum). Keep safely away from the fairlead. This safety buffer (call it your own height, unless you’re a dwarf) prevents your gloved hand getting sucked into the winch before you have time to react. (It doesn’t stop winding the instant you release the switch, either.) Pull back on the cable and use the other hand to operate the controller. Later, when convenient, re-spool the cable under load.