How To Choose the Right Size Winch For Your Truck

You have your truck set up with new Fox shocks, off-road wheels and nerf bars. However, before you hit the trail, you want to get one more accessory: a winch. This can be helpful for recovering if you ever get stuck. It can also help with work needs such as moving heavy items or pulling up stumps. You may be unsure what size winch to get. The following information will help you

Plan for Your Needs Plus a Little Extra

When most people are talking about winch size, they really mean the capacity. Naturally, the physical size and weight of winches tend to increase in proportion to the load capacity. Nonetheless, capacity is the starting point of figuring out which size winch is right for you.

It is helpful to think about what you will need to move. If you are expecting to only use your winch for light work, you may be pretty flexible about capacity. If you plan to pull up large stumps, you likely need something with some serious heft.

Regardless of what you need may be, always plan a little extra capacity. If you buy a winch that is barely enough for what you need, chances are it will end up being an expensive paperweight. Overshoot your need by 25%-50% to be sure it will work.

Multiply Your Vehicle Weight

If you are planning to use your winch as a recovery tool, you will want to multiply the weight of your vehicle by 1.5 to two times to get a reasonable number. In most cases, this should be the minimum capacity winch you will buy.

For example, if you are buying a WARN winch for a Jeep Wrangler, you will likely want either a 9,000- or 10,000-pound winch. This will be roughly double the weight of your Jeep, allowing you to easily recover.

Make sure that all the parts you are using are rated for the same capacity. There is no point in having a 12,000-pound winch with a rope that is only rated for 9,000 pounds.

Don’t Forget the Physical Size

Finally, keep the physical size in mind. Remember that your winch will be mounted on your front bumper (in most cases). That can be a significant addition to the length of your vehicle. If you are planning to take your vehicle off-road, you need to think about approach and departure angles as well as overall size.

As mentioned above, you don’t want to buy such a low-capacity winch that you can’t do the jobs you need to do. However, you also don’t want to buy one that is so big that it becomes impractical. There is a balancing act between size, cost and capacity in selecting the right one for your needs. Keeping the two-time-weight rule of thumb in mind can be very helpful.

Learn More

Discover more about winches and how you can use them for your truck or SUV. Don’t forget to grab some other accessories such as a TruXedo Lo Pro tonneau cover for your truck bed. With all the right parts, you will be ready for anything on the trail.