Safe winching

Before you pull

The manufacturer opens its guide with a sentence worth reading twice: every winching situation has the potential for personal injury. Not “may have” — has.

Three things to check before every use: the condition of the rope along its whole length, the condition of the hook and latch, and whether everyone is standing clear of the rope. A loaded rope that breaks travels in an arc and reaches further than its own length.

What never to do

Never exceed the rated capacity of the winch or the rope. For a heavy pull, use a snatch block to double-line and share the load.

Never use a winch or winch rope for towing. Towing means shock loads, and those damage and break a rope that would take the static load without trouble.

Never apply load to the hook tip or latch. The load belongs in the throat of the hook; the latch should be closed and carrying nothing.

Never hook the rope back onto itself. That is what a tree strap or sling is for.

Never use a winch to lift a load or people. A vehicle winch is not a hoist — its brake is built differently.

The manufacturer also adds things that sound obvious until you see them in a car park after a meet: do not operate a winch under the influence of alcohol or medication, and do not let anyone under sixteen operate it.

Handling the rope

Always in heavy leather gloves — for both rope types, because steel develops burrs and synthetic can burn when slid under load.

Always use the supplied hook strap, to keep fingers away from the fairlead. The fairlead during spooling is where fingers most often get crushed.

Rope must wind onto the bottom of the drum, not over the top. The winding direction determines how the brake works.

Anchor points

To a tree — only a strap made for recovery, placed low at the base. Rope wrapped directly around a trunk damages the tree and abrades itself.

To another vehicle — only a factory or approved recovery point. Hooking onto an axle, a wishbone or a bumper ends with a torn-off component flying through the air.

Every link in the chain — shackle, block, strap — must carry a stated working load matched to the winch rating. A component with no stated class has no defined point at which it fails.

After the recovery

Spool the rope out and wind it back evenly under light load. Rope wound carelessly after a hard pull has crushed lower layers and binds on the drum next time.

After a water crossing, run the winch without load for a dozen seconds in both directions — heat from the motor helps drive off water. With synthetic, spool the rope out to dry.