Winches

If you have a winch, don’t forget it needs maintenance too. This video covers the basics of winch maintenance and winch recovery techniques.

Many manufacturers recommend their winch be fully serviced every two years or so. This typically involves removing the winch from the vehicle for a full motor and gearbox inspection, and possible motor brush replacement. Operator maintenance should be done more often, typically every two months. It is recommended the winch be visually inspected for wear and tear, check all electrical connections are clean and tight, and ensure the isolator switch is working. Most importantly, the maintenance every two months should include unspooling and respooling the cable/rope. It should be spooled out to a single layer on the drum then winched back in under some load (up a slight hill, or with the handbrake on two clicks). This video shows you how. This simple action will prevent most winch issues by keeping all the parts moving and ensuring they do not seize up over time. It also gives a high level of confidence your winch will work for you when you need it to.

The video also shows you basic setups for winch recoveries; single line pulls, double line pulls, and off-line pulls.

Our Abercrombie River tour, in particular, incudes instruction on recovery techniques with hands-on recovery practise.