Winch Way To Turn?

Most hardcore 4×4 drivers will tell you-you're not a hardcore 4×4 driver if your vehicle doesn’t have a winch (or winches) fitted. This month, we take a closer look at winches and the differences between a power take-off (PTO) winch, a hydraulic winch and an electric winch.

THERE you are, stuck between a rock and a hard place, on an extreme off-road trail.

Your 4×4 is clinging precariously to the rocks, at a rather acute angle. Your better half has long since departed the cabin, watching the action from a safe distance, hand cupped over mouth and eyes semi-open in anticipation of the inevitable disaster.

That’s when your experienced 4×4 spotter indicates for you to stop dead, and yells: “Unless you want to walk home today, best we use the winch to get you out in one piece.”

Sanity prevails. The winch cable is attached to a large tree (with a tree trunk protector), at the top of the seemingly impossible, dangerous climb, the 4×4’s bonnet is opened, and the spectators are asked to retreat to a safe distance. With the spotter also maintaining a safe distance, out of reach of a possible snapped cable, the driver slowly winches his 4×4 up and over the rocks, out of harm’s way.

A winch can be an extremely useful 4×4 tool, and can drag a vehicle out of potentially dangerous situation. Or it can recover a vehicle that has become stuck at an obstacle.

But how does a winch actually work?

PULLING IT OFF

All types of winches operate on the same principle: a suitable cable is wound around a drum, at a constant tension. When the cable is unwound and connected to an object, a regulated force will slowly turn the drum with a suitable amount of torque, pulling in the winch cable, winding it around the drum.

This results in a vehicle being (slowly) towed out of predicament or up an obstacle.

Of course, there are many different sizes and types of winches, catering for a variety of needs and requirements.

THE POWER TAKE OFF (PTO) WINCH