Use it or lose it. If ever that axiom holds true it's when winching. Sure, lots of times you only pull the cable to hoist your nimrod friend's rig out of a ditch after he unsuccessfully tried to show off for the girlies by driving with his feet. But other times it's to prevent a nasty rollover, keep you from spending the night on the trail with hungry critters, or tackle a make-it-or-break-it obstacle.
So what are these tools and how do you use them? First and foremost is a winch rated to about 111/42 times your vehicle's loaded weight (for most fullsizes that means a 9,000- to 10,000-pound winch) and a winch mount that isn't going to rip off during a pull, sending a 100-pound missile at someone's head.
Thankfully, most of the other tools you'll need most are available in kit form. For a list of some of the manufacturers who offer winch accessory bags, see the sidebar, "One Stop Shop," below. For our purposes, we simply went to our local 4-Wheel Parts Wholesalers and picked up a Warn winch accessory bag to show you how to use these recovery tools.
One Stop ShopHere's a list of companies that offer winch accessory kits.
ARB 4x4 Accessories888/427-2872www.arb.com.au
4 Wheel Parts Wholesalers800/421-1050www.4wheelparts.com
Hi-Lift800/233-2051www.hi-lift.com
Milemarker800/886-8647www.milemarker.com
Pull-Pal800/541-1817www.pullpal.com
Ramsey Winch918/438-2760www.ramsey.com
Superwinch Inc.860/928-7787www.superwinch.com
Warn Ind.800/543-9276www.warn.com