If you have any plans for going off the road, prepare yourself for any inconvenience along the way. Though at times, your vehicle is certainly capable of handling rough terrain, at some point, you might get stuck. During your journey, you might encounter some harsh terrains such as rocks, sand, snow, and mud that might cause problems. It’s best to get yourself prepared for when these types of scenarios come along the way.
To get yourself for when these problems arise, its best to come prepared with the best tools. One of the tools that can certainly help is a winch. Though certainly when trekking in the wilderness, you could have a friend or call for help when such situations arise. The problem is when you are traveling alone, or in the middle of the wilderness, no one can reach you easily. You can only help yourself when these situations come.
Winches can get expensive, and if you are in a tight budget, it’s not so easy to procure one. If you are in this predicament, I suggest you consider getting a hand winch.
Hand Winch
Hand winches are cheaper compared to their counterparts. They are light and very portable and are very easy to use as well. They are a great option if power sources are unavailable to power a winch, and they easy to install as well. Unlike electric winches, electric winches are complicated to install, and they are not portable as well. The only downside to using hand winch is that they are manually powered, so it takes some time to winch.
How To Use A Hand Winch
Now that you have learned the benefits of a hand winch, it’s time to install and learn how to operate a hand winch. As with handling different tools, always keep safety in mind, so here are some guides on handling a winch safely here.
Attach A Strap In The Car’s Recovery Points
Make sure to attach the straps both in the car’s recovery points so that it balances the force. They are usually located near or underneath the front bumper.
Attach A Strap To An Anchoring Point
Find a fixed anchoring point that can support the car’s weight when winching. An example of an anchoring point is a big rock or a tree.
Attach A D-shackle
Attach a D-shackle at both ends of the strap, and this will be used later on to connect to the hand winch. This is applied to both straps that are attached to the car’s recovery points and to the straps that are wrapped around an anchor point.
Attach The Hand Crank Winch
Attach the hand winch’s hooks that are at the front and the end of the winch at both D-shackles.
Winch Your Way Out
Manually operate the hand winch by utilizing the lever that comes with the hand winch. This can take some time as it is manually operated.
Winch Recommendations
If you are in for some winch mount, there are some good ones in the market today. Badland, Orcish and Harbor Freight Winch Mount are one of the leading brands for getting some winch mounts. They are known for reliability and cost-efficiency.
Here are some of our Winch Mount recommendations:
If you would like to read our reviews on the best winch mount, click here.
Conclusion
Now that you have learned how to use a hand winch, what do you think? Did you think I missed something? Comment below. We also offer some other tips and guides as well, such as Best Hand Winches and Off-Road Checklist.
