Using the Proper Winch Accessories

Basic Items

Using a winch with certain accessories and enhancements makes it a more productive tool. The following basic items are necessary to operate your winch safely. Other items (see below) add versatility and convenience.

• Puncture-Resistant Leather Gloves: Protect your hands while you are operating the winch or handling the cable.
• Tree Trunk Protector: Lets you attach the winch rope to a wide variety of anchor points and objects, including living trees.
• Clevis Block and D-Rings (Shackles):
• Provide a safe means for connecting the looped ends of cables, straps, and snatch blocks.
• Never use a D-ring to connect two straps together.

Other Winch Accessories

• Blanket: Thrown over the cable to absorb energy if the cable breaks.
• Booster Cables: Provide a way to start your ORV if you have a dead battery.
• Choker Chain: Lets you hook up to another vehicle or sharp objects for an anchor point.
• Control Box: Lets the operator change the direction the winch drum is rotating.
• Extra Parts: Should include an extra screw-pin shackle and a snatch block.
• Hook Strap: Holds the hook and keeps your fingers away from the fairlead as the cable is pulled in.
• Recovery Points (open tow hooks, closed tow loops, shackles or d-rings on a clevis block, or a trailer hitch receiver): When secured properly to your ORV frame, provide attachment points for winch cable hooks, straps, and chains.
• Remote Control: Lets the operator control whether the winch rotates forward or backward while standing safely away from the cable.
• Shovels and Hand Tools: Provide extra help in removing a stuck vehicle.
• Snatch Block: Increases the winch’s pulling power and changes the pulling direction without damaging the cable.
• Toolbox: Include hand wrenches, screw­drivers, pliers, and tools to change the cable.