What Size Winch Do I Need For My 4x4?
If you’ve decided you’re going to run a winch on your 4x4, the next thing you need to work out is if that winch will be powerful enough to recover your vehicle.
Discover why matching your winch to your rig is important and learn how to and calculate which size winch you need.
Choosing the wrong winch can be expensive and frustrating
You don’t want to spend your hard-earned on a winch that’s going to leave you stranded in a bog hole anyway!
The heavier the vehicle, the more powerful winch you’ll need.
How to calculate what size winch you need for your 4x4
The industry standard to work out what winch you want for safe and effective recovery is to multiply the total vehicle weight by 1.5.
For example, the max GVM for a Ford Ranger is 3350kg (this is the most your car can legally weigh in total, with accessories and passengers included).
3,350 x 1.5 = 5,025
Then convert that number to LBS. To do this, multiply the mass value by 2.205.
5,025 x 2.205 = 11,078
Based on those figures, a 10,000 LBS winch won’t be sufficient to recover a fully loaded Ford Ranger safely.
If you’ve done your math and are ready to choose your winch, take a look at the IRONMAN 4X4 Frontier Winch Range.
Make sure your winch is compatible with your bull bar
Unlike some bull bars on the market, all IRONMAN 4X4 bull bars include a winch cradle and are designed to be compatible with winches rated up to 12,000 lbs.