12v Winch

Portable Winch

Winches are a topic that will usually never cross the mind of most automobile owners.  However, if you like to off-road, or you work in an industry where you have to move heavy items, it’s likely something that’s entered your mind at one time or another.  However, when most people think about winches they don’t think about a portable winch.

A portable winch is a much lighter version if their larger brethren.  It is, as the name implies, designed to be portable.  Since this is the case you can take a portable winch with you in any vehicle, and use for nearly any task where you need to move a heavy object.

Need to pull down a tree that’s dying?  No problem, just anchor your portable winch to something stout and pull away.

Need to load a car up on a trailer?  No problem

Need to pull your car out of the snow? No problem

While some portable winches are task built, others are designed to be more universal.  So with this in mind, you really need to select your portable winch based upon what you need it to do.  Also, where do you want to use it?  How much pull power do you need?  Do you want it to have an internal rope, or would you prefer to use a capstan style?  All of these are questions to consider. 

They also come in a couple different power varieties.  The lighter duty varieties will generally run off of an internal battery.  While this works ok for some tasks, if you need to pull for a long time, you may put yourself in a bind when the battery dies.

Another option is to bet a portable winch that both has a battery, and allows you to use a vehicle’s battery as backup.  This type of winch will allow you to winch for a longer period of time, especially if you allow your vehicle to idle so the battery will be charging. 

A more versatile option for many is a gas powered portable winch.  Gas powered winches can run so long as you have gas available for them.  Also, with the gas powered engine, you might be able to get a winch with more pulling power, while still being reasonably lightweight.  You will be able to find gas powered winches that weigh as little as 35 pounds.

Obviously the type of portable winch that is most affordable is not electrically driven at all.  It instead uses the mechanical energy that your arm can produce ?.  Commonly known as a “Come-Along” these ratcheting style winches can be had for prices as low as $20.  With rating exceeding 5 tons in some cases, you can move some serious items with it.  However, they can be quite exhausting.  Imagine how tiring it would be to pull your 8000 pound vehicle 15 feet out of the ditch. 

With a come-along, you may want to consider putting a “cheater bar” on the handle.  This is usually a tube that will slide over the handle, making the handle longer.  By making the handle longer you are increasing the leverage you have on it, making it a little easier to crank when it’s under heavy load.