Even if you’re an off-road enthusiast with tons of back country experience…in and out of ditches…you may not give much thought to how your winch works. You just want to know it does when it counts. Grab the hook, stretch the cable, wrap a tree, and pull your 4X4 out of the hole. Still; it’s interesting to know how this happens. And here’s a brief overview of the gearing types used in modern winches.

Winch gears are needed to convert a high-speed, low force electric motor output into a low-speed, high torque pulling machine. In other words, you want the strength to pull heavy weights, but you don’t want to jerk ‘em so fast they fall to pieces. So winches use gears with thick, strong “teeth” which pass this test. And there are 3 main types of gearing systems: …click here to read more →

Popularity: 93% [?]

Even in this day and age it’s great to hear or tell a story about an American idea that turned into a wonderful success. This was the case with Ramsey Winch Company. Just like an old movie; the story begins with a couple of brothers, and it grows from their determination to pursue the American dream. …click here to read more →

Popularity: 39% [?]

Let’s face it…when you purchase a vehicle for “off-road” adventures, you’re looking for durability, power, dependability, and most of all fun. You visit the dealer, look ‘em over, see the fat tires, the cool lift kits, the extra fog lamps, and so on. You’re sold. You picture yourself on the narrow trails up in the Rocky Mountain wilderness. Or in the muddy  “bottom lands” of Mississippi.

Then you take your tricked-out 4X4 beast for a tumble, and that’s when you find out the stuff you really need to know. Like “Maybe I should have gotten a rack for 2 gas cans” or “Whoa, I guess the mud tires really do make more sense than the all season tires.”

And when it comes to a winch (and even more importantly the winch bumper) it’s no different. There are some key things to consider when buying the part for your 4X4 that’s gonna get you out of the mud or up from the ditch. A winch bumper can make or literally break your recreational outing.

Here’s an overview of what to look for in a winch bumper: …click here to read more →

Popularity: 38% [?]

Forestry work often presents serious logistical challenges. While many people picture an idyllic fantasy of workers heading off into the woods to chop at trees with axes or fell them with chainsaws, the reality is that working in the logging business means dealing with heavy equipment over uneven terrain that is often clogged with mud, snow or ice. It is often more practical to access certain areas on foot and perform clearing and preparation work well before any large gear arrives.

Here’s what some people imagine of when they think of a logging career. If only…

This poses some unique challenges when it comes to moving trees and other obstacles. While it is relatively easy for a man to cut down a tree with modern technology, moving that tree once it is on the ground is another issue entirely. Trees can be massive, making them quite difficult to move by hand, even after they have been cut into smaller pieces. Winches are usually employed to help with some of the moving duties. Not only does this mean carting extra gear out into the woods, but hand-winches are tiring to use and very time consuming…enter the chainsaw winch. …click here to read more →

Popularity: 100% [?]

On the surface it would seem like choosing an electric winch motor would just be a  matter of reading the spec sheet. “Hmm…let’s see…my Jeep is about 4800 pounds, and this one says it’ll pull 4800 pounds.” So, it must be the one. Right? Wrong.

A spec sheet for a Warn.

The rule of thumb is that your electric winch should be able to pull 1.5 times your vehicle’s gross weight. What that means is you take your vehicle’s gross weight…let’s say 5000 pounds…and multiply it by 1.5. Your total would be 7500 pounds, and that should be your winch’s minimum capacity. Not total. Minimum. Recommendations for maximum capacity can go much higher.

There are some other very important details to think about besides just the winch’s capacity in proportion to your vehicle’s weight: …click here to read more →

Popularity: 38% [?]

ARB: Starting in the Outback

Wherever your “outback” might be; whether it’s the miles of off-road trails in the Rocky Mountains, the dusty back roads of the Mojave Desert, or the famous Australian  outback, you may recognize the name ARB.

In fact ARB began around 1975 in the remote region of Australia’s Top End. This huge area, with its rugged terrain, was a magnet for the nation’s fledgling four-wheel drive community. But they quickly discovered the very thing that drew them there would have its way with their equipment. The extreme conditions really took their toll, and the  drivers found that only the “best 4X4 accessories” could last. …click here to read more →

Popularity: 31% [?]

Thank you for visiting WinchBin.com – the web’s newest blog dedicated to winches and winch accessories. Our goal is to be useful and/or helpful to people buying a winch, using a winch, looking for cool winch accessories, installing a winch, or for anyone wondering about how winches work. We’re also going to include some news and information that anyone who enjoys off-roading might find useful, and we hope to become a resource for the winch industry.

This site is brand new, and a lot of things don’t work yet. We appreciate your patience. If you need something right away that we don’t have working yet, feel free to contact us and we’ll do the best we can.

Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

Jason – Admin of WinchBin.com and head of the WinchBin team.

Popularity: 28% [?]