How to winch your vehicle out of a bog
The icing on the cake to owning a 4x4 is using it to assist in getting to that desired destination. If that means pulling up to your favourite beach to set up camp or heading out of town where phone reception is not allowed.
So, what happens when the unexpected (or expected) happens and you find yourself stuck? Or in need of a little extra power to get you through?
This is a good time to lay off the throttle and let your winch do the work for you.
Winching in the bush
- Unwind the winch rope and attach a Soft Shackle if you have one available. Soft Shackles are the best way to prevent any damage to persons or vehicles in the case your winch line breaks.
- Tree Trunk Protectors are a great way to eliminate the risk of your winch line cutting into the tree as you winch your vehicle. Wrap it around the desired tree and feed the soft shackle through both ends.
- Before you start the pull on your car, spool in the winch line just enough to create a small amount of tension. This will allow you to assess the winch line and line connections and adjust them if need be.
- Winch Dampeners are a must-have in any winching scenario. Winch Dampeners are an extra safety measure to help in the event that your winch line breaks.
- Winch Dampeners are a sort of weighted blanket that folds over the most dangerous point in your winch line, The winch hook. Or with most modern winches, they have the updated winch blocks. As you can imagine, and if you've ever been in a situation where a winch line snaps, the tension that line held before it snaps travels along the line in both directions. At the very end of the line (and normally mid-flight by now as the line, whether it's a steel or synthetic rope, is acting like a whip) is the winch hook/winch block. The idea behind winch dampeners is that it traps the winch hook/winch block between itself and the ground rather than the line whipping back and potentially causing damage to vehicles and/or persons.
- If you find that your winch is barely moving your vehicle, a slight touch on the throttle to help those tyres spin and gain momentum can be all it needs.
Winching in a water crossing
Preparation is key when it comes to water crossings and cutting down the time it takes to set up a winch if you need to, can be beneficial.
- Have your winch line spooled out and wrapped around your UHF antenna if you have one, otherwise an appropriate place near the front of your vehicle with easy access.
- Have a plan of what you are going to winch off of, in the event you find yourself stuck in water.