| In order to work to its full potential, your off road | | | | more care to maintain. Wet or muddy synthetic rope |
| winch requires regular inspection and maintenance. If | | | | can rot if it's left to dry on the spool. |
| you neglect basic maintenance, you could end up with | | | | Check your cable before and after every use for |
| expensive repairs or the cost of a new winch | | | | signs of damage, such as excessive fraying, spliced |
| altogether. For the best performance, you should | | | | wires, or other signs of wear and tear that could |
| clean, inspect, and service your winch on a regular | | | | cause your cable to snap under load. Replace your |
| basis. | | | | cable if needed. Better to be safe than stuck in a |
| If your winch is caked with mud and left that way | | | | bog with a snapped cable. |
| after riding, it will deteriorate much faster than one | | | | High-mounted winches generally stay cleaner and drier |
| that's cleaned after every muddy or wet ride. If you | | | | than low mounts. In some cases, your winch may |
| want to keep your winch working for you, you're | | | | get dirty even if you don't use it. The easiest way to |
| going to need to put a little effort into maintenance. | | | | prevent this is to protect it with a winch cover. |
| The more you use it, the more often you will need | | | | Neoprene winch covers are made from wetsuit |
| to clean and service it. | | | | material, which is fully waterproof. These covers |
| One of the easiest ways to keep your winch | | | | keep your winch clean and dry when you're not using |
| working is to keep it clean. Remove any dead leaves, | | | | it and repel dust and debris. |
| dirt, and debris from around the cable, housing, and | | | | Another maintenance tip is to properly rewind the |
| moving parts. These can get caught in your winch | | | | cable onto the drum. It should spool evenly onto the |
| and cause problems down the road. Check for loose | | | | drum in neat rows. If you let your cable bunch up in a |
| mounting bolts or electrical connections and tighten or | | | | mess, it will be a pain to straighten out the cable the |
| replace as needed. Remove dirt and corrosion from | | | | next time you need to use your winch. It also can |
| the electrical connections. | | | | weaken or damage the cable. |
| If your winch gets muddy during a ride, spool out the | | | | Most winches do not require lubrication for the life of |
| cable, hose it down at an angle, and let it dry | | | | the winch except in the case of a complete |
| completely before spooling it back in. Letting a wet | | | | disassembly and repair. Check with your |
| or muddy cable dry on the spool can cause your | | | | manufacturer for more details on the maintenance of |
| cable to rust and weaken. Synthetic rope takes even | | | | your specific winch. |