Winches & Recovery Gear

When you’re out with your buddies four-wheeling and off-roading, no one wants to be the first to back out of a challenge. Our secret to being the most confident driver in the pack? Having a bulletproof winch that’ll get you out of trouble even if you do get stuck. And, with AutoAnything’s selection of truck and jeep winches made to fit a variety of makes and models, you're bound to find just what you need. For more tips, advice, and information on selecting winches, please visit our winches research center.

Winches help you stare down any hairy situation - whether you ended up there out of necessity or your own poor judgment. And let’s face it, there’s no better feeling than wearing a smug smile while helping a pal out after they’ve bitten off more than they can chew.

Before you go getting too excited and grab the biggest winches on the shelf, there are some important details to address first. The most important being: will a winch be suited to my vehicle? Truck winches and Jeep winches alike require a solid and secure mount. So, unless you’re looking for one of the most expensive clotheslines on the market, take some time to check out the front end of your ride or consider an aftermarket solution. These can take the form of a grill guard, or if you’re after a slick look you can consider a hidden mount for winches. This often gets installed behind your existing bumper, keeping everything hidden from sight.

The next important thing to address is the weight of the load you are going to be pulling. Friends, it’s time to be honest about whether or not you indulged in too much Thanksgiving turkey last fall. We’re joking - sort of. You may not need to account for every extra pound on your waist, but you DO need to know the weight of your Jeep or truck and any additional cargo. Winches do have tow limits and one that isn’t up to the task may put you in the market for new truck sooner than you’d hoped. Your owner’s manual should have the gross weight of your Jeep, truck or SUV listed. To account for anything that you have inside, a standard formula is to take gross vehicle weight x 1.5. This will give you a conservative rated line pull weight to use while shopping those new truck winches.

The cable fitted to your truck's winch is a very important part of the equation, too. You aren’t going anywhere without it and there are two very different options to choose from - steel and synthetic rope. It can be easy to get distracted by the bright colors and choose one of the flashy hot pink synthetic ropes on our Jeep winches, but there are some factors to consider first. Synthetic ropes are lightweight and strong, but they lack the durability of steel cable that can be important if you’re just starting out with winches. Steel cable can tend to kink and rust over time, so if you know what you’re doing when it comes to truck winches, you’ll be just fine upgrading to a long-lasting synthetic rope.

Finally, the last important detail: hydraulic winches or electric motors? Both are capable of running the loads that they are rated for, but hydraulic winches will be able to keep running without the risk of overheating or draining too much power from your battery. On the flipside, plumbing a hydraulic winch into your vehicle is more than a quick weekend task, while electric winches are almost as simple as plug and play. It depends on just how much dirt you want under your (or your mechanics) nails.

Regardless of the jam you plan to find yourself in, AutoAnything has a wide selection of strong, durable winches and winch accessories from brands like Smittybuilt, Bulldog, Ramsey and more to help you find just what you are looking for.