Skill drills
How to Winch Out a Stuck Vehicle
A winch is the most useful recovery tool you can carry and the most dangerous one to rig badly. These drills put you in front of a stuck vehicle and walk you through each technique one decision at a time. Pick wrong and you see what happens, safely, before it can happen on the trail.
- Free
- No signup
- Interactive 3D
- Sourced from winch makers and safety agencies
5 techniques
Pick a technique
Start hereSingle-line pullThe basic self-recovery: one line from your winch straight out to a solid anchor in front of the vehicle.10 steps
Technique 2Double-line pullThe line runs out to a snatch block on the anchor and back to the vehicle, roughly doubling the pull at half the line speed.11 steps
Technique 3Redirect pullWhen the only big anchor is off to the side, a snatch block on a second anchor in front turns the line so it feeds into the winch straight.11 steps
Technique 4Vehicle as anchorNo tree in reach, but a second vehicle on firm ground can be the anchor, as long as it is set so it cannot be dragged.10 steps
Technique 5Buried anchorOpen ground, no trees, no second vehicle: bury your spare tire across the line of pull and winch to the ground itself.10 steps
Every time
Rules for every pull
- Wear heavy leather gloves, and never let the line slide through your hands.[1, 3, 4]
- Always use the hook strap. Never put a finger in or on the hook.[1, 4]
- Never step over a winch line, loaded or not.[1]
- Never hook the line back onto itself. Use a tree-trunk protector and a shackle.[1, 4, 8]
- Leave at least 10 wraps of synthetic line, or 5 of steel, on the drum.[1]
- Never use a winch to tow, or to lift or hold a load.[1, 10]
- Never disengage the clutch while the line is under load.[1]
Watch & learn
Winch recovery on video
Picked from our video library. These are other creators' videos, so where one differs from the drill, the drill's sourced steps are the ones to follow.
How to perform a basic winch recovery | 4X4 Australia
4X4 Australia
0Using a Winch to Safely Recover a Vehicle | Team O'Neil
Team O'Neil
0How to perform complex winching techniques | 4X4 Australia
4X4 Australia
0HOW TO SOLO WINCH - Recover your 4WD
Barney4wd
0HOW TO PERFORM A BASIC WINCH RECOVERY | WINCHING FOR BEGINNERS | 4X4 TIPS & TECHNIQUES
Automotive Superstore
0Proper Winching setup from another vehicle
GearAmerica
0
FAQ
Winching questions
Learn it hands-on
Nothing replaces practicing with someone who has done it. Browse off-road tour operators and parks near you and ask whether they run recovery training.
Find off-road tours and parksSources
Where the checkable claims above come from. Rules and figures change, so confirm anything you are about to rely on against the source itself.
- Basic Guide to WinchingWARN Industries (warn.com)
- Basic Winch TechniquesWARN Industries (warn.com)
- The Basic Guide to Winching Techniques (62885A6)WARN Industries (quadratec.com)
- Electric Winch User's GuideSuperwinch (Westin Automotive) (westinautomotive.com)
- Double-Line Winch Pulls: Why, When, and HowFactor 55 (factor55.com)
- Recovery Basics: Part IARB USA (arbusa.com)
- Winching Basics: Protect Those Trees and Be SafeTread Lightly! (treadlightly.org)
- SOI-034: 4WD Vehicle Winch (Safe Operating Instructions)Victoria State Government, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (files-delwp.em.vic.gov.au)
- ATP 4-31: Recovery and Battle Damage Assessment and RepairUS Army (published by the North Carolina National Guard) (ng.nc.gov)
- Winch User Guide (9923644)Polaris (publications.polaris.com)
- XRC Gen3 Winch Instruction ManualSmittybilt (roundforge.com)
- Automotive Winching ProceduresCOMEUP Industries (comeupwinch.com)
