I just read the whole thread, preparing to put this thing in next week. Thank you to everybody for the comments.
Some general comments in response to what I read and some advice that people may not know, based on 20+ years of offroading and a lot of winching. I've seen a lot of "noob" comments and questions, which is nothing to be ashamed of, so here are some things to consider. I'm stuck in the hotel room with the flu or covid or something and I'm bored, so here we go!
You don't need two batteries or two alternators. I've seen dozens of rigs running old school alternators making less than 100 amps with a single battery pull until the winch stalls and never have a problem. Very few vehicles on the trails have two batteries or an alternator larger than 200 amps. Despite what Ford recommends, this winch will work with any alternator they offer and one battery. Just don't push it really hard if you're light on amperage.
Synthetic rope is awesome, but it's fragile, so you need to treat it properly. 3 main enemies - UV light, heat, and abrasion.
- UV light is not applicable to us because the rope is mostly hidden. For the guys with the winch on top of their Jeep bumper, it's a big problem.
- Heat comes from driving the winch out. DO NOT POWER YOUR WINCH OUT FOR ANY LONGER THAN YOU HAVE TO! You're driving through the brakes that are inside the drum, which causes heat, which will melt your rope. Power out enough to release the tension then freespool and pull it out. Some ropes come with a heat guard for the wrap against the drum.
- Abrasion will tear things up. Make the effort to put your rash guard on and slide it to where the rope will be touching something, especially rough surfaces like granite. Another thing is to keep your rope clean. If it's full of mud and dirt, this will tear it up as well.
Buy a few soft shackles and keep them in your truck. They are ridiculously handy. If for nothing else, they can be used to connect a tow strap to your factory tow hooks. Closed tow hooks are usually difficult or impossible to get a clevis through. You don't need the mega expensive ones from Factor 55. They're somewhat disposable by nature anyway. A couple examples:
www.bigfootwinchropes.com
This Soft Shackle Diamond Line Synthetic Winch Rope is safer and stronger than your average steel shackle. Visit Custom Splice for more options and details.
customsplice.com
The ones with the extra sleeve on them are nice for a bit more money:
Check out The FANG, the newest evolution of the soft shackle for ATV, UTV & more! Features an integrated braided chafe guard & refined construction.
customsplice.com
Your rope needs to be spooled all the way out, then brought back in under tension. Remember,
ONE FULL WRAP MUST REMAIN ON THE DRUM ANY TIME YOUR ARE WINCHING! The rope is held on the drum when it's under load by
FRICTION, not the little bolt at the end of the rope. Wrap the first layer as tight and perfect as you can, then use your vehicle weight or brakes and spool in the rest under tension. Do your best to wrap it evenly. When I figure out where the end of the first wrap is, I take a piece of bright orange paracord a couple inches long and weave it and tie it through the rope at this location so I know where the stop point is when I'm pulling rope out. Like the red zone at the end of your tape measure.
Think about the consequences and liability of helping out other people. If the vehicle doesn't have a hitch or proper tow points, I would walk away. I've pulled hundreds of people out of the ditch in the last 25 years and never had a problem. Until...... Long story short, a guy at work asked me to go pull out his sister that slide off their driveway into the deep snow in their yard. The only thing to hook to on the Equinox was the a-arm. I hooked the rope right where the a-arm attached to the chassis and pulled very gently. The next day I was told that the Equinox won't drive down the road and that I owe them the $1000+ to fix a bent suspension. What ?!?!?! There's no way I bent anything. No good deed goes unpushished!
Always use a tree strap around trees. #1 because you're hurting the tree if you don't. #2 because you're hurting your winch rope if you don't. I have a 4" x 6' strap that I use constantly on the trail. Longer 20-30' strap can work in a pinch, but you may need to wrap it around the tree several times to shorten in.
I suggest buying a proper rear tow point. Yes, you can sometimes put the end of a strap in the receiver hole and put the pin through, but that doesn't always work. The chain holes are too sharp for a soft shackle and won't fit a large clevis.
The Hitchlink 2.5 hitch receiver shackle mount is designed for Class V receivers. It will accept both ¾ and 7/8 shackles and features a machined radius on the shackle mount hole for soft shackle compatibility. Rated at 18,000 lbs.
factor55.com
Hitch receiver shackle mount designed for Class V 3″ receivers. The HitchLink 3.0 will accept both ¾ and 7/8 shackles and features a machined radius on the shackle mount hole for soft shackle compatibility. Rated at 18,000 lbs.
factor55.com
Agency 6 Recovery Shackle Blocks are made in-house with US Certified 6061 T6 CNC machined aluminum, in Northern California, USA.
agency6.com
agency6.com
NEVER NEVER NEVER jerk on your winch strap. You will damage your winch with shock load. If you need to "snatch" somebody out, use a proper kinetic strap or rope (the ones that are made to stretch like a big rubber band) and attach it to a proper tow point. Warn knows when a winch was damaged from improper use and you will not get a free one!
I would not suggest winching with your engine off unless you're in a situation that the engine can't run. It won't hurt anything, but I've seen too many people do it, then not be able to start their engine afterward. Winches draw a tremendous amount of power under load (500-ish amps at full load).
General good practice is to put the vehicle in neutral, hold one foot on the brake, the other on the gas pedal, and hold more RPMs than idle while you're under heavy load. #1 you don't ever want to put that load on your transmission in park. #2, give the alternator some RPMs so it can recover faster. You'll see your voltage dropping under a hard pull, even with the RPMs up. If it's a long pull, don't be afraid to let the winch and truck rest half way through.
Your winch is most powerful when there is only one wrap of rope on the drum. The larger the mass of rope gets, the less powerful the winch is. Keep this in mind if you seem to be struggling near the end of your pull. You may need to back up and pull more rope out to regain lost power.
![What did you do to your Tremor today? [2025 edition]](https://www.fordtremor.com/data/files/featured_images/featuredimages_thumb_2.webp?1790388118)
![What did you do to your Tremor today? [2019-2024]](https://www.fordtremor.com/data/files/featured_images/featuredimages_thumb_3.webp?1790388118)
