Winch Tensioners help ensure your winch cable lays down as cleanly as possible, just as the cable on the winch shown.

What A Winch Tensioner Does

A winch tensioner (also known as a winch winder) is designed to push the winch rope down against the drum so that in winds one layer at a time. Without a tensioner, you could have a series of problems including:

• a potential tangle or kink in your cable or synthetic winch rope
• a jam or snag that will waste time and could even damage your winch
• kinks or bends in your winch cable or rope can lead to a weakening of the cable/rope at that specific point
• poorly wound cable may not have enough friction against your winch drum to pull effectively

While tensioners certainly aren’t required (if you guide your rope carefully while re-spooling, you can get a good wind) they do help save time when re-spooling your winch, reduce the wear on your rope, and maximize the friction of the rope against the drum, all but guaranteeing you’ll never have a problem with a drum that spins freely.

How Winch Tensioners Work

Most tensioners work by holding your winch cable down against the drum, using a spring loaded bar or plate to push against the rope on the drum uniformly. Think of it as a spring-loaded roller that presses up against the winch drum (see crude diagram below).

The red circle is the bar or the rolled edge of the tension plate. What's not shown are the springs that pull the bar or plate against the drum.

It should be noted that a tensioner should not be used to tension your winch rope when you re-spool. You’ll still want to put at least 500 lbs of force on the winch rope while you’re re-spooling. Otherwise, your rope might not have enough “grip” against the surface of the drum the next time you pull.

There are seven videos in total, showing you how to winch, how to protect your winch from theft, how to work a snatch block, etc. Enjoy.

How To Winch With 4 Wheel Parts

The experts at 4WheelParts.com put together this quick video that shows you how to tackle a few different winching tasks, including vehicle recovery or obstacle moving using more than a single vehicle / winch.

How To Keep Thievin’ Bastards From Stealing Your 4×4 Winch

YouTube user WheeliePete was tired of having to worry about thieves making off with his winch, so he put together a nicely-detailed how-to guide to making sure it’s almost impossible to steal the winch off the front of your vehicle without some serious power tools. (note – language gets a little colorful.)

Tips & Tricks – Winching and Snatching

Curious about how to tread lightly out on the trail but still get unstuck using your winch if your have to? Neil Crompton shows you how.

Using Your Winch At Home

Maybe you’re not miles from home but actually in the backyard, moving a vehicle that just won’t roll on it’s own anymore. 4wdTV demonstrates some winching safety tips while moving through this type of relaxed scenario.

How To: Use A Winch To Tow A Car

Another vehicle recovery how-to video, but this one is from Ramy4x4.com and takes place in the desert, where you usually don’t have any trees or other anchors to use when trying to get someone unstuck.

Reverse Winch

Hunty walks you through the basics of reverse winching yourself out of trouble.

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