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What Size Winch Do I Need For My Vehicle?

Making the wrong choice can be expensive and frustrating

The heavier the vehicle, the more powerful winch you’ll need.

If you’ve decided you’re going to run a winch on your vehicle, the next thing you need to work out is if that winch will be powerful enough to recover your vehicle. Check out our short blog and calculate which size winch you need for your vehicle!
Making the wrong choice can be expensive and frustrating
You don’t want to spend your hard-earned on a winch that’s going to leave you stranded in a bog hole anyway!

Here’s how to calculate what size winch you need for your vehicle

For example, the max GVM for a Ford Ranger is 3350kg (basically, the most your car can legally weigh in total, with accessories and passengers included).

The industry standard to work out what winch you want for safe and effective recovery is to multiply the total vehicle weight by 1.5.

3,350 x 1.5 = 5,025

Then convert that number to LBS. To do this, multiply the mass value by 2.205.

5,025 x 2.205 = 11,078

Based on those figures, a 10,000 LBS winch won’t be sufficient to safely recover a fully loaded Ford Ranger.

If you’ve done your maths and are ready to choose your winch take a look at the Ironman 4×4 Winch Range.

This is where choosing the right bar also comes in.

Unlike some bars on the market, Ironman 4×4 bulls bars are designed to be compatible with winches rated up to 12,000 LBS.

Explore the Ironman 4×4 bull bar range here!

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