ASK ARB –
what winch?

Dear ARB,

I am the proud owner of a VERY capable Toyota LandCruiser 75 Series. However, all things have their limits, and the Cruiser has been bogged once or twice. My question for you is this… How do I determine the size of winch that I would need for my 4WD? There are so many sizes available. High mount or low mount? Electric or hydraulic? Is one better than the others? The choice is quite bewildering! Your help would be much appreciated!

Happy 4WDing. Keep the shiny side up!

Todd Brown

Todd,

Picking the right winch for your vehicle can, as you say, be ‘quite bewildering’ especially with all the types and brands on the market.

Although Warn manufactures both electric and hydraulic winches, for the purpose of recreational 4wheeling, the electric is the most common and easily fitted winch.

Here at ARB we manufacture all our winch bars to accept the Warn electric winches. Hydraulic winches are more typically found in industrial applications due to the size of the hydraulic pumps and oil tanks required to run them efficiently.

When considering the right electric winch for your application firstly you need to look at the weight of your vehicle. Include the weight of all your accessories, fuel and gear you carry on your usual 4WD outing and multiply that by 1.5. This will give you the minimum rating for the winch you should choose. Multiplying by 1.5 allows for the extra load placed on the winch when trying to overcome an obstacle. If you take into consideration that the GVM of a 75 Series is 3035kg, and multiply that by 1.5, you get 4552kg which really makes winches above 9000lb the only choice.

Although you’ve probably seen many 75 Series that have a high mount winch fitted, keep in mind that they are only rated to 8000lbs (3600kgs). These winches are great for competition vehicles due to their increased line speed which makes it easier to drive and winch at the same time.

They are also preferable for the use of synthetic rope as they have an external brake mechanism, unlike the low mount type winches that incorporate an internal brake that can become hot enough to damage the synthetic fibres.

The ARB winch bar for the 75 Series will fit the low mount 9000lb, 9500lb and 12000lb winches as well as the 8000lb high mount. Your ultimate choice will depend on whether you’re after line speed or serious pulling power. So once you’ve got your vehicle weighed, drop in to your nearest ARB store for a price, and more advice on the best choice for your vehicle.

Mark ‘Lowmount’ Lowry
(Manager – Product Development & Evaluation)