Does it cost to Install a winch on ATV?

After you have bought an atv one of the best additional accessories which can be of great use is a winch. Often the winch comes in high benefits for difficult situations on the trails and rough terrains. The winch is primarily used to pull some other vehicle or objects. Sometimes if your own all-terrain vehicle gets stuck in the mud then also this winch will make towing and pulling out the vehicle a much simpler process.If you can install the winch on your own , then there are no costs apart from the raw materials getting used . Yes it will cost some bucks if ATVs are taken to mechanic and its always advisable to take it experts.

When you like to ride through difficult trails where the chance of the atv being stuck lingers then you should definitely get a high-quality winch installed in your atv for reducing the trouble to get the vehicle out. A premium rope or a high tension cable will be required which needs to be attached to the winch on one side and the other side will be attached to the vehicle which would act as the anchor in pulling or manoeuvring the vehicle.

When you are riding in a group through off-road difficult terrains if all the vehicles have winches then there remains not much to worry about. The presence of winches in all the all-terrain vehicles would mean that a stuck vehicle can be pulled out from the stuck area in a very short time.

If your ATVs don’t have winches and just one vehicle gets stuck in the mud then the adventure thrill would get spoiled to a large extent due to the trouble you have to face. Having winches installed is like having a first aid kid, extremely important for being on the safe side. Just having a strong cable in the vehicle along with the winch lets you ride more freely and enjoy the difficult trails all over the states.

When thinking about a stuck atv you might be thinking of a dense mud pool but ATVs can get stuck in other kinds of trails as well. In dense snow, the ATVs can often get stuck and require a towing vehicle to the rescue. In rocky and sandstone surfaces as well the ATV can get cramped up from which an already installed winch can help the vehicle out.

The winch essential factors to consider

In the US and UK markets, there are many types of winches available to buy. Besides the conventional hydraulic winches, you will also find electrical winches.

The winches with an electricity operative system would need to use the battery of your vehicle as a source of power.The electric winch would require you to connect a few wires at the appropriate spots of the battery and that will do. The other essential facts of winches are as follows:

• Weight balance– The weight of the winch you will be buying should be by the size and engine power of the all-terrain vehicle. If your vehicle is off the high-performance category or large extra seat category then installing a winch which would be around three thousand lbs will be ideal. Smaller ATVs that have an engine capacity of less than four hundred cc will work just fine with finches weighing two thousand lbs. You will find the weight of the winch in the specifications section with other details.
• Source of power used– Most of the modern winches you will find of premium quality are electric winches. The modern ATVs are also electric powered and can easily power the winch from the vehicle battery. There are hydraulics options too. The winches with the hydraulic system pull up the power by using the design of the power steering pump. If your atv is much old and the battery is not in great condition then a hydraulic winch would be better for your vehicle.
• The cost of winches– The winch is a vehicle accessory that comes in the top three essential accessories the owner can get installed. The winches are a little bit more costly than other accessories but they serve the purpose well enough. The lowest-priced ones can be found around a hundred dollars which won’t be much to use after a certain time. The higher priced ones can be a purposeful winch kit that would work fine with most ropes and cables.

Those would be priced around a hundred and fifty dollars. The winch kits are easily available online but the installation part is more important than the buying. The service centres would charge a large bill of hundred dollars for just installing your winch to the atv. Doing it on your own would save you from the extra expense of getting it installed in some fancy garage instead of your own hands.

• Type of cable to use– This choice of equipment is also very important as the synthetic rope or wire cable acts in perfect coordination with the winch. The synthetic rope is the ideal choice for atvs that are used for pulling heavy loads.

The utility off-road vehicle owners who use their atv for agriculture and other load-carrying purposes prefer the lightweight synthetic ropes. But the cables are more long-lasting than the synthetic ropes.

The tools required for installing a winch and primary steps

This should be first kept in mind by the installer that it won’t be a piece of cake work. The ATV design of early years and even modern atvs of nowadays are designed in a way that does not support the winch installation in a large proportion. Both the frame and the bumper are not well supported for winch installation.

Rarely any off-road vehicle has a bumper that fits perfectly with a winch. But don’t be disheartened, this doesn’t mean that a winch cannot be installed on your atv. First, some removal and unscrewing are required. Along with the winch buying the mounting plate ideal for your atv is also needed. The essential tools required for the process are as follows:

• Drill machine.
• Voltage meter.
• Safety glasses.
• Test light.
• Removal tool used in rivet.
• Long-lasting bumper.

How To Install ATV Winches ?

Every winch comes with a manual copy full of instructions and facts. It is important to go through it before installing the winch because knowing some essential features about the winch makes the installation process much easier even if you already know the installation process. The winch installations steps are as follows:

• First, you will find the bumper in front of the atv which is there for protection. There you will notice the plate which is also for protection. This plate needs to be removed. Getting the bolts out with the help of the drill will automatically get the plate out. After the plate is off you will notice a cover made from plastic just behind the space of the plate. You need to remove this plate as well.
• A few of the atv winches would fit best if you had already installed the bracket and fairlead. So after getting that done from easy instructions present in the first few pages of your it will be time to mount the plate. The perfect winch mount is also a crucial part of proper installation. The mounting plate does the task of attaching the winch with the mounting bracket. Properly using the bolts with drill makes the winch get perfectly fit with the ideal mounting plate.
• Then installing the roller fairlead is a crucial task that would require great focus. The roller fairlead protects the line from getting entangled and letting loose from the spool present in the winch.

The most preferred steel cables come along with a roller fairlead but the synthetic ropes do not have them.  When the plate along with the winch is already up on the vehicle then you need to use roller fairleads with the specifically sized bolts and drill them in. Some cables have a hook, in the end, this would mean you need to take it through the fairlead first before you fix it.

• Then comes the need to attach the handlebar switch to the proper spot. Find the place on the atv which would be suitable for your use and wire the rocker switch on that place. Using the clamps first to make the positioning proper is important. Using the screws which came along to hold the switch at the ideal spot. This rocker switch remains connected to the solenoid box and the power source of twelve volts.

Except for these in most winches, you will also need to attach the solenoid box and the circuit breaker for proper completion of the installation. If you take your atv to a fancy garage they would charge you around a hundred dollars for the installation of the winch.

In other local vehicle stores, it would cost around rightly dollars which is still a large amount. If you follow the instruction manual properly then you do have not much to worry about. Knowing the basic wiring skills and process of installation will get the job done. So don’t overthink and get your hands at work if you are willing to do it on your own.

Conclusion

For atv riders who always choose rough trails and like the adrenaline rush of challenging obstacles should definitely have a winch installed in their vehicle to not get into deep trouble in the highly difficult trails. Many riders don’t like to take risks with the installation of important accessories like the winch and therefore get it fixed to the atv only by experts. But you can do it on your own too. But it would demand a lot of time and patience from your side.