After you’re done using your winch, it’s best to rewind the cable under load to spool it tight and even onto the drum. Ideally, there should be at least 500 pounds of tension on the cable. Here’s one way to get the job done:

Protect your winch hook and cable with a winch line stopper.

1. Find an empty parking lot or open area with enough room to spool out most of the winch cable, leaving at least 5 wraps on the drum. Ideally you should be on a slight incline.
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2. Attach the winch hook to a tree, another vehicle, or a solid anchor point.
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3. Put the vehicle in neutral.
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4. Ask a friend to stand outside, in a position where he can see you (the driver) and see the winch cable as it wraps on the drum but where he is safely out of the cable’s path. Then have him direct you which way to turn the steering wheel as the winch pulls the vehicle towards the anchor point and the cable rewinds.
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5. Have your friend make sure that the cable winds in tight even, rows on the drum. If the cable starts to pile up on one side or become tangled, stop winching and power out the cable until the tangled rows are off the drum. Then respool in tight, even layers.
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6. Stop the winch when the vehicle is about 10 feet away from the anchor point.
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7. Let the tension out of the rope and disconnect the rope from the anchor.
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8. Attach the hook strap to the winch hook and hold on to the strap to spool in the rest of the cable. Do not put your fingers through the winch hook.
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9. Carefully spool in the remaining cable under light tension by pulling back on the rope while pulsing the winch remote.
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10. Attach the hook to one side under light tension, or—if you have a rubber stopper—spool in the cable until the hook is snug against the stopper. Do not power the winch hook into the fairlead without a rubber stopper, or you could damage the winch.

Tags: Offroad Recovery, Steel Winch Cable, Winch Cable, Winch Rope Maintenance

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