ATV / UTV / Trailer Winches

What counts as an ATV or UTV winch

An ATV or UTV winch is a compact electric winch, sized and geared for lighter vehicles rather than a full size 4WD. They mount to the front of a quad bike or side by side, or to a trailer for general recovery and loading work. Our current range spans Runva, Warn, Carbon Offroad, Comeup and Mean Mother, with line pull ratings from 2,000lb through to 5,500lb.

Which winch suits your setup

A few things decide which winch is the right fit for you:

• Line pull rating: aim for at least 1.5 times the fully loaded weight of what you're recovering, since a straight, level pull is rare in practice
• 12V or 24V: matched to your vehicle or trailer's electrical system
• Synthetic rope or steel cable: depending on where and how often the winch will be used
• Mounting: most winches need a plate or bracket rated for the winch's pulling force, check the individual listing for what's included

12V and 24V, synthetic rope and steel cable

Most ATVs and UTVs run a 12V system, so 12V is the standard choice and what most of the range is built for. A handful of our Runva and Carbon Offroad models are available in both 12V and 24V, which suits vehicles or trailers already wired to 24V. The Runva 4.5X 12V/24V Winch Kit is a popular all rounder that covers both, rated to 4,500lb with a choice of synthetic rope or steel cable. On rope, synthetic is lighter than steel cable of the same rating and floats, while steel cable holds up better against abrasion and UV if the winch lives outdoors or gets dragged over rocks often.

Fitting a winch to a trailer

A trailer mounted winch is a common way to load a quad bike or UTV without manual heavy lifting, and several of the electric winches in this range suit that setup. If you're winching a vehicle onto a trailer, it's worth checking your load is restrained correctly once it's on, the National Transport Commission's Load Restraint Guide sets out the standard for securing loads safely on Australian roads.

Portable and hand crank options

For lighter or occasional jobs, we also stock a drill powered portable winch and a full range of manual hand crank winches. If you specifically need a winch for loading a boat, our Boat Trailer Winches range is the better starting point, it's built around that exact use case rather than the electric ATV and UTV winches in this range.