X-BULL Electric Winch 12V 5000LBS Synthetic Rope Wireless remote ATV UTV Boat Trailer

A quad buried to the axles in a boggy creek crossing is not something you push out on your own. A 12 V winch on the front rack turns that into a ten-minute job. X-BULL quotes this one at 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) rated single-line pull, with 15.2 metres of line on the drum.

The relay is usually what lets go

Ask anyone who has cooked a cheap winch and the motor is rarely the culprit. It is the solenoid pack, switching several hundred amps every time the drum turns. X-BULL specifies a 500 A relay on this unit and says plainly in its own material that an undersized relay is what burns out. Many budget winches leave that component unstated altogether, so having a figure to check against is worth something. Wiring runs through a separate solenoid-and-receiver controller, with four solenoid cables and joint protective caps supplied.

Sealed for creek crossings and spray

IP66 covers the winch body and its controls, which means jets of water should not reach the motor or the solenoid housing. A river crossing, a pressure wash, a wet trip home on an open trailer. X-BULL notes the remote switch itself sits outside that rating, so keep the handheld dry. The gear train is a three-stage planetary and free-spooling is cam-activated, so the drum disengages with a lever rather than a screw-in knob you have to fight with wet hands. Sound rating is quoted at 85 dB.

Key features

• 500 A solenoid relay: the switching gear is specified rather than left to guesswork on a winch that draws heavily under load.
• Three-stage planetary gear train: load shared across multiple gear sets, which is what lets the winch tolerate slow, sustained pulls.
• Cam-activated free spool: flick the lever and walk the line to the anchor without running the motor.
• Mounting plate and bolts included: the aluminium hawse fairlead, winch mounting plate and bolt set all ship in the box.
• IP66 winch and controls: the remote switch is excluded from the rating.
• Clevis hook with spring-loaded safety latch: the latch closes across the throat so a slack hook does not jump off the anchor.

Specifications

• Rated single-line pull: 5,000 lb (2,268 kg). X-BULL's rated pull; the drum layer it applies to is not stated.
• Line: 6.3 mm x 15.2 m (1/4 in x 50 ft). The product title says synthetic rope, while X-BULL's specification block for the same item reads "steel cable". Treat the line material as unconfirmed until you have checked with us.
• Battery: 12 V DC, 12 Ah minimum
• Duty cycle: 5 per cent (45 seconds at maximum rated load, then 14 minutes 15 seconds rest)
• Gear train: three-stage planetary
• Free spool: cam activated
• Fairlead: aluminium hawse
• Hook: 1/4 in clevis with spring-loaded safety latch
• Solenoid cable: 6 gauge, 0.92 m
• Mounting pattern: 76.2 x 167.6 mm (3 x 6.6 in)
• Dimensions (L x D x H): 400 x 116 x 119 mm
• Weight: 12 kg
• IP rating: IP66, winch and controls, remote switch excluded
• Sound rating: 85 dB
• Certification, as stated by the supplier: CE
• Application, as stated by the supplier: ATV, UTV, boat

What's in the box

• 5,000 lb winch
• Aluminium hawse fairlead
• Winch mounting plate
• Controller (solenoid and receiver)
• Wireless remote control
• Hand remote control
• Clevis hook
• Four solenoid cables and four joint protective caps
• Set of bolts
• User manual

Before you take up the slack

• Run your eye and your hand along the full length of the line before every pull, and take damaged line out of service rather than working around a bad section.
• Drape a weighted dampener across the line before loading it, so stored energy is absorbed if something parts.
• Nobody stands in line with the pull or inside the sweep the line could take. That includes the person on the remote.
• Anchor to a rated recovery point only. Tow balls, tow bar tongues, bumper bars and unrated brackets are not recovery points.
• A shackle is never a way to join two straps together.

Sized for quads, side-by-sides and boat trailers rather than full-size four-wheel drives. Check the 76.2 x 167.6 mm bolt pattern against your mount before ordering.