UTV and side-by-side winch picks, install guides and buyer advice.
The best UTV winch for the money is the SuperATV Black Ops 4500, because it gives a 1,500 to 2,000 lb side-by-side the right 4,500 lb pull class, synthetic rope, and a wireless remote without WARN money. The WARN VRX 45-S seals better and lasts longer, however. Also, Champion and X-BULL serve tighter budgets honestly.
This badlands 5500 winch review gives the long-drum APEX 5500 a clear win for UTV owners. It pulls 5,500 lb, carries 50 ft of synthetic rope, and seals to IP68 and IP69K. Also, its 1.5 hp permanent-magnet motor draws modest current from small UTV batteries. Buy it for side-by-sides and light trailer work, but skip
The 4,500 lb class is the powersports default — the size every factory fits (Polaris, Can-Am, Yamaha and Kawasaki all factory-fit 4,500s, per our side by side research) and the class that honestly serves everything from a loaded ATV to a mid-size UTV. This guide is the CLASS ranking across both machine types; the deep-dives
A UTV is not a big ATV. A loaded side-by-side runs 1,600–2,400 lb — half a ton more than a quad — and it gets stuck in the same mud with more suction and more pride at stake. Yet the winch market happily sells ATV-class winches into UTV bumpers: the previous version of this guide
For someone who does not really know, winches simply look like a hooked cable used for pulling and lifting, but winches have a lot more to offer. A winch is primarily a hoisting or hauling device which consists of a rope, chain or steel cable wound around a horizontal rotating drum. A motor connected to