One thing to keep in mind with any Winch that you have is to protect the solenoids as these are generally the most vunerable and common causes for Winch failure.

A good idea is to have the solenoid box relocated under the hood where it is protected from the elements and to a certain extent mud and water etc Another good practice is to operate your Winch on a Bi-weekly basis . You only have to operate your spool out switch to spool out 4-5 Feet and then wind it in to it,s original position this will help to make sure you dont end up with a "Clicky Solenoid " ( Common failure ) Sending a electrical current thru the contacts helps prevent any moisture  and  minimises corrosion  on the contacts.

When you install your Winch on your Vehicle, you will need to respool the cable on the Winch Drum  and stretch the line as it is rewound. Start with 4-5 wraps of line on the drum.( be very carefull when you have your hands in the proximaty of the Drum/Line) by using the wireless remote this makes it a little easier for spooling in . Once you have the 5 wraps taughtly on the drum you can then proceed to spool in It is recomended that you have about 500lbs load on the winch when you do this operation. ( leave your vehicle in neutral with slight brake pressure to allow a smooth even pull) . This is a lot easier with 2 people but it is easy enough for a single person to do.

The life of the cable is directly related to the use and care it receives.Following its first and subsequent uses the cable must be wound on the drum with a load of at least 500lbs or the OUTER wraps will DRAW into the INNER WRAPS and severely damage the cable during Winching.

Before operating your Winch in a real Recovery situation you need to familiarise yourself with it the best way to get acquanted with how your winch operates is to make a few test runs before you actually need use it Use all your senses when operating your winch. You can hear your winch operating as well as see it get to know the sound it makes on a light load /medium and heavy load and sounds made by jerking or shifting.

The amount of Line that is wrapped on the Drum generally dictates the pulling power you have available to you. The maximum pulling power for any Winch is when you have 4-6 wraps on the Drum ( Please note the minimum amount of wraps for a steel cable is 4) In the case of the 12000lb TITAN WINCH this would be 12000lbs as each succesive layer of cable is added to the Winch Drum the pulling power is decreased . As an example if you have 20ft of cable pulled out from your Titan Winch your pulling power will be decreased to about 6900lbs ( this would be about 5000lbs for a 8000lb Winch).

The same thing applies with the laws of Gravity. In this case the grade you are trying to winch up as an example a 10% grade is a rise of 3ft in 30ft.whereas your winch capacity is rated on a level grade .A grade of 20% for example reduces your safe pulling capacity to about 4300lbs ( with a 12000lb winch.) The 8000lb winch would be reduced to a safe ( average) working load of about 2890lbs

With the use of a Pulley block this of course changes the Dynamics involved as the load is in affect lessened on all components involved ( Including your battery and Alternator) To show this in relation to the electric components if a load is put on your Winch of say the max of 12000lbs the Amp Draw is 450amps if you half the load on your winch motor the amp draw is reduced to 231amps ( with the use of the pulley Block) the added benifit to this is of course that you also lessen the the strain on your anchor points it is always advisable to use a strap attached to both sides of the frame of the vehicle being recovered as the overall load is spread to both sides equally and this has an added advantage of being able to recover the vehicle by pulling from the centre of the vehicle it allows a straighter more controlled pull .

When letting down a load ( vehicle )down a steep incline there is a lot of strain placed on the drum brake ,the recommended distance for a winch to be used under these conditions is 25' as the drum brake can overheat and fail. This can be overcome again by using the Snatch/Pulley blocks a good rule of thumb  is to use two pulleys in this situation .

When you have finished using your winch and returned home you will need to pull your line out and respool checking for any kinks or fraying on the cable. At this time you should also lubricate the cable using Chain Saw oil and lubricate all connections with a dielectic grease.

Never perform any " Shock Load on your Winch as this is very dangerous. A shock load occurs when an increased load is suddenly put on your cable 2 examples of this is if you try to jerk the vehicle free by using the winch cable as a recovery strap, or if the vehicle being recovered has slack in the cable and suddenly starts rolling back.

Never operate your Winch when in Gear or park as this can cause DAMAGE to your transmission.

It is best to have your engine running between 1500-2000 RPMs during a recovery  ( I use a simple choke cable  attached to my throttle with the pull handle attached to my grill to increase the RPMs when outside the vehicle)  if possible it is always advisable to tie of to a solid anchor point at your rear to stop the recovering vehicle ( if applicable ) from sliding towards the stuck vehicle.

The type of surface and the depth you are sunk in has of course a direct effect on the amount of load required to pull yourself out of the "stuck " situation.  In this paragraph we will deal with three scenarios which will cover the most common recovery situations you will likely come across.

The first is tyre deep  either mud or saturated grassy/ loose gravel  surface where the vehicle has sunk a few inches   the amount of force needed to move you on a level surface will be approximately  the weight of the vehicle . What this means is simply if you have a 4000lb  ( loaded vehicle meaning equipment /gear etc ) it will require a 4000lb pull to retrieve you.

The next situation will be if you are wheel deep the force required to free you will be two times the weight  . Obviously in this situation the saturated grass / Loose gravel is not the scenario ,it will be mud .

The last situation is when you are well and truly mired in the muck  and you are buried up to the body panels . this requires three times the vehicle weight to recover yourself. In the case of a 4000lb Vehicle it would require 12000lbs force to move you.

Keep in mind that this is a very generalised  description as for example all mud is not created equally  some is less gooey than others and these numbers are a rough estimate to help guide you towards the capacity / performance you require in a Winch.

The lubrication ropes receive during manufacture is adequate only for initial storage and the early stages of the rope’s service life. A winch's wire rope should be maintained in a well-lubricated condition. It is important that lubricant be applied as part of the maintenance program. A good all purpose lubricant for this application would be a Chain Saw oil. The lubricant applied should be of the type that does not hinder visual inspection. The surface of some ropes may become covered with dirt, rock dust or other material during their operation. This can prevent field-applied lubricants from properly penetrating into the rope, so it's a good practice to clean these ropes before you lubricate them.
The lubricant you apply should be light-bodied enough to penetrate to the rope's core. You can normally apply lubricant by using one of three methods: drip it on rope, spray it on or brush it on. In all cases, you should apply it at a place where the rope is bending, such as around a sheave ( Pulley Block ). We recommend you apply it at the top of the bend because that's where the rope's strands are spread by bending and are more easily penetrated.
In addition, pressure lubricators are available commercially. Your rope's service life will be directly proportional to the effectiveness of the method you use and the amount of lubricant that reaches the rope's working parts. A proper lubricant must reduce friction, protect against corrosion and adhere to every wire. It should also be pliable, and not crack or separate when cold, yet not drip when warm. Never apply heavy grease to the rope because it can trap excessive grit, which can damage the rope. Nor should you apply used "engine oil" because it contains materials that can damage the rope ..