Every vehicle with a mounted winch needs a fairlead.  Without one installed, you'd have a mess on your hands every time you used the winch.  The fairlead keeps the cable or rope line controlled during use. These devices also provide protection while a winch rope or cable is pulling or being unspooled.

There are two basic styles of fairleads... the Hawse and the roller.  The Hawse fairlead is a roller-less plate with a basic oval opening used for winches with synthetic rope installed.  If the winch has metal aircraft cable installed, the roller fairlead is the one you'll want.  And since most winches sold today, are sold with metal cable, the roller fairlead is much more common.  This trend is slowly changing because demand for synthetic rope is gaining ground.

However, a company called Daystar saw an opening and designed replacement rollers with grooves in them to allow the use of synthetic rope with a roller fairlead.  They're available in black and red and cost around $40 - which is much cheaper than buying a billet aluminum Hawse fairlead.  Daystar also makes something called a "winch isolator."  This allows the winch hook to ride in a soft poly cradle while resting against the roller fairlead.  This cuts way down on the rattle factor and allows a tighter re-spool.  In use, it also acts as a weight in case the metal cable snaps, the isolator will take the cable to the ground and deters the line becoming a projectile.

Basically a roller fairlead is comprised of four rollers that allows the metal cable to glide over a smooth surface and lessen the "wear" of the cable.  It mounts directly in front of the winch on the front of the winch mounting plate.  These mounting holes are universal since 99% of the roller fairleads are the same standard size.  However, keep in mind that ATV roller fairleads are much smaller and the mounting holes will not line up.

One accessory I picked up was a clever invention for the roller fairlead.  It's a flip-up license plate holder made by EZ-Lift.  It holds my front license plate and allows me access to my winch when flipped up and I can hide the fairlead when the plate is in the down position.  It's a clever idea because I didn't want to mount my license plate to myJeep's bumper.  It simply clips to the top of the roller fairlead and uses Mag-lite flashlight clips to grab the rollers in the down position.

Periodic spray lubricant is all the maintenance a roller fairlead ever needs and since the body and rollers are made from stainless steel or galvanized steel, it's not usually susceptible to rust.  Keep in mind that some companies actually powder coat their roller fairleads - usually in black.


All in all, since the roller fairlead is mandatory equipment when using a winch, some winches come packaged with one, but if you buy one that doesn't come with one or you buy a used winch, the roller fairlead is very easily found at any off-road shop, eBay or 4x4 parts suppliers like Quadratec, 4 Wheel Parts or JC Whitney.

* * Jeep Owners:  Please visit www.JeepRiver.com * *


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