I leave mine engaged when driving. Wonder if cable vs synthetic line would change anything? Did they give a reason for leaving it disengaged?

 

Left mine engaged for years until a friend and fellow jeeper had a freak thing happen. One of the wires on the solenoid pack broke off and bounced its way over to the battery terminal, bent the heck out of his bumper and screwed up the cable real good to because he had it hooked to a tow hook. From that point forward I left my own disengaged, it has never loosened up enough to even begin to sag.

 

Was told by dealer to keep mine disengaged when mot using but lately it's been having problem with bolt on handle and can't get it engaged. Was stuck in Vermont at 11 pm a few weeks ago on a 40 degree incline in mud with no winch. Fortunately, a drunk friend used a big rock to loosen it and we got free. Called Superwinch. Told it has never been a problem before. Go figure. Got it engaged now for run tomorrow. Don't trust the damn thing now.

 

Yup. The only reason I can see to keep it disengaged is to avoid damage in case of a problem with the solenoid. Which makes a good idea having some kind of switch between the solenoid and battery.


ETA: decided to run mine disengaged, at least until I install a switch.