Ram 2500 2018 Owner's Manual

1.Motor: The winch motor is powered by the vehicle
charging system and features a thermal protection
switch that automatically stops motor function in the
power-in direction if the motor gets too hot.
2. Remote Socket: The remote socket allows the remote
control to be attached to the control pack to allow the
winch to function.
3. Winch Drum With Integral Brake: The winch drum
allows the wire rope to be stored on the winch and
transmits force to the wire rope. The winch is equipped
with an integral brake that will stop rotation of the
winch drum if the winch motor is stopped.
4. 3-Stage Planetary Gear Set: Provides balance between
speed and pulling power.
5. Wire Rope: The wire rope allows the winch to be
connected to an anchor to provide a pulling force.
6. Clutch Lever: The clutch lever allows the winch drum to
be disconnected from the winch motor to allow the wire
rope to be pulled from the winch by hand. 7.
Remote Control: The remote control provides the inter-
face between the winch operator and the winch. The
remote control provides the ability to power the winch
in, out, and stop the winch. To operate the winch, the
toggle switch is pressed down to power the winch in
and up to power the winch out. The winch will stop if
the switch is left in the neutral (center) position.
CAUTION!
If not installed, the hook strap must be placed on the
hook.
Fairlead: The fairlead acts as a guide for the wire rope and
minimizes damage to the rope.6
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Winch Accessories
The following accessories are necessary to attach the winch
to anchors, change direction of pull, and for safe winching.Gloves:Wire rope, through use, will
develop barbswhich can slice skin. It
is extremely important to wear protec-
tive gloves while operating the winch or
handling the wire rope. Avoid loose
fitting clothes or anything that could
become entangled in the wire rope and
other moving parts.
Snatch/Block Pulley: Used properly, the
multi-purpose snatch block allows you
to (1) increase the winch’s pulling
power; and (2) change your pulling di-
rection without damaging the wire rope.
Proper use of the snatch block is covered
in Before You Pull. Clevis/D-Shackles:
The D-Shackle is a
safe means of connecting the looped
ends of cables, straps and snatch blocks.
The shackle’s pin is threaded to allow
easy removal.
Tree Trunk Protector: Typically made of
tough, high-quality nylon, it provides
the operator an attachment point for the
winch rope to a wide variety of anchor
points and objects, as well as protect
living trees.
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Operating Your Winch
WARNING!
Failure to observe any of these warnings regarding
proper winch usage may result in severe injury.
•Always use supplied hook strap to hold the hook
when spooling wire rope in or out.
• Never use as a hoist.
• Never use to move persons.
• Never exceed winch or wire rope rated capacity.
• Always wear heavy leather gloves when handling
the wire rope.
• Never touch wire rope or hook while in tension or
under load.
• Never engage or disengage clutch if winch is under
load, wire rope is in tension, or wire rope drum is
moving.
• Always stand clear of wire rope and load and keep
others away during winching.
• Always keep hands and clothing clear of the wire
rope, hook and fairlead opening during operation
and when spooling.
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
•Never wrap wire rope back onto itself. Always use a
choker chain, wire choker rope or tree trunk protec-
tor on the anchor.
• Never attach a recovery strap to the winch hook to
increase the length of a pull.
• Never attempt to tow a vehicle with the recovery
strap attached directly to the winch hook.
• Never use bungeestraps that develop tremendous
and potentially dangerous amounts of force when
stretched.
• Always disconnect the remote control when not in
use.
• Never winch when there are less than five wraps of
wire rope around the winch drum.
• Always pass remote control through a window to
avoid pinching lead in door, when using remote
inside a vehicle.
• Never leave the remote control plugged into the
winch while free spooling, rigging or sitting idle.
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General Information
Practice using your winch before you get stuck. Some key
points to remember when using your winch are:
•Always take your time to assess the situation and plan
your pull carefully.
• Always take your time when using a winch.
• Use the right equipment for the situation.
• Always wear leather gloves and do not allow the wire
rope to slip through your hands when handling the
rope.
• Only the operator should handle the wire rope and
remote control.
• Think safety at all times.
Vehicle Recovery Using The Winch
CAUTION!
•Always Know Your Winch: Take the time to fully
read and understand the included Installation and
Operations Guide, and Basic Guide to Winching
(Continued)
CAUTION! (Continued)
Techniques, in order to understand your winch and
the winching operation.
• Always inspect winch installation and wire rope
condition before operating the winch. Frayed,
kinked or damaged wire rope must be replaced
immediately. Loose or damaged winch installation
must be corrected immediately.
• Always be sure any element which can interfere with
safe winching operations is removed prior to initiat-
ing winching.
• Always keep remote control lead clear of the drum,
wire rope and rigging.
• Inspect for cracks, pinches, frayed wires, or loose
connections. Replace if damaged.
• Be careful not to pull the Winch Cable Collar
through the rollers. Watch and listen to Winch for
proper snugness.
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1. Inspect the winch, winch mount, and wire rope fordamage. Do not use the winch if the mount is loose or
rope shows excessive wear or damage.
2. Put on gloves. 3. Disengage the clutch to allow free spooling of the winch
drum, rotate the clutch lever on the winch to disengage.
Freespooling conserves battery power.
Winch RopeFree Spool
6
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4. Free the winch hook and attach the hook strap. Free thewinch hook from its anchor point. Attach the hook strap
to the hook (if not attached). 5. Pull the wire to the anchor point. Pull out enough wire
rope to reach your anchor point. Be sure to keep a
certain amount of tension on the wire as it can become
twisted and over-wrapped when slackened, leading to
wire rope damage. To prevent losing the end, hold the
hook strap while you work.
Hook Strap
Pulling Wire Rope
384 STARTING AND OPERATING

6. Secure to the anchor point. Once you have establishedyour anchor point, secure the tree-trunk protector or
choker-chain around the object.
CAUTION!
Always be certain the anchor you select will withstand
the load. NOTE: How to choose an anchor point:
A secure anchor
is critical to winching operations. An anchor must be
strong enough to hold while winching. Natural anchors
include trees, stumps and rocks. Hook the cable as low as
possible. If no natural anchors are available when recover-
ing another vehicle, your vehicle becomes the anchor point.
In this case, be sure to put the transmission in NEUTRAL,
apply the hand brake and block its wheels to prevent your
vehicle from moving. Ideally, you’ll want an anchor point
that will enable you to pull straight in the direction the
vehicle will move. This allows the wire rope to wind tightly
and evenly onto the spooling drum. An anchor point as far
away as possible will provide the winch with its greatest
pulling power.
Tree Trunk Protector
6
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7. Attach the Clevis/D-shackle and Tree Trunk Protector.Attach the shackle to the two ends of the strap or chain
and through the hook loop, being careful not to over
tighten (tighten and back-off 1/2 turn).
8. Lock the clutch. Lock the winch drum by rotating the clutch lever on the winch to engage.
NOTE: Always ensure the clutch is fully engaged or
disengaged.
9. Connect the remote control to the winch control box, located behind the front bumper. Be careful not to let the
remote control cord dangle in front of the winch. If you choose to control the winch from inside your vehicle,
always pass the remote through a window to avoid
pinching the cord in the door. Always disconnect the
remote control when not in use.
10. Put wire rope under tension. Using the remote control switch, slowly wind the wire rope until no slack
remains. Once the wire rope is under tension, stand
well clear of it and never step over it.
Clevis/D-ShacklesWinch Box Remote Control Connector
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11. Check your anchor. Make sure all connections aresecured and free of debris before continuing with the
winching procedure. 12. Check wire rope. The wire rope should be neatly
wound around the spooling drum. Improper winding
can cause damage to the wire rope.
Pulling Wire Rope Under Tension
Wire Neatly Wound Around The Spooling Drum
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In certain situations you may decide to throw a heavy
blanket or similar object over the wire rope. A heavy
blanket can absorb energy should the wire rope break.
Place it on the wire rope midway between the winch and
the anchor point. Do this before the wire rope is put under
tension. Do not approach or move the blanket once tension
is applied. Do not allow it to get pulled into the fairlead. If
it is necessary to move or remove the blanket, slack the
tension on the wire rope first.13.
Establish no people zones:Make your intentions
clear. Be sure that everyone in the immediate vicinity
surrounding the winching operation is completely
aware of your intentions before you pull. Declare
where the spectators should not stand - never behind
or in front of the vehicle and never near the wire rope
or snatch block. Your situation may have other no
people zones.
No People Zones
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