Ram 1500 2011 Owner's Manual

4. Free the winch hook and attach the hook strap. Free
the winch hook from its anchor point. Attach the hook
strap to the hook (if not attached).
Free Spool
Hook Strap
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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.6. Secure to the anchor point. Once you have established
your anchor point, secure the tree-trunk protector or
choker-chain around the object.
Tree Trunk Protector
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CAUTION!
Always be certain the anchor you select will with-
stand 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 an-
chors include trees, stumps and rocks. Hook the cable as
low as possible. If no natural anchors are available when
recovering 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. 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.
Clevis/D-Shackles
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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 con-
trol 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.
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11. Check your anchor. Make sure all connections are
secured 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.
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13. In certain situations you
may decide to throw a heavy
blanket or similar object over
the wire rope. A heavy blan-
ket can absorb energy should
the wire rope break. Place it
on the wire rope midway be-
tween the winch and the an-
chor point. Do this before the
wire rope is put under ten-
sion. 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.
14. 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 peoplezones.
15. Begin winching. With the winching vehicles engine
on and light tension already on the wire rope, begin
winching slowly and steadily. Be sure that the wire rope
is winding evenly and tightly around the spooling drum.
No People Zones
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For additional assistance, the winched vehicle can be
slowly driven while being pulled by the winch. Continue
pulling until the vehicle is on stable ground. If you are
able to drive the vehicle, the winching operation is
complete.NOTE:
•Avoid overheating the winch motor. For extended
winching, stop at reasonable intervals to allow the
winch motor to cool down.
•What to look for under load:
The wire rope must
always spool onto the drum as indicated by the drum
rotation decal on the winch. As you power-in, make
sure the wire rope winds evenly and tightly on the
drum. This prevents the outer wire wraps from draw-
ing into the inner wraps, binding and damaging the
wire rope. Avoid shock loads by using the control
switch intermittently to take up wire rope slack. Shock
loads can momentarily far exceed the winch and wire
rope ratings. During side pulls the wire rope tends to
stack up at one end of the drum. This stack can become
large enough to cause serious damage to the winch.
So, line up pulls as straight ahead as possible and stop
winching if the wire rope comes close to the tie rods or
mounting plate. To fix an uneven stack, spool out that
Using The Remote Control
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section of the rope and reposition it to the opposite end
of the drum, which will free up space for continued
winching.
16. Secure vehicle. Once recovery of the vehicle’s is
complete, be sure to secure the vehicle’s brakes and put
the transmission in PARK. Release tension in the wire
rope.
17. Disconnect the wire rope, and disconnect from the
anchor.
18. Rewind the wire rope. The person handling the wire
rope should walk the rope in and not let it slide through
the hand, control the winch at all times.
WARNING!
To prevent serious injury, NEVER put your fingers
inside the hook area as you are powering-in.
NOTE: How to spool under no load: Arrange the
remote control lead so it cannot be caught in the winch.
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Arrange the wire rope so it will not kink or tangle when
spooled. Be sure any wire rope already on the spooling
drum is wound tightly and evenly layered. Tighten and
straighten the layer if necessary. Keep the wire rope
under light tension and spool the wire rope back and
onto the winch drum in even layers. Stop frequently to
tighten and straighten the layers as necessary. Repeat this
process until the winch hook is the same distance as the
full length of the remote control from the winch. Pinch
the hook between your thumb and forefinger and attach
the hook strap. Hold the hook strap between the thumb
and forefinger to keep tension on the wire rope. Walk the
wire rope towards the fairlead, carefully spooling in the
remaining wire rope. By pulsing the remote control
switch.
19. Store the hook on the most outboard loop of the tow
hook.20. Disconnect the remote control. Disconnect the remote
control cord from the control box and store in a clean and
dry place. Winching operations are now complete. Put
the cap on the solenoid plug-in.
NOTE:
Always store the remote control in a protected,
clean, dry area.
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Rigging Techniques
Various winching situations will require application of
other winching techniques. These could range from too
little distance to achieve maximum pull using straight
line rigging, simply increasing pulling power, or main-
taining a straight-line pulling situation. You will have to
assess what technique is correct for your situation. Think
safetyat all times.
How To Change The Pulling Direction
All winching operations should have a straight line from
the winch to the object being pulled. This minimizes the
wire rope collecting on one side of the drum affecting
pulling efficiency and damaging wire rope. A snatch
block, secured to a point directly in front of the vehicle
Change Pulling Directions
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