2016 Ram 1500 Start

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 discon-
nect the remote control when not in use.
Clevis/D-Shackles
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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.11. Check your anchor. Make sure all connections are
secured and free of debris before continuing with the
winching procedure.
Winch Box Remote Control ConnectorPulling Wire Rope Under Tension
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12. Check wire rope. The wire rope should be neatly
wound around the spooling drum. Improper wind-
ing can cause damage to the wire rope.In certain situations you may
decide to throw a heavy blanket
or similar object over the wire
rope. A heavy blanket can ab-
sorb 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.
Wire Neatly Wound Around The Spooling Drum
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13.Establishno peoplezones: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
otherno peoplezones.
14. 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 spool-
ing drum. For additional assistance, the winched
vehicle can be slowly driven while being pulled by
No People Zones
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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
drawing into the inner wraps, binding and damag-
ing 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
Using The Remote Control
608 STARTING AND OPERATING

an uneven stack, spool out that section of the rope
and reposition it to the opposite end of the drum,
which will free up space for continued winching.
15. Secure vehicle. Once recovery of the vehicle is com-
plete, be sure to secure the vehicle’s brakes and shift
the transmission to PARK. Release tension in the wire
rope.
16. Disconnect the wire rope, and disconnect from the
anchor.
17. 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.
Rewinding The Wire Rope
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NOTE: How to spool under no load:Arrange the re-
mote control lead so it cannot be caught in the winch.
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.18. Store the hook on the most outboard loop of the tow
hook.
Hook In Stored Position
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19. 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 com-
plete. Put the cap on the solenoid plug-in.
NOTE:Always store the remote control in a protected,
clean, dry area.
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
Change Pulling Directions
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