2019 Ram 2500 warning

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•Winching (Refer To “Winch Operation” For Additional
Information) – Winching is most commonly used in the
following situations: there is no support vehicle available,
a high controlled force is required to recover the vehicle,
there is a high risk of environmental or vehicle damage, or
where nothing else seems to work. A winch can deliver a
high pulling force with a great deal of control. It allows
you to walk the vehicle out of the situation in a slow
controlled manner. This control works well for avoiding
further vehicle damage. Once you decide it is time to use
the winch look for a good anchor point. It needs to be
strong enough to hold more than the vehicle's weight and
provide a direction of pull as straight as possible. Use
block and tackle if necessary to improve the angle of pull
or increase the winch's pulling force. If the anchor point is a tree use a strap around its base and hook the cable to the
strap. If it is another vehicle, then place that vehicle in
PARK and block the front tires. If you cannot find an
anchor point within reach try using your spare tire by
burying it. Once you have determined an anchor point
hook up the cable, ensuring there are a least five wraps of
cable left on the drum, and place a floor mat or something
else over the strung out cable. Placing something over the
strung out cable helps keep the cable on the ground if it
breaks. Next, place the vehicle in first gear and apply a
very light throttle as you power the winch in. Be careful
not to allow slack in the cable as you recover the vehicle.
Do not try to guide the cable into the drum. If it starts to
bunch up on one end, let it. You can re-spool the cable
afterwards. Never use a winch cable as a tow strap and
always stand back while winching.
WARNING!
Never use tow straps with end hooks or link two straps
with a clevis pin. These heavy metal objects could
become projectiles if a strap breaks, which could cause
severe injury. Never leave more than 2 to 3 feet (.6 to
1 meter) of slack in the strap. More slack than this greatly
increases the risk of injury and vehicle damage. Always
keep everyone at least 30 feet (9 meters) away from a
strapping or winching situation.
WARNING!
Winch cables are under high tension when in use and
can become a projectile if they fail. Never stand over or
straddle the winch cable. Never jerk or overload the
winch cable. Never stand in front of the vehicle while
winching. Failure to follow these instructions can result
in serious or fatal injury.
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336 STARTING AND OPERATING
After Driving Off-Road
Off-road operation puts more stress on your vehicle than
does most on-road driving. After going off-road, it is always
a good idea to check for damage. That way you can get any
problems taken care of right away and have your vehicle
ready when you need it.
• Completely inspect the underbody of your vehicle. Checktires, body structure, steering, suspension, and exhaust
system for damage.
• Inspect the radiator for mud and debris and clean as required.
• Check threaded fasteners for looseness, particularly on the chassis, drivetrain components, steering, and suspension.
Retighten them, if required, and torque to the values spec -
ified in the Service Manual.
• Check for accumulations of plants or brush. These things could be a fire hazard. They might hide damage to fuel
lines, brake hoses, axle pinion seals, and propeller shafts. • After extended operation in mud, sand, water, or similar
dirty conditions, have the radiator, fan, brake rotors,
wheels, brake linings, and axle yokes inspected and
cleaned as soon as possible.
• If you experience unusual vibration after driving in mud, slush or similar conditions, check the wheels for impacted
material. Impacted material can cause a wheel imbalance
and freeing the wheels of it will correct the situation.
WARNING!
Abrasive material in any part of the brakes may cause
excessive wear or unpredictable braking. You might not
have full braking power when you need it to prevent a
collision. If you have been operating your vehicle in
dirty conditions, get your brakes checked and cleaned as
necessary.

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LIMITED-SLIP DIFFERENTIAL
The limited-slip differential provides additional traction on
snow, ice, mud, sand and gravel, particularly when there is
a difference between the traction characteristics of the
surface under the right and left rear wheels. During normal
driving and cornering, the limited-slip unit performs simi-
larly to a conventional differential. On slippery surfaces,
however, the differential delivers more of the driving effort
to the rear wheel having the better traction.
The limited-slip differential is especially helpful during slip -
pery driving conditions. With both rear wheels on a slippery
surface, a slight application of the accelerator will supply
maximum traction. When starting with only one rear wheel
on an excessively slippery surface, slight momentary appli -
cation of the parking brake may be necessary to gain
maximum traction. Care should be taken to avoid sudden accelerations when
both rear wheels are on a slippery surface. This could cause
both rear wheels to spin, and allow the vehicle to slide side
-
ways on the crowned surface of a road or in a turn.
WINCH USAGE — POWER WAGON ONLY (IF
EQUIPPED)
Things To Know Before Using Your Winch
General Winch Information
Your vehicle is equipped with an electric vehicle recovery
winch. This winch uses the electrical power from the vehicle
charging system to power a motor that winds the winch rope
onto the winch drum via planetary gear reduction. By
nature, a winch is capable of generating very high forces and
should be used with care. Do not operate the winch without
reading and understanding the complete winch owner's
manual.
WARNING!
On vehicles equipped with a limited-slip differential
never run the engine with one rear wheel off the ground
since the vehicle may drive through the rear wheel
remaining on the ground. You could lose control of the
vehicle.
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STARTING AND OPERATING 341
(Continued)
Winch Accessories
The following accessories are necessary to attach the winch
to anchors, change direction of pull, and for safe winching. Gloves: It is extremely important to wear protective
gloves while operating the winch or handling the
winch rope. Avoid loose fitting clothes or anything
that could become entangled in the 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 direction without damaging the winch 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. Abrasion Sleeve:
The abrasion sleeve is provided with the
synthetic rope and must be used with the synthetic rope at all
times to protect the rope from potential abrasion wear. The
sleeve has a loose fit so it can easily be positioned along the
synthetic rope to protect from rough surfaces and sharp
corners.
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 synthetic rope rated capacity.
• Always wear heavy leather gloves when handling the synthetic rope.
• Never touch synthetic rope or hook while in tension or under load.
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342 STARTING AND OPERATING
(Continued)
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 planyour 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 synthetic rope to slip through your hands when handling the rope.
• Only the operator should handle the synthetic rope and remote control.
• Think safety at all times.
• Never engage or disengage clutch if winch is under
load, synthetic rope is in tension, or rope drum is
moving.
• Always stand clear of synthetic rope and load and keep others away during winching.
• Always keep hands and clothing clear of the synthetic rope, hook and fairlead opening during operation and
when spooling.
• Never wrap synthetic rope back onto itself. Always use a choker chain, wire choker rope or tree trunk protector
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 bungee or kinetic straps 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 10 wraps of synthetic rope around the winch drum.
WARNING! (Continued)
• 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.
WARNING! (Continued)

344 STARTING AND OPERATING
3. Disengage the clutch to allow free spooling of the winchdrum, rotate the clutch lever on the winch to disengage.
Freespooling conserves battery power.
Free Spool Lever 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).
Hook Strap
WARNING!
• Never touch winch rope or hook while someone else is at the control switch or during winching operation.
• Never touch winch rope or hook while under tension or under load.

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NOTE:
How to spool under no load: Arrange the remote control
lead so it cannot be caught in the winch. Arrange the
synthetic rope so it will not kink or tangle when spooled. Be
sure any synthetic rope already on the spooling drum is
wound tightly and evenly layered. Tighten and straighten
the layer if necessary. Keep the synthetic rope under light
tension and spool the 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
synthetic rope. Walk the synthetic rope towards the fairlead,
carefully spooling in the remaining rope. By pulsing the
remote control switch. 18. Store the hook on the most outboard loop of the hawse
fairlead.
Hook In Stored Position
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 complete. Put
the cap on the solenoid plug-in.
NOTE:
Always store the remote control in a protected, clean, dry
area.
WARNING!
To prevent serious injury, NEVER put your fingers
inside the hook area as you are powering-in.
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STARTING AND OPERATING 355
To Activate
Push the On/Off button to activate the Speed Control. The
cruise indicator light in the instrument cluster display will
illuminate. To turn the system off, push the On/Off button a
second time. The cruise indicator light will turn off. The
system should be turned off when not in use.
To Set A Desired Speed
Turn the Speed Control on. When the vehicle has reached the
desired speed, push the SET (-) button and release. Release
the accelerator and the vehicle will operate at the selected
speed.
NOTE:
The vehicle should be traveling at a steady speed and on
level ground before pushing the SET (-) button.
To Vary The Speed Setting
To Increase Speed
When the Speed Control is set, you can increase speed by
pushing the RES (+) button.
The driver’s preferred units can be selected through the
instrument panel settings if equipped. Refer to “Getting To
Know Your Instrument Panel” for more information. The
speed decrement shown is dependant on the chosen speed
unit of U.S. (mph) or Metric (km/h):
U.S. Speed (mph)
• Pushing the RES (+) button once will result in a 1 mph increase in set speed. Each subsequent tap of the button
results in an increase of 1 mph.
• If the button is continually pushed, the set speed will continue to increase until the button is released, then the
new set speed will be established.
WARNING!
Leaving the Speed Control system on when not in use is
dangerous. You could accidentally set the system or
cause it to go faster than you want. You could lose
control and have an accident. Always leave the system
off when you are not using it.
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