2019 Ram 2500 Owner's Manual

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Vehicle Recovery Using The Winch1. Inspect the winch, winch mount, and synthetic rope fordamage. Do not use the winch if the mount is loose or
rope shows excessive wear, frays, or damage.
Winch Rope
2. Put on gloves.
CAUTION!
• Always know your winch: Take the time to fully read and understand the included Installation and Opera -
tions Guide, and Basic Guide to Winching Techniques,
in order to understand your winch and the winching
operation.
• Always inspect winch installation and synthetic rope condition before operating the winch. Frayed, kinked
or damaged 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 initiating
winching.
• Always keep remote control lead clear of the drum, synthetic rope and rigging.
• Inspect for cracks, pinches, frayed rope, or loose connections. Replace if damaged.
• Be careful not to pull the winch rope collar through the rollers. Watch and listen to winch for proper snugness.
• Never power hook through fairlead. Could causedamage. CAUTION!
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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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5. Pull the wire to the anchor point. Pull out enough wirerope to reach your anchor point. To prevent losing the
end, hold the hook strap while you work.
Pulling Synthetic Rope 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
CAUTION!
Always be certain the anchor you select will withstand
the load.
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346 STARTING AND OPERATING
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 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 synthetic 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, being careful not to over tighten
(tighten and back-off 1/2 turn). Clevis/D-Shackles
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.

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9. Connect the remote control to the winch control box,located on 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.
Winch Box Remote Control Connector 10. Put synthetic rope under tension. Using the remote
control switch, slowly wind the rope until no slack
remains. Once the rope is under tension, stand well clear
of it and never step over it.
Pulling Synthetic Rope Under Tension
11. Check your anchor. Make sure all connections are secured and free of debris before continuing with the
winching procedure.
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348 STARTING AND OPERATING
12. Check synthetic rope. The rope should be neatly woundaround the spooling drum. Improper winding can cause
damage to the synthetic rope.
Synthetic Rope Neatly Wound Around The Spooling Drum Heavy Blanket Over Rope
In certain situations you may decide to throw a heavy
blanket or similar object over the rope. A heavy blanket
can absorb energy should the synthetic rope break. Place
it on the rope midway between the winch and the anchor
point. Do this before the 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
rope first.

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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 synthetic rope or snatch
block. Your situation may have other "no people" zones.
No People Zones 14. Begin winching. With the winching vehicles engine on
and light tension already on the synthetic rope, begin
winching slowly and steadily. Be sure that the rope is
winding evenly and tightly around the spooling drum.
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.
Using The Remote Control
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350 STARTING AND OPERATING
NOTE:•Avoid overheating the winch motor. For extendedwinching, stop at reasonable intervals to allow the
winch motor to cool down.
•What to look for under load: The synthetic rope must always spool onto the drum as indicated by the drum
rotation decal on the winch. As you power-in, make
sure the synthetic rope winds evenly and tightly on the
drum. This prevents the outer rope wraps from
drawing into the inner wraps, binding and damaging
the synthetic rope. Avoid shock loads by using the
control switch intermittently to take up rope slack.
Shock loads can momentarily far exceed the winch and
synthetic rope ratings. During side pulls the synthetic
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 synthetic rope
comes close to the tie rods or mounting plate. To fix 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 complete,
be sure to secure the vehicle's brakes and shift the trans -
mission to PARK. Release tension in the synthetic rope.
16. Disconnect the synthetic rope, and disconnect from the anchor.
17. Rewind the synthetic rope. The person handling the synthetic rope should walk the rope in and not let it slide
through the hand, control the winch at all times.
Rewinding The Synthetic Rope