Rugged Ridge Heavy Duty 8,500 lbs, Off Road Winch - Manual (Page 2)

VEHICLE RECOVERY ELECTRIC WINCH USE & INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
2
A FEW WORDS ABOUT PRODUCT SAFETY
Your Rugged Ridge ® vehicle recovery winch is a powerful tool adding considerable utility and enjoyment to your
off road vehicle. Keep in mind, however, that your vehicle’s weight, the forces required for vehicle recovery and
the variety of terrain, grades and cable rigging you might encounter, result in any winching operation having
the potential for serious personal injury or damage to your winch or vehicle. Each winch operation may involve
different risks making it impractical to provide warnings or information regarding all the risks you may encounter.
Fully understand your Rugged Ridge
® instructions and practice safe winch operations before attempting an actual
vehicle recovery.
To reduce winch-related risks and help you make informed decisions about safety, the accompanying instructions
provide certain information in the form of “Warnings”, “Cautions” and “Notices”. This information alerts you to
potential hazards that could hurt you or others.
This is a caution against anything which may cause damage to your winch, the vehicle or its
equipment if the caution is ignored. The Notice includes information about how you can avoid or reduce those risks.
This is a signal telling you that you or others CAN be KILLED or SERIOUSLY HURT if you don’t
follow the Warning. The Warning includes information about what you must or must not do in order to reduce
the risk of injury to yourself and others.
This is a signal telling you that you or others CAN be HURT if you don’t follow the
instruction. The Caution includes information about how you can avoid those risks.
WARNING
CABLE ENTANGLEMENT/PINCH/CRUSH HAZARDS
Failure to follow these instructions could lead to severe injury or death. Consult further WARNINGS/CAUTIONS and instructions in this
use/installation manual.
Due to loads involved, all winching involves significant risks. To minimize risks of injury
Always:
• Assure winch, mounting, cable and hook are undamaged. Vehicle, slope and conditions should not approach
maximum rated pull. Leave a safety margin.
• Use supplied hook strap when spooling in or out (no load). Use gloves and keep fingers and body clear of
hook, cable and fairlead during installation and all winch operations.
• Position operator inside vehicle when possible with control switch routed through window rather than door jam. Keep others
a safe right angle from cable and vehicle when winching (min. 1.5 times distance of cable). Use greatest cable length possible
while keeping at least five turns around spool.
• Fully engage clutch before powering cable in. Do not disengage or adjust clutch while under load. Pull in stages to avoid heat
buildup and motor damage.
• Never use vehicle recovery winch for persons or as hoist.
WARNING
CAUTION
NOTICE
Rugged Ridge XHD
Bumper Base with
Standard Ends and a
10,500LB Winch