G E N E R A L S A F E T Y
I N F O R M A T I O N
Your winch is a very powerful
machine. If used unsafely or
improperly, there is a possibility
that property damage or personal
injury could result.
The responsibility
WARNING
!
for safe installa-
tion and operation of the winch and
prevention of personal injury and
property damage ultimately rests
with you, the operator. There is
no substitute for the use of good
judgement and caution in operating
a winch.
The wire rope
WARNING
!
may break before
the winch stalls. For heavy loads, use
a pulley block to reduce the load on
the wire rope.
1. Maximum working load capacity
is on the wire rope layer closest
to the drum. DO NOT OVER-
LOAD. DO NOT ATTEMPT PRO-
LONGED PULLS AT HEAVY
LOADS. Overloads can damage
the winch and/or the wire rope
and create unsafe operating con-
ditions. FOR LOADS OVER 1,000
POUNDS (454 kg), WE RECOM-
MEND THE USE OF THE OPTION-
AL PULLEY BLOCK TO DOUBLE
LINE THE WIRE ROPE (Figure2).
This reduces the load on the
winch and the strain on the wire
rope by approximately 50%.
Attach hook to load bearing part.
The vehicle engine should be
running during winch opera-
tion. If considerable winching is
performed with the engine off,
the battery may be too weak to
restart the engine.
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Single Line
Double Line
Figure 2
2. AFTER READING AND UNDER-
STANDING THIS MANUAL, LEARN
TO USE YOUR WINCH.
After installing the winch,
practice using it so you
will be familiar with it
when the need arises.
3. DO NOT "move" your vehicle to
assist the winch in pulling the
load. The combination of the
winch and vehicle pulling togeth-
er could overload the wire rope
and the winch.
4. ALWAYS STAND CLEAR OF WIRE
ROPE, HOOK AND WINCH. IN THE
UNLIKELY EVENT OF ANY COM-
PONENT FAILURE IT'S BEST TO BE
OUT OF HARM'S WAY.
5. INSPECT WIRE ROPE AND EQUIP-
MENT FREQUENTLY. A FRAYED
WIRE ROPE WITH BROKEN
STRANDS SHOULD BE
REPLACED IMMEDIATELY.
Always replace wire rope with
the manufacturer's identical
replacement part (see
Replacement Parts List).
Periodically check the winch
installation to ensure that all
bolts are tight.
6. USE HEAVY LEATHER GLOVES
when handling wire rope. DO
NOT LET WIRE ROPE SLIDE
THROUGH YOUR HANDS.
7. NEVER WINCH WITH LESS THAN 5
TURNS of wire rope AROUND THE
WINCH DRUM since the wire rope
end fastener may NOT withstand
full load.
8. KEEP CLEAR OF WINCH, TAUT
WIRE ROPE AND HOOK WHEN
OPERATING WINCH.
Never put your finger
through the hook. If
your finger should
become trapped in
the hook, you could
lose your finger.
ALWAYS USE THE
HANDSAVER when guiding the
wire rope in or out (See Figure
3).
Figure 3
9. NEVER HOOK THE WIRE ROPE
BACK ONTO ITSELF because you
could damage the wire rope.
Use a nylon sling (Figure 4).
Wrong
Right
Figure 4
10. It is a good idea to lay a heavy
blanket or jacket over the wire
rope near the hook end when
pulling heavy loads (Figure 5). If
a wire rope failure should occur,
the cloth will act as a damper
and help prevent the rope from
whipping.
Figure 5
11. NEVER USE YOUR
WINCH FOR LIFTING OR
MOVING PEOPLE.
12. Your winch is not intended for
overhead hoisting operations.
13. AVOID CONTINUOUS PULLS
FROM EXTREME ANGLES as this
will cause the wire rope to pile
up on one end of the drum
(Figure 6). This can jam the wire
rope in the winch, causing dam-
age to the rope or the winch.
Wrong
Right
Figure 6
14. NEVER OBSCURE THE WARNING
INSTRUCTION LABELS.
15. Always operate winch with an
unobstructed view of the winch-
ing operation.
16. Equipment such as tackle,
hooks, pulley blocks, straps, etc.
should be sized to the winching
task and should be periodically
inspected for damage that
could reduce their strength.
17. NEVER RELEASE FREESPOOL
CLUTCH WHEN THERE IS A
LOAD ON THE WINCH.
18. NEVER WORK ON OR AROUND
THE WINCH DRUM WHEN
WINCH IS UNDER LOAD.
19. DO NOT OPERATE WINCH
WHEN UNDER THE INFLUENCE
OF DRUGS, ALCOHOL OR
MEDICATION.
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