Ramsey Rep8000 Winch Installation |
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So I headed up to help out on a Jeep CJ-5 with putting some bumpers on and saw the
opportunity to snap some shots of a Ramsey Rep 8000 winch being installed. Winches in general are a great idea
for helping to get unstuck when the rig becomes stuck. This winch has a lot of great features for a decent price.
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FEATURES
- Proven 3-stage planetary gear system for fast line speed
- Motor and solenoids are grounded directly to battery
- Strong automatic load-holding brake for strength
- Cam action clutch disengages planetary gear system for free spooling
- Weather resistant solenoid assembly
- 12 ft. wire pendant remote
- 6 ft. (1.83 m) 2 gauge battery cables with connectors
- 4-way roller fairlead
- Limited lifetime warranty
- Made in the USA
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So the first step is that there needs to be a winch mounting point. This was
accomplished with the use of a winch mounting plate. The mount plate mounted up to the frame with tie-ins that
mounted to the side of the frame and then attached the plate to the top of the frame. The winch mounted to the
winch mounting plate and then the wires were run. This is a pretty simple hookup; it is just heavy and awkward
to do.
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Lessons Learned the Hard Way |
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So, my lessons learned here would have to be that when you mount the winch, you
need to consider what bumper you will be running. The heads of bolts go on the top of the winch plate and stick
through to the bottom. This presents a space issue when trying to put the stock bumper back on. This has to be
taken into consideration when you put this all together as one assembly.
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Conclusions |
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This is a pretty weight involved installation and a second set of hands would be
nice to have. The wiring is straightforward with one cable going to the positive terminal and one going to the
negative terminal of the battery. Once this is hooked up, the controller gets plugged into the side of the winch
and you should be all set to start winching yourself out of a stuck situation.
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