How to install a Ramsey Quick Mount Winch

131 9809 Winching Quick Mount Dodge Truck And Jeep Cj Winch Side Pull

Stuck bad. That's the primary reason you need a winch on your vehicle, but there are plenty of other reasons. When your buddies get stuck bad, for example. The winch can also be used to drag heavy objects with more precision than a tow strap.

Ramsey has developed a mount that makes this useful tool much more versatile: the Quick Mount system. This allows you to use the same winch on the front and rear of a vehicle. Just pull a trailer-hitch pin, slide the winch out of the receiver, and move it to the other end of the truck. The electrical hookups are handled through heavy-duty, push-together connections.

131 9809 Winching Quick Mount Ramsey Quick Mount Kit

The Ramsey Quick Mount (QM) overcomes many drawbacks of the traditional fixed mount: The winch can be used on the front or rear of the same vehicle, the same winch can be used on several vehicles as long as they have the proper mount and wiring, and the winch can be removed for better approach and departure angles.

The Ramsey Quick Mount (QM) overcomes many drawbacks of the traditional fixed mount: The w

To get better acquainted with the system, we bolted one on a '97 Dodge Ram and then used the system for a few months. It's as simple and convenient as it sounds, and even though we doubted it, the front mount has proved to be very strong. We've performed several harsh side pulls without tweaking the frame mount or the platform.

Highlights
The Quick Mount system has quite a few advantages. Here are some of the ones we've realized after using the winch for a few months:

•One winch, front and rear.
•Don't have to change the vehicle's springs to carry weight of winch.
•Less of a theft problem if you keep the winch in the garage until you're ready for the trail.
•Only there when you need it; doesn't extend in front of vehicle as much as a permanently mounted winch.
•Front receiver mount acts as a bumper guard from the bottom and will hold the weight of the vehicle (at least the one we tested).

Mounting the QM front receiver will be different for various models of trucks. On this '97 Dodge Ram, the receiver bolts to the frame using the bumper-bracket bolt holes. Some of the original fasteners are retained, and Ramsey supplies new ones where needed.
Mounting the QM front receiver will be different for various models of trucks. On this '97
Line up the receiver with the frame to make sure the holes are in the right place. Ramsey supplies shims for Dodge trucks that didn't come with tow hooks. We found that the receiver fit snugly with a shim installed on one side, but not on both.
Line up the receiver with the frame to make sure the holes are in the right place. Ramsey
It's very important that you don't tighten the bolts until you have all of them installed. The rearmost bolt on each side needs what Ramsey calls a nut extender. You'll need to unbolt the bumper-side support from the framerail to have enough room to slip the nut extender inside the frame, but this was much easier than we expected.
It's very important that you don't tighten the bolts until you have all of them installed.

Before tightening the frame bolts, check that the bumper is straight and aligned properly to the body. Once we had all six frame bolts in place and started to snug them down, we realized that there was a large gap between the tabs on the rear of the receiver and the bottom of the framerails and there weren't any holes in the frame to correspond to the tabs. Our truck is a '97, and perhaps the frames vary enough that this isn't a frequent problem. The right way to fix this is to have spacers made, drill holes, and finish bolting the receiver in place.
Before tightening the frame bolts, check that the bumper is straight and aligned properly
Bolt the fairlead onto the QM platform before you secure the winch since it's nearly impossible to get to the bolt heads afterward. The standard fairlead is a hawse style, but we prefer the roller type for cable longevity. The QM mount will accommodate most Ramsey REP, Pro, and ProPlus winches; we used a ProPlus 9000 on this truck.
Bolt the fairlead onto the QM platform before you secure the winch since it's nearly impos
Ramsey winches have mounting feet that hold the nuts and lock washers, and the bolts are inserted through the mount into these feet. On a regular mount, this can make bolting on the winch challenging, but by turning the winch over, inserting the nuts, locking the washers, and then setting the QM mount on top of it, bolting the two together is simple. The ground cable from the winch should be attached to one of these bolts.
Ramsey winches have mounting feet that hold the nuts and lock washers, and the bolts are i

Since ours is a QM, we needed to change the wire hookups on the winch to the quick-disconnect style. To do this, remove the solenoid cover by unthreading the two rear-facing Allen head bolts and the two upper Allen bolts, and loosening the four lower Allen bolts.
Since ours is a QM, we needed to change the wire hookups on the winch to the quick-disconn
Once you've removed the solenoid cover, loosen the nut retaining the positive cable. Pull the cable through the housing, and the grommet will come off with the cable. Put the grommet on the new cable, thread it through the hole in the case, and connect it to the first solenoid just like the cable you removed. Wiggling the grommet back into the case is the hardest part.
Once you've removed the solenoid cover, loosen the nut retaining the positive cable. Pull
Wiring the winch is pretty simple, but you'll need a front and rear hookup. The ends of the cables have heavy-duty quick-disconnects that are easy to plug and unplug. The other ends of the cables have ring terminals installed and connect directly to the battery.
Wiring the winch is pretty simple, but you'll need a front and rear hookup. The ends of th

Lay the cables in the sun for a half hour or so to make them more pliable. The wiring that leads to the rear of the vehicle is available from Ramsey in 17- and 21-foot lengths. We chose the longer for our shortbed Dodge to make sure we had enough to route it nicely along the framerail. Longer cables, however, mean a greater amp drop and less power delivered to the winch when used at the rear.
Lay the cables in the sun for a half hour or so to make them more pliable. The wiring that
We ran the front connection through a rubber panel Dodge uses in the core support. The end can lie between the bumper and the core support. You need to be sure that the routing protects the cables from abrasion and that the quick-disconnect has a place to sit when not plugged into the winch.
We ran the front connection through a rubber panel Dodge uses in the core support. The end
When installing the rear power cables, start at the battery and work your way back. This ensures that the routing will be neat and that the excess will be at the rear where it's easy to deal with. Ramsey includes plenty of large zip ties to secure the cables away from moving parts such as this shock. We ran the cables with the factory wiring and ended up with an extra 7 feet at the rear.
When installing the rear power cables, start at the battery and work your way back. This e

The winch power cables are designed to bolt to the battery clamps, and this is generally the best way to hook them up. If your truck's battery clamps aren't of the design shown, you'll need to change them.
The winch power cables are designed to bolt to the battery clamps, and this is generally t
The QM will slide into the front mount or a standard receiver for a hitch on the rear. It's held in place with a pin and comes with a lock for security. When we're not 'wheeling, however, we leave the winch in the garage for even greater security.
The QM will slide into the front mount or a standard receiver for a hitch on the rear. It'
The winch cable comes spooled on the drum, but you will need to pull it all the way out and roll it back on under slight tension. We connected the cable to another truck, started the Dodge, and left it in Neutral with the emergency brake on four clicks. We then guided the cable as the winch pulled the Dodge toward the other truck.
The winch cable comes spooled on the drum, but you will need to pull it all the way out an