As with any tow rig, we know that sooner than later, we will need a little help getting out of that soft river bottom meadow where we unloaded and loaded the rigs. To solve this problem we turned to a home state based company.
Ramsey is one of the big dogs in the winch industry and hails from Tulsa, Ok. We made contact with Jeff Hulstine from Ramsey and they recommended the Patriot 9500 winch. We agreed with him whole heartedly as this was the same winch that had pulled Brad and the Blue Beast to their victory in the 2004 Top Truck Challenge and we knew it was top of the line.
Upon delivery of the winch, Brad quickly moved ahead with the process of building the brackets and mounting the Patriot to the front of the 'Decking out the Dodge' project truck. Since it was to be mounted on the front of the TDK bumper, some fabrication was required.
Brad used an aftermarket winch plate that was made for a CJ Jeep and fabbed brackets to allow it to be mounted to the front of the bumper using 6, grade 8 bolts. With the strength of the TDK bumper, and it being fastened directly to the frame, there is plenty of strength for whatever we hook onto.
The brackets were made and welded onto the winch plate. Holes were drilled in the bumper and it was quickly bolted onto the front. Then, the fairlead was mounted to the front of the winch plate.
The Patroit 9500 has an optional wireless remote, so the remote box and antenna were mounted under the hood of the truck and the electrical cables that suppied power to the winch were ran.
Just that fast the Project Dodge was rigged to handle the worst of any situation with the assistance of the powerful and fast Ramsey Patroit 9500 Winch.
Decking Out the Dodge: Hooked on Ramsey....winches, that is.
By the Austins
