Ramsey Patriot 9500UT Winch - Lazy Man's Winch

Most winch companies have really stepped it up in the last few years. Controllers are changing, new bodydesigns are emerging, and now there's even a winch available that is taller than some Jeep grilles! The folks at Ramsey Winch Company knew they had to step it up too. Instead of adding a blender to the side of their winch (that would be cool, wouldn't it?), they decided to make a winch so easy that even your fat-guy buddy could muster up enough energy to run winch line for you.

Ramsey's new Patriot 9500UT has changed the way some guys winch by adding a semi-automatic clutch to save your winch-line runner a trip back to the bumper to engage the winch. Our first impressions of the new winch were during its final testing stages at the Superlift ORV Park last October with Ramsey Winch representatives Jeff Hulstine and Brian Heffron, where we found ourselves hanging from a UT winch in a rolled Jeep with no power, barely any brakes, and so far down a steep hillside that we had to start by hanging one Jeep from another just to reach it. We were getting a firsthand try at hanging our life on the line of an experimental winch.

The new Patriot 9500UT comes with everything you see here. The new sleeker body design incorporates the same tried-and-true 5.5hp motor, but is now sealed to further ensure weatherproofing. A roller fairlead prevents any binds of the 5/16-inch steel cable, and all the hardware to hold your winch to your truck is included as well. You have two options for winch control: a standard wired remote control with forward or reverse, or a wireless kit that allows you to truly utilize the semi-auto clutch design.

Oops, we're already done with the install, and all we have for you is this roller fairlead install picture. Winch installs are easy and we were done in minutes, especially when all the bolts can be tightened with just a 9/16-inch box wrench like on this 9500UT. Four bolts hold the winch onto the bumper (standard 10.0x4.5-inch winch bolt pattern) and two bolts hold on the new roller fairlead included with the Ramsey winch. All the electronics are incorporated into the built-in bridge, so you have only two four-gauge cables (black-negative, red-positive) to run to the battery, save for the wireless remote receiver which needs a single ground wire attached.

The included wireless kit comes with the receiver box, an antenna, wireless remote control, and a cable that goes from the receiver to the three-prong controller plug on the side of the 9500UT's chassis. The cable plugs into the winch and the remote receiver, the antenna plugs into the receiver lead, and a single negative wire will need to be grounded to the frame or battery.

Ramsey Patriot 9500UT Specs

The antenna for the wireless remote needs to be put on the outside of your vehicle, not under the hood or in the cab or behind the bumper. A straight line shot for the remote transmission will ensure a clear signal. We put ours just behind the hood, making sure we would not hinder hood movement.	To freespool the winch line out, a simple turn of the clutch lever disengages the winch drum and allows you to pull the cable freely. On a side note, you will ensure longer cable life if you respool the winch after each pull, taking the time to lay all the winds out nicely instead of just letting the cable overlap or build up on one side of the drum.	In case your wireless remote breaks, or you're just stubborn and like being wired to your winch, a wired remote control is also included. On one side is the "line in" button, and on the other is "line out."
When the clutch lever is parallel with the body of the winch, the winch is freespooling...	...Once you hit the "line in" button, the clutch automatically engages itself so you don't have to run back down to the vehicle to engage the clutch. This will save you a trip back to the winch.	We really like being able to be a little lazier and save that extra trip back down to the winch. Exercise is good and all, but there is a time and a place, and when our 4x4 needs to be extracted from its predicament via a winch, we'd rather do it as quickly as possible. The wireless remote works from the full distance of the cable (105 feet away), but we found that standing a little closer gets a better signal to the winch. There is no need to stand as close as we are in the picture, but we were entranced by the little clutch lever engaging itself.