. Can you say cake walk! To say that mounting my new Ramsey 9,500 Patriot Profile bad-boy winch was a piece of cake is the understatement of the year. It was finding the courage to tackle the task of mounting it, which was the hardest part. Like any 4x4 enthusiast, my truck gets upgraded in stages. And my '96 Land Rover Series 1 Discovery sported an ARB winch bumper months before I contemplated a winch (The Old Man Emu suspension upgrade happened in between, but that's another story). reprinted with permission At the time the bumper went on my truck I remember clearly that the written instructions recommended mounting the winch before man-handling the bumper into position. I also remember that lifting the bumper into position was a two man job, even sans winch. In short I was more or less dreading when the time would come to remove the bumper, mount the winch, and lift the combined 200-250 lbs into position. Anyone whose rig wears an ARB bumper knows that they are designed to be compatible with another popular brand of winch. But when I heard about the new Patriot Profile winch with the remote solenoid housing from the folks at Ramsey, I decided as always to take the road less travelled. ARB USA had very little advice on mounting the Ramsey winch, except to say that some cutting on the bumper would probably be required. Click on image to enlarge And so, after my Ramsey 9,500 Patriot Profile arrived, I proceeded to wait for the right climate, planet alignment, and any other excuse I could find to delay the daunting task that lay ahead. like any great warrior going into battle, I prayed for courage! The Big Day Fellow Rover owners were on call to assist once again with the two-man heavy stuff. But first I figured, a little measuring in advance of the big job was called for. It was a Friday afternoon, and I didn't actually know it, but yes the planets were indeed aligned, perhaps an eclipse or two was taking place somewhere in the galaxy, and I ventured with measuring tape into the garage. I started measuring, and to my surprise, was ecstatic to find that the standard winch mounting bolt pattern of 10" x 4.5" lined up perfectly. Even the big shiny Ramsey roller fairlead was the exact width to remove the vertical spindles and bolt onto the bumper fairlead mount. Not all fairleads are the same width, you know! . reprinted with permission My biggest concern though, was the large diameter gear housing of the Ramsey winch fitting into the circular cut-out brackets, to the left and right on the inside of the bumper. I realized the only way to be sure, was to lift the winch into position and see how much I needed to cut. This is where my next surprise came — I didn't need to remove the bumper. The winch went right up and under without a bother. Yes! And when I held the mighty beast in place on the inside front wall of the bumper, it sat perfectly just inside the bumper brackets. Eureka! Could this be — no cutting required? I must be doing something wrong. Life never gets this easy. What started as a before-mounting measuring assignment, turned into the 'Big Day.' A little while later, my Ramsey Bad Boy was proudly gracing the front of my truck, mounted on my non-compatible ARB winch bumper. My friends weren't needed to assist in lifting. Click on image to enlarge The Nitty Gritty The only 'custom' requirement was putting 3/8" spacers between the winch mounting feet and the front wall of the bumper with its angled front panels. This was to prevent the large gear housing from rubbing. This of course meant that the supplied bolts were too short, so a trip to the store was made for longer mounting bolts with upgrades to grade 8 just to be sure. Also, the remote solenoid housing called for drilling two new 1/4" holes in the solenoid mounting plate on the bumper. No problem! Hooking up the electrical cables was a cinch, and anyone who can recognize numbers, letters, and plus and minus signs can do it. Click on image to enlarge The Last Word If Ramsey were to provide the 3/8" spacers and longer bolts in the installation packet, this superb winch would be 'totally' compatible with the ARB range of winch bumpers. What a combo! .