Ok guys, I soooo got a steal on a Warn M8000 winch today. Its brand new, he only used it once. He got low on cash, so he decided to sell it. So I talked him down to $300 plus I would take it off of his Jeep for him. Well, my fishin rod needs a new hook, line, and sinker, but I'll worry about that later.

Anyway, here is what Im contemplating. I kinda like the clean look of the factory bumper, so I thought about trying to fabricate a mount to put it behind it, and then just trim the lower part of the vent hole in the bumper (just the center of it, down to the plastic) for the roller fairlead. The problem is that A, its a stock bumper and isn't very stout and therefore cannot be bashed on too much, while it wouldn't be supporting the winch at all, it still isn't very intimidating. Also, there really isn't anywhere to mount tow hooks on my truck either...

So this leads to option B; build a radical *** tube bumper and incorporate plate into it as well to hide any sections of frame, visible wiring, etc. that the factory bumper hides. This would give me more options as for mounting things such as my lights and recovery points, and it would definitely be stronger than the factory tin. Another advantage is that if I build a tube bumper, it would give me a good excuse to buy a bender. Now, it would be about $600 up front for the bender and one die. So yes, its a lot of money, but I am really starting to build a name for myself in the off road world where I live, especially in the SEC portion of NAXJA (North American XJ Association). So, since I would have a bender, I could potentially use it to make money and pay for itself. The other thing is that if I build a front bumper, I would have to build a rear, and the rear would be just wide enough to fit the dovetailed bed that would have to happen... Then there are also other cool things I could use it for down the road. A cage for example. Not necessarily for protection ( I don't want to put my truck in a position where I might need it) but mostly to look cool.

So lets here your opinions. I'll work on a design, and you can post up ideas as well. Help me figure out what I want to do.

 

Well what look are you going for? Badass ranger, or stock and clean looking.

I have seen a couple of F150's that kept the stock bumper and just stuck a fairlead where the hole was. Looks really clean.

 

i think the best place for you to mount it would be on my truck lol. but seriously i think a tube bumper would be awesome

 

Build a bumper.
If you really want to keep it looking clean, build a front 2" receiver and mount the winch on a removable plate.

 

check this out. i just made one for my 04 it looks good and appears to be nice and strong. i have not had a chance to try it out on the trail yet but it should hold up fine. i still need to get pics of mine all finished and mounted on the truck

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...nch-mount.html

 

Eh, im not gonna do his design, it's too low, and I have a good approach angle now. I don't wanna kill it by adding a winch in front of my stock bumper. Thought about the receiver idea, but I don't exactly want to have to tote a 100 Lb winch and try to hook it up when I need to use it. I will either put it behind my bumper or build a new tube one. Looks like its gonna be tube. Just need to come up with some design for what I want...

 

I wasn't suggesting to put it on the bumper lol. My plan would be to mount it behind like you said. Make a hole and put a fair lead on that.

Kinda like this

 

Your truck looks really clean so I would either stick it behind the stock bumper or build one like below. I think a tube bumper would kill your whole clean look, some tube sliders would look great though.

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...per-shots.html

 

he has sliders he just hasn't updated his avatar

 

I think a tube bumper would look great, just don't skimp out on it. Take your time and make it nice, it will not ruin the truck at all.

 

x2

 

On the front of my Jeep ?

On a more seriuos note, I think you should make a tube/plate bumper to hold it. My reason for this is it would provide far superior protection in the event something happened, and look better doing it.

 

i think a nice plate bumper would look great also the roller fair lead is there so if you have to pull at an angle you can it keep the wire on the spool. If you would pull at an angle i can see it just bending the stock bumper all the hell where you attached the roller.

 

Well, like I said in my post, the bumper would just hide all the brackets and mounts, it wouldn't actually support anything at all. But... I think Im definitely going todo a tube style bumper.

 

Where should you put it?

in a box and I'll PM ya my addy.. it would be sweet having 3 winches

 

Yeah then you could ship it up to me for the Jeep, lol

 

meh. i'll have a front winch, rear winch, and a multi mount receiver winch

 

put one on your roof, that way you can just lift yourself out then pull yourself forward or backwards while in the air. brilliant

 

Go for the sides. That way in case of a roll over, you can use the side one to right yourself up.

 

it would have to be up high on the sides..
maybe a mount on both sides inside.. then one in the middle facing up then just cut holes where needed.. multi-mount-interior winch. brilliant.

 

Now your thinking.

 

Take a look at Warns front bumpers for that truck. It will fit that style winch and isn't that expensive. I got one on mine from Off Road Warehouse call nick over their he really knows his stuff. I thick the # is 1-800-341-7757.

 

i liked the idea of havein' the winch on a cradle so i could move it from front to rear if need be

sooo.... i made a front bumper that has a reciever recessed so i could tuck up the winch close and give me some shackle mounting points

the side plates are 3/8" thick plate and the reciever is mounted to 4" x 4" x 5/16" thick angle and a smaller angle iron to help support the cradle so as to not "flop" around excessively.




with the winch in place



from the side



and one of the truck



here is a shot of it almost completed





l8r, John

 

I just got a winch to, and ive spent alot of time thinking about where to mount it, ant the best thing I could come up with is this; I went to my local fleet farm and bought a hitch receiver bracket for it and im putting a front recevier on the truck, I already have one for the rear so all I have to do is run wire to the back that way when im on the trail I can either have it on the front or back deponding which way I need to go to get out. Theres my 2cents, and This setup is fairly cheap and easy to do considering buying a plate or tube bumper can be pretty costly.

 

i got one of these and flipped it over and welded it to my front tow hooks.



then i mounted my m8000 to a removable plate.