I use my 2004 Ranger for hauling motorcycles and am looking to add a small 2000lb winch to make loading easier. I am thinking of mounting it in the cab and winching through the sliding window. The rear of my cab is used for various motorcycle maintenance tools, straps etc so theres space for bracing and maybe fabricating some pieces to organize everything to the winch mount. I'm thinking of bracing the winch against the rear wall under the window with legs straight down to the floor and legs diagonal down to the center front bench seat lap belt mounts(I have bucket seats anyway). Does this sound structurally sound for pulling up 500lb loads onto the bed of the truck? To make it easier, the truck is already lowered 3" front and 3" rear so the ramp isn't as steep.

 

I personally don't think it would be a good idea

Mount 4 anchor points in bed and use a pulley at the front with winch anchored at the rear of the bed, these also make good tie downs

 

I would build a frame in the bed that ties into the bed to frame mounting bolts. It wont take much to resist half a kip of load. Since the frame will only be loaded in one direction, you could just tie into the bolts that are up near the cab and then extend your mounting plates out towards the tail gate and attach some diagonals to them. That will resist the over turning moment created by the winch. It would be easy to keep very low profile too.