Rear Winch Idea

[1993power ranger]

Soon i am going to be getting a 3 inch body lift
and i was thinking of doing a rear winch
I was gonna build a frame under the rear of the bed as close to the tailgate as possible
then put a kind of access hatch in the bed on hinges so i can lift it open and see the winch
Then i could just have the cable come out in-between the gap of the bumper and the bottom of the tailgate
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks.

 

[99RangerKrazy]

Sounds like a great idea. However, the only potential issue I can think of is the wire rubbing on the bumper and bottom of the tailgate, both scratching the tailgate and bumper, but also possibly weakening the cable. If you could possibly relocate your license plate, and then put the roller fairlead where the license plate would go, that would be awesome.

 

[1993power ranger]

I was so hoping you would reply to this!
Im not too far from ya!
but i was thinking the EXACT same thing of putting the roller fairlead there
maybe hinged license plate?
if not it will just go in the back window i guess.

The only other issue i could think of would be if there is enough space between the bumper and the spare tire....

 

[99RangerKrazy]

A hinged license plate would definitely work, but the roller fairlead would have to be recessed so it is flush with where the license plate would mount. But that would be sweet. And yeah it's a bit tight from the bumper to the spare tire..you could move the spare into the bed, but that takes up a lot of space. Take some measurements and see what you have for spacing. The Smittybilt XRC8 is a fairly small winch (and cheap!) , it may fit down behind there.

Oh and where are you located?

 

[1993power ranger]

Ya i hope i can get a winch to fit
I am located in Ephrata
I know a few guys that work at Overturf, the audi and vw dealership in kennewick i think it is?

 

[99RangerKrazy]

Yep, that's it. Sweet deal. Keep us updated on your rear winch, that would be killer to do.

 

[1993power ranger]

K if i go ahead and go throught with it i will let you know
Any good wheeling spots around your area?

 

[redneckracerx]

Mount your roller fairlead right where the license plate is supposed to go. Then get some mag-lite mounts, bolt em to your plate and clip em on to the fairlead. Need to use your winch? Grab the plate and toss it in the truck! I would personally use a hawse fairlead between the bed and bumper, especially if you have a body lift.

 

[99RangerKrazy]

Not really. There's one place in Kennewick that is ok for stock trucks. A couple hills and then this one place will flood so you can do a little splashing around but nothing serious. Then about five-ten miles out in Finely is a place called Hover. It's pretty much just a massive lake where people with there 40 inch tires mud bog. Other than that, it's not worth going to. I did see a guy with an F-250 on 42 boggers get sunk to the frame out there...that was a sight. I think it ended up taking 4 winches to pull it out.

Anything up in that area? A buddy with his XJ and I are heading over to Dayton, WA and are going to do some light wheeling, fishing, etc. next week. Really looking forward to it.

 

[99RangerKrazy]

Mount your roller fairlead right where the license plate is supposed to go. Then get some mag-lite mounts, bolt em to your plate and clip em on to the fairlead. Need to use your winch? Grab the plate and toss it in the truck! I would personally use a hawse fairlead between the bed and bumper, especially if you have a body lift.

Good call, that would work very well.

 

[1993power ranger]

Ya good idea with the plate

And not really
There is a place called Douglas Creek which is just a creek that you cross over several times
It was about half way up the doors of my friends lifted Durango last time i went but not really hard at all only one section of rocks right after a creek crossing that we werent sure about but his durango made it right up
I have yet to take my ranger through it
and other than that just he moses lake dunes

 

[crbnunit]

Remove the spare tire mount and the rear frame crossmember. Turn the cross member around and bolt it back into place. This keeps the crossmember for frame rigidity and the shape of the crossmember gives your winch a little protection from mud and goo. The winch will mount right up underneath the curve that used to cup the spare tire. Use the flat winch mount you see on the front of the older Jeeps. This is the correct width for the Ranger frame and has all the holes already drilled. Seems like I had to drill one or two but was able to use most of the prefabbed holes. Be sure you have enough room for the cable to travel the full width of the wire spool. I had to offset mine a bit and it half spools. Makes it kind of a pain. Also, do not cut the strip of metal across the back, bottom of your bed. It is there for a reason and your bed will flex and crack of you cut this bracing. Ask me how I know!