winch buildup

[-Nathan-]

Hey, figured Id dive in and get my winch mounted.

First, removed the bumper:

Then cut off the mounting brackets at the end of the frame rails...point of no return

no turning back now.

mock up:

I had bought a universal winch plate...then cut it to fit between the frame rails, and temporarily bolted up the winch.

This is where its going to sit, its off centered due to the winch motor being longer on one side, but I dont care...FUNCTION>FORM

I am mounting the winch on top of my front hitch receiver, that way I can unbolt my receiver and remove my winch if I want. I need to go get some steel today, some 1/4 " plate and some rectangle tube...then Ill mount it for good with a combo of welding/grade 8 bolts. Will post pics later tonight after its mounted.


-Nathan

 

[99RangerKrazy]

I likes! Looks awesome, great work!

 

[ozziemo27]

How come you did it this way? Would it have made more sense to put the winch on a cradle and slip it into the hitch and move it to the front and the back depending on what end you needed it on, what other reason would you put the receiver on the front? So now you would have to take the entire receiver off to get the winch off? I'm confused lol

 

[-Nathan-]

Hey, the point is that I dont ever want to have to remove my winch...but if some reason I need to I can. Why on earth would you put the winch in a receiver...I know what youre talking about, but just so you know...they SUCK. Have you ever been stuck in a mud hole? now imagine trying to drag a winch out, put it in place and plug it in....again...the suck. ANNNNDDDD they DESTROY your approach angle. Anyone who has wheeled will tell you that those plug in type winch holders are terrible.

How come you did it this way? Would it have made more sense to put the winch on a cradle and slip it into the hitch and move it to the front and the back depending on what end you needed it on, what other reason would you put the receiver on the front? So now you would have to take the entire receiver off to get the winch off? I'm confused lol

 

[-Nathan-]

Updates....picked up some steel, some 1/4 " plate, and some .125x2x1.5 rectangular tubing.

all i can say is...cutting a bnch of 1/4 " plate with nothing but an angle grinder SUCKS.

tube was small enough to fit in the band saw...so took advantage of that.

Test fitted everything like 20 times, then started welding things up

welder is a little Lincoln MIG, works pretty good.

And here it is all primed

Ill get some more pics tomorrow, it was late. The 1.5" rectangle tube is welded on top of the hitch reciever. The winch plate is bolted to it via 4 grade 8 bolts, theyre 1/2 ". So, the winch bolts to the plate, then the plate bolts to the mount.

More to follow

Oh, and took my solenoid box apart to tap into it for in-cab controls

 

[Explorin94]

Hey, the point is that I dont ever want to have to remove my winch...but if some reason I need to I can. Why on earth would you put the winch in a receiver...I know what youre talking about, but just so you know...they SUCK. Have you ever been stuck in a mud hole? now imagine trying to drag a winch out, put it in place and plug it in....again...the suck. ANNNNDDDD they DESTROY your approach angle. Anyone who has wheeled will tell you that those plug in type winch holders are terrible.

I have my winch set up to go in my front receiver of my Explorer. But....I also have it set up where it will work from the back of the Explorer, along with power going there too. It does effect the approach angle but that can be dealt with. But I also have a winch hard mounted on my trail truck and that is better for that. Guess it depends on the application you are dealing with and the way you use it.

 

[railman]

Hey, the point is that I dont ever want to have to remove my winch...but if some reason I need to I can. Why on earth would you put the winch in a receiver...I know what youre talking about, but just so you know...they SUCK. Have you ever been stuck in a mud hole? now imagine trying to drag a winch out, put it in place and plug it in....again...the suck. ANNNNDDDD they DESTROY your approach angle. Anyone who has wheeled will tell you that those plug in type winch holders are terrible.

i have a winch mounted in a reciever cradle....works great, and have good approach angle....

true it would suck if ya tried to mount it while in a mud hole....so why wouldn't you mount it up before ya got in it

l8r, John

 

[strvger]

what are the chances of the 1/8th inch wall tubing bending with a heavy load on the winch? that would be my only concern. otherwise, looks real good!

 

[-Nathan-]

Doesn't matter, the bolts go down through the hitch itself, the tube is just acting like a spacer.

 

[ozziemo27]

Hey, the point is that I dont ever want to have to remove my winch...but if some reason I need to I can. Why on earth would you put the winch in a receiver...I know what youre talking about, but just so you know...they SUCK. Have you ever been stuck in a mud hole? now imagine trying to drag a winch out, put it in place and plug it in....again...the suck. ANNNNDDDD they DESTROY your approach angle. Anyone who has wheeled will tell you that those plug in type winch holders are terrible.

lol, easy there big fella! Yes i have been stuck in many mudholes and I don't really think I would care bout gettin my footsies wet getting out the winch which that would allow me to get out but i would have probably opted to put it on before I hit whatever It may be. Normally, I'd just opt to have a buddy pull me out because thats quicker and easier generally because before i hit said obstacle. And there is nothing wrong with the receiver mounted ones concerning approach angle depending on where you mount it. Sometimes I would have wished I had done a receiver mounted one because sometimes its better to drag yourself out then drag yourself through/into something. I'm sorry if I offended you, just trying to figure out why you opted to do what you did and its not like you're doing it wrong, just a different way.

 

[-Nathan-]

^Hey, I was not in the least offended haha. Ive just seen/used those type of plug in receiver plates, and more often than not its just a huge pain in the a$$! I didnt mean to completely bash it, just pointing out the reasons that I personally, went the direction that I did. Im sorry if I offended anyone.

On another note...

No updates tonight...took the night off to watch the hockey game (montreal vs flyers....go habs!) should have it all mounted for good tomorrow, and start fabbing up new bumper brackets.

Will post pics tomorrow

 

[ozziemo27]

look forward to it!

 

[-Nathan-]

ITS IN!!! k, now on to the build pics.

Alright, heres a pic of the mount all finished and painted.

then bolted up the winch, and wired it to my dual batts

It fits SNUG between the frame rails, tolerances are EXTREMELY tight everywhere, just the way I wanted it.

before, the bumper bolted up on the inside of the frame rails, so I took the brackets that I had cut off, and switched them side for side, so that I could bolt up the bumper on the outside of the frame rails.

NOTE, a little trick...I used aluminum foil to cover the winch and wiring while welding in close proximity. Proceeded to weld the bumper brackets to teh frame rails.

Then I took the brackets that bolted to the bumper, and cut them.

Then welded them 8.5" further outwards from the stock location, to fit on the outside of the frame rails.

Welds are SUPER strong, had to 'modify' the brackets with a 5 lb maul, couldnt crack a weld if I tried!

Then bolted the bumper up

You can see the fairlead is off centered, this is due to the winch motor being longer on one side. I DONT CARE, function>form. It fits SO tight between the frame rails its awesome.

Heres a pic from the side...for those of you wondering why I went this direction instead of a hitch mount reciever...THIS IS WHY. You can barely make out the hook

and just proof that it IS there,

Any questions??

 

[Will]

Looks fine to me and I like that you used the receiver hitch to mount it on. I would have used 1/4" wall tubing and welded the mounting plate on though. Hard to avoid it in your case, but I like the winch up higher and out where I can see it to keep it out of the mud and keep it where I can see it winding when I'm working outside the truck.

I'm not a fan of the receiver mounts on both ends. I tried it, and my truck is still wired for it, but the time I actually had to use it, it didn't work out. I do have a winch on a multimount though. I use it on the back of things with a receiver, or on the trailer.

 

[ozziemo27]

Looks awesome!