Mounting a winch with stock front bumper?

[TXoutlaw]

If this question has been asked many times over I apologize in advance, but I have been looking around now for over a year and just can't seem to find me a bumper that I like and that incorporates all of the things I am looking for. So I pose the question here to the experts, is there a way/how would you go about mounting a winch to the factory bumper?

Honestly I see nothing wrong with the factory bumper, I have however trimmed the sides and put the end caps on but other than the fact that it was way too wide in my opinion there seems to be nothing else wrong with it.

I appreciate and look forward to any and all info on this.

 

[fjatl]

several options out there...here a few

http://www.quadratec.com/products/p...01X,12114.02,92122.1102&n=92011.12&cv=100,150

http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep-jk-winch-mounting-plate-1162.html

 

[Bennyhana]

The Warn kit is what I have. Kind of a pain in the butt to install but very stout and I'm not a huge fan of the tow hooks, they look like an afterthought but the work fine.

 

[Deleted member 48574]

the RoughCountry model has a lot of good reviews, but as I understand it you have to pay extra to get your tow hooks back.

Smittybilt make one as well and that one lets you retain your tow hooks. It looks to be good value for the money.

I'm trying to do the same thing but it's hard to justify $200+ on a winch plate when another $200 would get be a pretty stout bumper. Plus, I like having a winch I can take off so I'm not lugging around 100lbs of extra weight on my wife's daily driver. So, I'm going with a Receiver mounted option.

 

[TXoutlaw]

several options out there...here a few

http://www.quadratec.com/products/p...01X,12114.02,92122.1102&n=92011.12&cv=100,150

http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep-jk-winch-mounting-plate-1162.html

the RoughCountry model has a lot of good reviews, but as I understand it you have to pay extra to get your tow hooks back.

Smittybilt make one as well and that one lets you retain your tow hooks. It looks to be good value for the money.

I'm trying to do the same thing but it's hard to justify $200+ on a winch plate when another $200 would get be a pretty stout bumper. Plus, I like having a winch I can take off so I'm not lugging around 100lbs of extra weight on my wife's daily driver. So, I'm going with a Receiver mounted option.

I appreciate both responses, apparently my web searching skills are lacking if I couldn't find those. Again I do appreciate halls help.

 

[TXoutlaw]

The Warn kit is what I have. Kind of a pain in the butt to install but very stout and I'm not a huge fan of the tow hooks, they look like an afterthought but the work fine.

I have the rugged ridge light bar, do you know if the winch will fit under it or will I have to scrap the bar?

 

[kojackJKU]

maximus 5 has a cool winch mount. Or, you can mount inside the bumper, and just have the fairlead mounted between the fog lights...

 

[406to417]

The price of these winch plates is what keeps me away. Like someone said, just spend a little more and your into a bumper.

 

[kojackJKU]

If you do the hidden winch its just the flat mount winch mount. You can get one from harbour freight for something like 40 bucks, flip it upside down in your frame rails and your gold. Its a little bit of work, but well worth the effort. You then just get a winch with a remote solinoid so you can mount that to plug in easy.

 

[StrykerX]

I went with the Smittybilt 2804 winch plate on my 2013. Key reasons: retained factory tow hooks, low profile, and price. It was pretty easy to install, bolt on, although you do have to notch your factory bump for the brackets. The notches are not visible as the winch plate covers it up. Price was 180 bucks free shipping, which I think is pretty close to the cheapest one you can get that's a decent quality.

Another concern was weight, the plate only weights 30 lbs + the winch with synthetic line weights 63 lbs I believe so the weight came in under 100 lbs.




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[kojackJKU]

TXoutlaw, you can keep the bar with my setup.

 

[TXoutlaw]

TXoutlaw, you can keep the bar with my setup.

AWESOME!! Thank you for the info. I will check it out.

 

[kojackJKU]

AWESOME!! Thank you for the info. I will check it out.

No problem. there is a write up over on JK-Forum.com about it. its pretty easy if your handy!

 

[aearles]

Another option:

That's using the winch plate from Harbor Freight ($30) mounted upside down and bolted to the frame horns, with a hole cut in the plastic bumper for the fairlead.

I should mention, this setup is not ideal for mud/water... it looks great (imo) 99% of the time, but when the winch is submerged in... crap, it's not an optimal position for clutch access.

 

[kojackJKU]

aearles, this is the setup I was talking about. Keeps the stock bumper, nice and hidden, but there when you need to pull out those pesky Toyota that go with you on trips. ha ha.