Options on mounting a winch to a Isuzu Rodeo

[gunslingerpc]

I have recently bought a 1993 Isuzu Rodeo and would like to know if anyone has any thoughts as to how to mount a winch to front end to the truck.

I have thought of building a replacement bumper but after crawling up under the front end the frame rails are way lower than the metal bumper.

I have even thought about mounting a front reciever hitch and just have the winch mounted in a portable basket. Only problem with this is the fact I cannot find a front hitch for the rodeo. Does anyone have any advice in fabricating a hitch? I have built a couple trailers and such but never made anything that had to be mounted to something that is already there. I have a buddy that will do the actual welding for me so I just have to measure and cut out the parts for him to weld together.

Before I go through the trouble into building a hitch would anyone know where I might find one to fit my truck.

 

[granitex1]

calmini, arb, are the first to come to mind as a better way to mount the winch.

The problem with the reciever mounted style is they are too low to the ground, and stick out too far. Try to strap a milk crate on the front lower portion of your bumper and try to wheel without destroying it.

The other problem that I have with them is that they are no were near as strong, nor offer any protection to the front of the truck. On all but the straightest of pulls there is a tremendous ammount of stress placed on the mount. I have never seen a recovery that was even close to a straight pull. What the winch bumpers give you is protection from what you are winching yourself into, as well as fully boxing in the winch so that it does not try to twist off the front of the truck.

If you are dead against a new bumper think about mounting a winch plate to the frame horns, so that it will at least be much stronger, and not take away your approach angle. You can make it behind your factory bumper. or at least most of it.

This is one of those things that you want to do right the first time. There are some good examples of winch bumpers as well as a few recessed into the front end on this site. Look around at the Nissan, and jeep Liberty in particular the solutions for this problem tend to be similar.

 

[jakeT]

great choice of a 4x4 i have a 1996 Rodeo and love it. check out the members rides section of this site http://forum.planetisuzoo.com/ and check out some of the rodeos, it should give you plenty of ideas.

 

[Curtis in Texas]

Here is my 93 Rodeo before I torched the IFS.

This is after it went SAS upfront..

The winch is behind the magnetic license palte in this picture.

I"m running a Ramsey 8K winch on my 92 Rodeo.
It ties into the frame.

The lower main portion is a Darlington Off Road Bumper. The upper part is the top half of a Calmini brush guard.

Joe Darlington hangs out at 4X4Wire.com occasionally and will build a few bumpers for customers a year. He got overwhelmed a few years ago and had to back off his production. His day job keeps him busy, but you cannot get a better bumper for your Isuzu in my opinion.

You might try Independent Off Road and see if Matt has any of Joe's Bumpers left.

Matt may have a few other choices too!.

Both of these two guys are good friends of mine.

I can email you some pictures of the mounting if you want. There are just too many pictures of my build to store on my host.

Best of luck.

 

[Ozarker]

Nice Rodeos! Just bought a 95, it was cheap so we will see how it goes. Don't know where to start with it, think I'll drive it awhile and build up some trust in it at 215K miles!

 

[CliftonSmith]

Nice Rodeos! Just bought a 95, it was cheap so we will see how it goes. Don't know where to start with it, think I'll drive it awhile and build up some trust in it at 215K miles!

Hi there bro! How's your Isuzu Rodeo? What Isuzu parts and accessories did you add on it? and how is the driving experience? A friend of mine is selling me his Rodeo but before buying it I just want to gather some feedback and comments about this ride.

 

[Curtis in Texas]

Clifton. go to the the Planet linked in post #3 and 4X4Wire.com I listed in post #4 and you will find more Isuzu specific informetion than you will want to know.
IsuzuPup.com is another dedicated Isuzu site. Same engines and suspensions as the Rodeos.

My Rodeo drivetrain has very few Isuzu Parts left in it. The engine is still Isuzu, but everything else is custom parts from other makes. The Dana Rear is still based off the Isuzu Dana but I converted it to a Full Floater. The 3 transmissions and front axle are from Toyotas.
I'm running a Marlin Crawler transmission that was custom made to bolt to the 3.2 Zu motor.
This gives me a Stupid Super Slow Rodeo for rock crawling. But I can still run down the highway like normal. It's a nice truck and makes a great Expedition Rig for the wife and I.
We can go anywhere we want. Even 4 feet of water is no problem.

You'll like the Isuzu Crowd! They are a helpfull bunch because we are so few.

Curtis