Strong enough winch mount

[bat]

I have had a winch mount for my Tacoma on paper for a long time and this is the finished product. I have made many things in the past but nothing that will have the pull of a winch on it, the winch plate is 1/4 " and everything else is 3/16. Looking for some thoughts on it to make it better, stronger or throw it away and start over.

 

[tinbasher]

is there a bend up on the back of the winch plate? if not. i'd put a tube across the back to stop it bending up under a load. i'm unfamiliar with tacoma frames, how is it going to be attached?

 

[bat]

I have yet to drill the mounting holes waiting till I get some other stuff removed to make sure I get it right. There are 3 mounting bolts that come off the frame horns and I will also have a bracket going back to the frame for extra support. The winch plate is rolled in the rear just like the front, it seems pretty stout.

 

[Twistedfreedom]

It looks like it should be strong enough, It looks a lot like how my winch is mounted minus the rest of the bumper. With the extra wrap around brackets you should be fine.

 

[downhill]

As mentioned above, it needs a stiffener going across to prevent twisting. You could do that a number of ways. Given what you have built, I would weld a tube underneath going down the middle of the plate so you miss the mount holes, and tie into the side supports.
Another concern of mine is that it appears the recovery ears are attached with a single weld. Those tabs should be heavily beveled, at least 3/8", with multiple welds to refill the bevel. Otherwise you have a 20 ton recovery ear with a 2 ton attachment. This is something I've seen many times, even on prefessionally built bumpers. It would take a good shock load to break it, but if it did, that chunk could do some serious damage. I had just such a failure in my younger years trying to pull the butt end of a douglas fir out of my way. I would accellerate and then push in the clutch to unload the drivetrain just as the slack in the cable came out. That put the dead weight of the truck driving the tree. 6 or 8 blows later the mount welds brokes. I've used that technique many times to move very large objects, but I learned an early lessen in the value of good weld design.

I think the mount looks really nice though. I like the side supports.

 

[achampagne]

Looks great, I am trying to figure to how to mount my winch as well and I might just use you idea. Looking forward to hearing about how it performs.

 

[docjake]

It looks like your intent is to put this behind the plastic bumper am I correct? If that is the case this company is doing something similar:


http://undercoverhwms.com/wp/

I am not a huge fan it doesn't have enough cross bracing for me and very limited selection on what winches you can use based on height. I will be doing one when I get home that allows me to remove the winch when not in use and still keep it behind the bumper for cosmetic/aerodynamic purposes. If you would like I could show you what I come up with.

 

[fabjunkie]

Looks like one of the Harbor Freight or Jeep universal mounts? If so it should have a lip on the backside. Anyway, you're probably fine with 3/16" on the tube the way you have it, but I would do a minimum of 1/4" on those mounting plates. I would also add a 1.5" or so square tube across the bottom between the holes for the winch feet. At least a good thick piece of angle mounted like an upside down teepee. A tip for when you drill your holes, go one size over on the holes. It will give you just the wiggle room you need to get that thing on and off without a hammer.

 

[bat]

I hear what your saying about the mounting point but we sure do have some wimpy mounting points on the Tacoma. I think after I get my holes drilled I am going to put some gussets on between the holes and be adding some bracing under the plate to add some strength. Between the winch and mounting system I am sitting at about 85lbs which is fine with me until someday I can get a big boy bumper .

 

[achampagne]

Post pics of the install process if you can.

 

[Overbear]

One thing that conserns me, the welds, especialy the ones for the dring/attach points. They look like they didn't penetrate deep enough, but pictures can be hard to tell from. Also that plate, I would run a second plate under it, attached at both sides and then core welded in 3-4 spots, it looks a tad on the thin side.