TowMeOut
New member
Old thread but thanks for the inspiration. I grabbed the same HF winch plate and hunted all over town to get a few big scraps of 3"x5"x 1/4" angle. This way my brackets would be one piece.
After some cutting/drilling/welding it's all done and installed. My only pull so far has been to pre-tension the line. I ended up mounting the solenoid pack on the top drum section. It just "barely" clears the hood release and grille. I ended up having to bend the brackets a bit so it's well out of the way. I was very careful to move that AC line and zip-tie it in place at several spots after wrapping it with some silicone tape to prevent chafing.
A few "I wish I'd known this before I started" moments. I built the mount with the plate flush with the front edge of the stock metal "bumper". In hindsight I could have come forward maybe another 1/4" or more. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with the hook/clevis setup. The Smittybilt winch line comes with the hook spliced into the eye so it can't be removed with cutting. I've seen folks that leave their lines attached to one of the front anchor points. However, they're so low I figure if I get really bogged those might be underwater or buried in sand.
Don't forget to add some holes for the winch mounting bolts to clear. A 3/4" step bit did the job pretty well. I ended up having to drill 2 close together to get more of an oval so the bolt heads could drop in then slide back into final position.
I chopped the front "corner" off the brackets I made to allow them to just barely clear and made the mounting holes 1/2" so there's plenty of "slop" to get them on and off. I was able to install the entire bracket and winch without removing the metal factory bumper.
I did index the freespool lever back toward the radiator one notch (36-degrees approx). Therefore I didn't have to do any chopping on the bracket or bumper cover.
After some cutting/drilling/welding it's all done and installed. My only pull so far has been to pre-tension the line. I ended up mounting the solenoid pack on the top drum section. It just "barely" clears the hood release and grille. I ended up having to bend the brackets a bit so it's well out of the way. I was very careful to move that AC line and zip-tie it in place at several spots after wrapping it with some silicone tape to prevent chafing.
A few "I wish I'd known this before I started" moments. I built the mount with the plate flush with the front edge of the stock metal "bumper". In hindsight I could have come forward maybe another 1/4" or more. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with the hook/clevis setup. The Smittybilt winch line comes with the hook spliced into the eye so it can't be removed with cutting. I've seen folks that leave their lines attached to one of the front anchor points. However, they're so low I figure if I get really bogged those might be underwater or buried in sand.
Don't forget to add some holes for the winch mounting bolts to clear. A 3/4" step bit did the job pretty well. I ended up having to drill 2 close together to get more of an oval so the bolt heads could drop in then slide back into final position.
I chopped the front "corner" off the brackets I made to allow them to just barely clear and made the mounting holes 1/2" so there's plenty of "slop" to get them on and off. I was able to install the entire bracket and winch without removing the metal factory bumper.
I did index the freespool lever back toward the radiator one notch (36-degrees approx). Therefore I didn't have to do any chopping on the bracket or bumper cover.
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