Finally got tired of waiting on a winch mount.

[tblackj]

Mounted behind front bumper in between the frame rails, attached at six places. I'll post some of the pictures of the actual installation later. Let the critiquing begin!

The plastic grate will be installed again with a clip in application. Haven't had a chance to finish it yet.

 

[Okki]

I DIG IT!!... A LOT! .... I love the stock look of this.. plus even us Limited guys can do this.. especially if you dont have any suspension work done yet so adding the weight of a Demelo or ARB is undesirable...

Okki

 

[tblackj]

I DIG IT!!... A LOT! .... I love the stock look of this.. plus even us Limited guys can do this.. especially if you dont have any suspension work done yet so adding the weight of a Demelo or ARB is undesirable...

Okki

The weight issue is what really ended up driving me to do this. This was the first one we made and it needs a couple of tweeks to be perfect. The weight without a winch was 24lbs so the difference between it and a bumper is huge. Especially with the bumper weight extended over the front axle like it is. I love the ride of my 4Runner and how maneuverable it is and I hate to mess it up with a huge 150lb bumper hanging over the front.

 

[SeattleMike]

That's :girl:

 

[SeattleMike]

The weight issue is what really ended up driving me to do this. This was the first one we made and it needs a couple of tweeks to be perfect. The weight without a winch was 24lbs so the difference between it and a bumper is huge. Especially with the bumper weight extended over the front axle like it is. I love the ride of my 4Runner and how maneuverable it is and I hate to mess it up with a huge 150lb bumper hanging over the front.

Don't get me wrong, I like it, but I'm wondering if the placement of the fairlead could be centered more on the piece that you cut and that hole in the diamond grill... no way to avoid that?

 

[tblackj]

Don't get me wrong, I like it, but I'm wondering if the placement of the fairlead could be centered more on the piece that you cut and that hole in the diamond grill... no way to avoid that?

Good question. The piece of the grill that is cut out is for the winch lock/unlock knob and it is on the drivers side of the winch. That is why that cut out is offset.

Now, if you are talking about the actual fairlead being offcenter, it might just be an optical illusion. It is dead center.

 

[SeattleMike]

Good question. The piece of the grill that is cut out is for the winch lock/unlock knob and it is on the drivers side of the winch. That is why that cut out is offset.

That explains the cutout. My front plate sits in that spot, so I'd have to consider adding a push/pull type lever rather than cutting an access hole there.

Now, if you are talking about the actual fairlead being offcenter, it might just be an optical illusion. It is dead center.

My fault for not being clear. Yes, it's centered side to side, but not top to bottom. If you look at the last pic, it sits about an inch below the crease. I'll do a quick chop and show you what I mean.

 

[SoCalBurt]

I love your set up, i was about to do the same to my rig. I've been measuring and trying to find a good mounting spot for the winch. When you get around to it please post up what you used and how much! I'm frustrated about the lack of a good winch bumper so i'm about to do the same.

 

[harper7]

Mounted behind front bumper in between the frame rails, attached at six places. I'll post some of the pictures of the actual installation later. Let the critiquing begin!

Great job and I have been thinking about doing something like this for awhile.:cheers:

I reallly like the look of the TE front bumper and was leary about hacking mine up for an aftermarket bumper. I was thinking about just mounting a plate on top of the Aluminum bumper for the winch and having the fairlead come out the bottom grill opening. But your design is excellent too and can't wait to see more detailed pics of how you mounted it on the inside.

 

[adio3x]

I'm digging that!!!!! What wheels are those?

 

[sandcrawler]

:bravo:
i really like the Trail's stock bumper too. so whether a DIY or the (impending?) Lucrum kit an install like this is pretty great. given the dearth of any available contenders thus far, a clean DIY like yours may only get more and more appealing, tblackj. in turn, that may light a fire under the aftermarket to step up its game rather than just trying to graft a crummy 4G design onto the 5G. (yeah, i'm looking at you, ARB.)

major props for chopping up your own... "here's to the crazy ones". :cheers:

 

[SeattleMike]

ugly but you get the idea

I photoshopped a rough example, the red is there to illustrate the change.

 

[Nick B]

I wonder if there's a way to put that cut out grill piece back in there and make it swing open and close when you need it . Like a little hatch door .

 

[hamiltonj2w1]

Nice job looks good damn near factory

 

[Ryan_S]

I photoshopped a rough example, the red is there to illustrate the change.

+1. That would look better. Although I imagine the winch layout determined where the fairlead ended up, although they could move the winch up a bit. However or would then be more into the grill area and less behind the solid bumper bit.

 

[SeattleMike]

+1. That would look better. Although I imagine the winch layout determined where the fairlead ended up, although they could move the winch up a bit. However or would then be more into the grill area and less behind the solid bumper bit.

Yeah, that's why I was asking the placement. If the equiptment dictated the placement, that's the way it is. But if there is a way to adjust the custom mounting, I think that crease in the plastic would be my guide.

We'll probably know more when he posts the install pics.

Either way, tblackj, you have done one hell of a jobon this and I'm very interested in the details.

 

[Snooperstyle]

Frickin sweet!

 

[TOYSTRY]

Very clean install.....interested to see the changes you made. Would be a great "how to" thread to be stickied at the top of the forum.

 

[Titanpat57]

WOW...awesome mod!!


Even just knowing you had it would aleviate a lot of fears of going out alone.

Great job!

 

[bellis]

I agree this is the most desirable way to mount a winch on the front, avoiding all the heavy steel of most bumper installations. I have studied the front structure of my SR5 trying to devise a strong enough solution to do what you have done. The "crush cans" joining the aluminum "bumper" to the frame rails don't appear to offer much strength. Since the typical recovery winch pull is often at an angle off to one side, and perhaps up hill a bit, there is a risk of pulling the front end apart.

I will be very (as in extremely) interested in seeing your photos, especially a bottom-up view.