Finally got tired of waiting on a winch mount.

[tblackj]

A friend of mine who did the fabrication and the install has the pictures on his camera and I have been telling him to get them to me so I can brag on his work... and he is taking his time. Sorry for the wait. I'll do my best to describe the install until I get the pics up.

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?

The centering of the winch, both vertically and horizontally, was determined by the placement of the winch in between the framerails and also because we didnt' want to have to reroute any of the a/c and coolant lines in front of the radiator. We also wanted to use a single flat piece of steel to actually mount the winch on because it is stronger than having to cut and weld and box.

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

American Racing Chambers? I think that is the model? Teflon coated.

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 .

We are working on that. Not a good way to make it hinge, but we are trying to make it to where it will snap in place with a couple of solid pens on the bottom and a snapable lip on top.

+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.

Yes. If you moved it up, it would put it at a weaker pulling place in line with the bumper.

 

[tblackj]

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.

You are exactly right. The frame "horns" that come off the vehicle frame and hold the bumper in place are VERY weak. Knowing they are my live of defense against a head on crash is not very comforting (ie: you can move them side to side about 1/4 inch with your hands). We actually went to the frame and mounted the rear of the winch plate to the bolts that mount the crush brackets to the frame. It should be fairly strong and solid.

I need to test it with a side pull to see how it fairs. That would be my only concern and a viable one at that. There is a definate amount of apprehension when you do all of this in your own shop so some R&D is needed. Doing a heavy sidepull is always my worst nightmare offroad. It puts such a strain on the winch, the mount, the pull point, the fairlead, etc. It will be interesting to see how it works.

 

[Winstondvm]

That's the best looking install I have seen!
I have a Warn winch waiting to go onto my TE, and I didn't see it in the pics, but where did you install the control box for access?

 

[tblackj]

That's the best looking install I have seen!
I have a Warn winch waiting to go onto my TE, and I didn't see it in the pics, but where did you install the control box for access?

Control box is mounted up underneath the front engine cover. Its about six inches under the front plastic piece.

 

[SeattleMike]

The centering of the winch, both vertically and horizontally, was determined by the placement of the winch in between the framerails and also because we didnt' want to have to reroute any of the a/c and coolant lines in front of the radiator. We also wanted to use a single flat piece of steel to actually mount the winch on because it is stronger than having to cut and weld and box.

Thanks for the explanation. I really do like the mod.

 

[tblackj]

All the pieces of the mount before being put together.

Winch mounted welded together.

Mounted on front of the truck. Bolted to the frame rails in the back in two places, on the bumper in two places, all with grade 8 bolts. Had to cut the aluminum bumper into two pieces to mount the plate. You can see now why the height of the winch is where it is.

Head on shot of mount.

Overhead shot of mount and winch. You can see the control box mounted.

If you have any questions, please let me know. This was a first run of this mount with no real plans of producing it so be nice with the comments. Also, if you have any suggestions of things you would change, please let me know. I am always open to suggestions.

A couple of things I would like to change in the future:
- the D-ring mounts are not ideal. I wish they were a little stronger and not right on the front. Open to ideas on that.
- mounted just a little too low. If you were using the rig for heavy rock use, you might want the mount up a little higher.

 

[4-Ripcord]

- mounted just a little too low. If you were using the rig for heavy rock use, you might want the mount up a little higher.

why not mount it just a few inches higher, directly behind the crosshatched grill that you cut part out of? Unless there is something I didn't notice, it would also help in not needing to cut apart that aluminum front bumper.

 

[tblackj]

why not mount it just a few inches higher, directly behind the crosshatched grill that you cut part out of? Unless there is something I didn't notice, it would also help in not needing to cut apart that aluminum front bumper.

Good idea but there is a black line (a/c I think?) that is right above the winch. We could have moved that but it would have involved some bending and moving some rubber lines and we wanted simple. Plus it's a lot of work and would only net a couple of extra inches.

 

[Titanpat57]

Groundbreaking and earth shattering....while also throwing in a dose of "balls of brass"

great fab work...it'll be interesting to see where this goes in a month or two...thanks for posting it.

 

[tblackj]

Supposed to rain this week in Arkansas. I'll see if I can load up me and the little man this Saturday and go do a little testing in the woods outside of town. Might be fun. Let me see what I can do to get some real world experience. I still have the tent on top from last weekend so I'll have extra weight on board.

Edit: I really need to stop taking pictures with an Iphone... they just can't get much worse.

 

[bellis]

My Compliments!

You deserve admiration for taking this on! Not many of us would have the stones to cut up the aluminum beam like this. I can see that much of its purpose is restored by the steel plate bolted in place. Thanks for getting the photos posted.

I will be interested in your report on your off-center pulling tests. Those flange ears on the frame rail ends where you attached the plate will see a lot of stress, so that will be the true test of their strength. The challenge: By the time a TE with proper tires and locker engaged is really stuck in the bog, it takes a pretty serious pull to get it out.

 

[SoCalBurt]

I like your set up and admire you for taking on this project! Any updates for us as far as how the winch mount is working out? Have you encountered any problems thus far? I've been taking measurements and mocking up stuff on paper to try a similar mount fabricated.

 

[rlinger]

Winch?

I may have missed it earlier, but what kind of Winch and Model did you install?

 

[tlflow]

Testing

Be nice to know how it worked out for you.

 

[4RunnerTrail]

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.

I love the look of the MTR with white letters on your blk trail. My favorite ride from all the members yet. are those 275s? do they rub? factory suspension right? How are those on the road and rain?

 

[homeyclaus]

OP, that looks really good, I really like way that looks, and that there is actually space there to do this. Mounting it in a way to continue the bumper is excellent engineering.

How much of the mount is bolted to the frame rails though? I would suspect that in order to support the full rating of the winch you'd need some vertical rails welded to the bottom of the mount that go back to the frame, making the winch mount a forward-extended crossmember.

 

[s2kap1]

I may have missed it earlier, but what kind of Winch and Model did you install?

x2, let us know,Thx

 

[SeattleMike]

OP sold (or tried to sell) his truck back in June and has not been back since. Check his other posts to see if he gave any details out.