Help with Budbuilt hidden winch mount install!

[outrnm]

guys, like i mentioned earlier the U bolt locations are off, we did the same thing we took the support completely off the truck and tried to get the ubolts on first without any pressure, not even close. drill or dremil, thats your only option.

Bud was a very nice guy on the phone and they did reply to all emails fast, great customer service... that aside i dont think Bud wants to publicly admit he screwed up the design without proper testing i am pretty sure that would kill sales.

 

[noshortcuts]

Here's a few pics from my install. First, Bud's holes were way off. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and follow his email instructions. Did not work. I sent two more polite emails asking to review my pics and send me a pic. He never did respond. I ended up finding U-bolts at Osh to replace the ones I stripped and then I used a dremel and a file to enlarge the inside holes.

I am surprised at how tight the winch fits in the car frame! You'll see I had to cut away part of the plastic bumper to work the clutch. I'm worried about how close the rope is to the sharp edges of the car framing but I'll watch it as I use it and see how it goes.

With the bumper off, it was easy to install the four new lights (yellow Winjet fogs and 6" LEDs). I had bought the light extensions from Bud but did not use them. Instead I mounted the LED's light bracket directly to the holes provided for the light extensions (using one hole on each side).

 

[gshadow325]

[MENTION=97688]noshortcuts[/MENTION] you couldnt clock your winch to have the clutch on the side? i chose the Warn VR10000 because it had a separate solenoid box. i was scared to run into space issues, but looks like you just made it!

glad its on, i am sure you are saying. the troubles getting it on made it worth it in the end right? I know i sure did. I just kept saying to myself, how the hell did someone think to put this GIANT winch into that space AND expect it to fit AND work! LoL

LOOK GREAT!!!!:happy:

 

[noshortcuts]

[MENTION=97688]noshortcuts[/MENTION] you couldnt clock your winch to have the clutch on the side? i chose the Warn VR10000 because it had a separate solenoid box. i was scared to run into space issues, but looks like you just made it!

glad its on, i am sure you are saying. the troubles getting it on made it worth it in the end right? I know i sure did. I just kept saying to myself, how the hell did someone think to put this GIANT winch into that space AND expect it to fit AND work! LoL

LOOK GREAT!!!!:happy:

I don't know what you mean by "clock your winch" but it would be nice to turn the clutch handle 45 degrees to the left and solve the problem except then it would hit the winch framing. I know it looks a bit hack but all in all not likely noticeable to others and having the powerful and quiet winch in the ready is awesome!

 

[ebg18t]

Clocking the winch means removing the clutch end and rotating it to an easier use position.

Your winch plate seems to sit higher than mine.

 

[noshortcuts]

Clocking the winch means removing the clutch end and rotating it to an easier use position.

Your winch plate seems to sit higher than mine.

Totally makes sense and I wish I would have thought of the possibility.

Thinking about fit, What year is yours? Mine is 06' limited.

 

[noshortcuts]

yes pictures showing by how much we enlarged the holes, it wasnt much and the nut and bolt are very tight so no issues. we did try to do the U bolts first without bolting the rest and no way they were going in, we tried a big hammer also. :tea: With these issues worked out it will be a 2 hour install job.

My holes had to be enlarged more than the pics above (for sure but don't think I took a picture of finished holes) and still the U-bolts had to twist to fit. The "big (rubber) hammer" method is how I stripped the first U-bolts.

 

[ebg18t]

Totally makes sense and I wish I would have thought of the possibility.

Thinking about fit, What year is yours? Mine is 06' limited.

I have an 04, my bumper is flatter across the top. Doesn't drop down like yours. My TJM is about the same profile as your Engo.

I would suggest not leaving the winch line exposed like that. Get a Daystar isolator or thimble like mine. The UV rays reak havoc on synthetic winch lines.

 

[noshortcuts]

.....

It’s pretty obvious I am kind of a Guiney pig for this new version and the whole thing could have been prevented by including…. Instructions… and necessary parts. Hopefully this will help anyone else with this plate and it won’t take you 20 hours like it did here to put this thing on. Lots of trial and error was involved here.

1) The 2 nuts that you need are not included with the kit, so before you start install go to a hardware store and purchase grade 8 nuts, I had to try a few different ones to make them fit, as not a lot of room there because of the L bracket. You can find the thread and pitch online for the nuts as Toyo uses same ones for all bumper support points.
2) The mounting holes for the U brackets were off on my plate, there was just no way to make it fit, hopefully I just got a dud and they are not all like this. First we took the plate off and we were going to re-drill the holes in another spot but then we measured some things and made them fit by slightly enlarging 2 of the holes, took lots of grinding/test fit/grind/measure/test fit but it’s all secured now. You can probably do this with a high speed dremil and a cutting bit.
3) The bumper will not go back on unless you do some trimming in the lower black grill part, the bottom of the budplate extends past the mounting point (I don’t know why the heck the plate extends that far; looks like it’s some kind of mount for off-road lights). I attached pictures; you will have to measure and cut the lower plastic mesh legs so the plate can slide in. This also took quite some time to figure out as the plate is hidden so you can’t see where it hits the bumper when test fitting.


Truck looks great now

Comparing notes:
Even with the forum's insights I also took way too many hours for the install and while some was just me, the lack of instructions and incorrect tolerances of the otherwise well engineered plate didn't help!
1) On my install, the brackets proved impossible to fit with the broadside of the bracket traveling outside the bolt toward the bumper. Once flipped to have the broadside inside the bolt there are two problems. One is that the nut is trapped and harder to reach to tighten. Secondly, as you told, the short side of the bracket is too narrow for the wide nut. However, I did eventually align things to use the stock wide nuts, but it was a TIGHT fit.
2) I used a dremel and then a file to enlarge the holes for the U-bolt. Then bought very large Grade8 washers to cover the holes and capture the nut.
3) I agree that the extra material for the auxiliary light mounts is way larger than necessary (extending too far out and too wide) and complicates the install by forcing one to remove more of the stock grill. However, after I cut out the front grill to fit then the front bumper (including black cushion material) managed to slide under it.

I'm glad it's over and glad it turned out well in the end.

 

[noshortcuts]

I have an 04, my bumper is flatter across the top. Doesn't drop down like yours. My TJM is about the same profile as your Engo.

I would suggest not leaving the winch line exposed like that. Get a Daystar isolator or thimble like mine. The UV rays reak havoc on synthetic winch lines.

Thanks for the tip on the line!

 

[outrnm]

I just got a text from a buddy who is ordering/ordered the plate... curious to see if Bud will fix all of these issues or if he will also get a hacked up version with no instructions. Strange that Bud was very nice on the phone about all of this but then didnt reply to any more emails and just left people hanging when it became apparent the design is way off. Makes me re-think future armor purchases from him now.

 

[noshortcuts]

I just got a text from a buddy who is ordering/ordered the plate... curious to see if Bud will fix all of these issues or if he will also get a hacked up version with no instructions. Strange that Bud was very nice on the phone about all of this but then didnt reply to any more emails and just left people hanging when it became apparent the design is way off. Makes me re-think future armor purchases from him now.

I just heard from Bud this week, first time since 12/4/13 when he said he'd send a photo for clarification and be checking email all night to help me ! ..... Now he's saying that he has a truck apart that may have a thicker bumper and that he assumes it is like my bumper and that he is working on a fix and will let me know in a day or two. I did not respond. I would never have left my truck apart since 12/4/13 waiting for a reply that I had no reason to expect - so I don't need the fix anymore.

Soooooo.... hopefully your friend has the thinner bumper or doesn't get one from the last batch.

 

[ebg18t]

My guess is your buddy will get the current version. Not the circa October 2013 version that I have.

 

[skott]

Hey guys. New member to the forum here.
I really like the idea of being able to have a winch hidden behind the factory bumper and am thinking of ordering the Bud Built unit. I know this thread has been dormant for a while, but outrnm you mentioned you had a buddy that was going to purchase the kit--I was curious if he got the "new" style or the "old" style that ebg18t received. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[gshadow325]

Hey guys. New member to the forum here.
I really like the idea of being able to have a winch hidden behind the factory bumper and am thinking of ordering the Bud Built unit. I know this thread has been dormant for a while, but outrnm you mentioned you had a buddy that was going to purchase the kit--I was curious if he got the "new" style or the "old" style that ebg18t received. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

new style will be shipping.

pm in bound

 

[CAN-03runner]

Hidden winch, where does this go?!

I'm planning to install my Budbuilt hidden winch mount in a couple of days...Thursday. ( on 4th gen, 2003 4runner) No instructions in the box but there is info on the forum. Except the pictures don't all match up the same, must be the different versions some have alluded to. And I might not get a response from Bud by Thursday morning

Have I got this down?

1- Bumper cover comes off. Yes.

2- Does the internal metal bumper itself need to come off or not?

3- It is only using the 2 inner studs therefore can you just remove the nut on those studs. Meaning no need to remove the nuts on the rest of the studs?

4- It sits on the metal bumper and slides in over the inner stud?
(I've looked at many pictures I'm a little messed up now on the next point below)

5- I have this extra "L" bracket. Some seem to have it, some don't, some looks pre-welded?

6- Should I weld it on?

7- Or just bolt it in this order. Winch mount slides over the stud, "L" bracket follows flat side down touching the plate?

8- Then there is the weird half moon washer? I'm not sure about it, but I think it then goes over the "L" plate around the stud.

9- To recap, Bolt winch to the winch plate ( use 2 hex bolts in counter sunk holes -->put winch plate on bumper--> slide over stud-->position L Bracket-->Half moon washer -->nut around the stud -->tighten.

 

[@Lurch]

I installed the hidden mount on my '07 a few months ago, went on without any issues with the fit. My mount did not have any extra brackets or washers, it was a one piece design.

Also, no need to remove the structural metal bumper to install. Depending on what winch you are using, you will need to clock the line release to be able to operate it (Warn M8000). Also, paint the threaded portions of the ubolts after installation, they rust quick!


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