Sweet Hidden Winch Mount

[Jeremy556]

Good question, thanks for asking.

When you pop the hood there is a plastic cover (about 7 inches worth) which separates the grill and the rad. On the drivers side we drilled an oval hole about the size of a grapefruit to provide access to the clutch. I can get my hand in there no problem and set it.

This picture is not my runner, but you can see the plastic part ferring (the hole we drilled in mine is 40cm to the right of the hood release catch)

Attaching the winch control wire blind is tricky though it's hard to get the pins to line up. I am strongly considering getting a wireless control which remains attached to the winch; any recommendations on that? Which is a WRAN 8000.

Thanks,
Mike.

Warn's new wireless controller is great; the old one is crap, you'll kill your battery if you leave it attached.
Old one:

New one:

 

[3wbdriver]

Good question, thanks for asking.

When you pop the hood there is a plastic cover (about 7 inches worth) which separates the grill and the rad. On the drivers side we drilled an oval hole about the size of a grapefruit to provide access to the clutch. I can get my hand in there no problem and set it.

Thanks,
Mike.

That sounds reasonable and logical. I just hadn't thought about it until I saw this setup, and someone else asked earlier with no answer. Thanks for the reply. I'm definitely interested in this little beasty.

 

[3wbdriver]

Another question for you Mike. It looks like you left the faux skid plate trim piece off the lower nose when you mounted this. Is that so? That wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but I am kind of attached to that part.

 

[mikemike_bc]

Another question for you Mike. It looks like you left the faux skid plate trim piece off the lower nose when you mounted this. Is that so? That wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but I am kind of attached to that part.

I think I know what you are referring to:

It's all there, I just had it painted the same colour as the body because I didn't like the light grey colour contrast. I got the idea from Jose's Pavement Princess front end mod, and just added the hidden winch and replaced the skid plate after it was painted.

If you order one make sure you state if you have a 2014 because the bumper mount had to be slightly redesigned from the 2013.

Mike.

 

[SheppyMach]

Another question for you Mike. It looks like you left the faux skid plate trim piece off the lower nose when you mounted this. Is that so? That wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but I am kind of attached to that part.

you cant really leave the trim piece off, there are about 14 slotted holes in the bumper cover. the sr5's do not have that front trim and no holes...I thought about swapping out for a no holed sr5 cover but just painted mine black and went on my merry way

 

[nykipen]

I have one for my 2014 Trail Premium. Totally awesome set up!

Hey mate, is there an actual gap between the winch plate and T4R Trail molding? I was thinking about how will I bolt on a fairlead.

 

[Jetboy]

Hey mate, is there an actual gap between the winch plate and T4R Trail molding? I was thinking about how will I bolt on a fairlead.

I don't know how this product does the spacing, but it seems likely it's like mine. I built my own from scratch and ran into the spacing issue between the inner bumper and outer bumper molding overlay. My solution was to cut two sections of 1" OD .25 wall tubing about 3/4" long and use them as spacers to space the fairlead out to the outer edge of the trail plastic. Works pretty well. Probably should be welded on, but I think they'd work just fine without welding so long as your hardware is tight. I don't think you'll shift much or at all with regular winching.

In a pinch I suppose a big stack of washers might work too, but they're much more likely to want to shift on a side pull.

UHWM manufacturer may have a great solution for this. Just letting you know how I set mine up.

 

[nykipen]

5th GEN. T4R hidden winch install.

Here what I did to my 2014 T4R trail.

 

[cjacob316]

Here what I did to my 2014 T4R trail.

What is your light bar mounted to? Any pics from trimming the valence?

 

[DesertCanyons]

Hidden Winch Mount

The detailed description for the 5th Gen, 2015 hidden winch mount says, "Solenoid Bracket is NOT included with this product and the use of a wireless remote style winch is recommended. Otherwise, it’s up to you to relocate the solenoid pack so that it is accessible for winch remote control."
Undercover HWMS ? Toyota 4Runner ? 2014+

I see BudBuilt has a hidden winch mount for the 5th gen. The photos are of a 2010 to 2013 bumper and it doesn't show how it bolts to the bumper. It describes U-bolts to the original bumper (Aluminum cross bar?).

If there is another hidden winch mount I couldn't find it. Does the SSS partial front bumper have a winch mount? I can't find their page right now.

Edit: I didn't see the 2nd page until after posting this. Some people answered the question before me.

 

[LawnDart]

Demello makes a great hidden winch plate, which is what I'm using.

Also ditch the hook and get yourself a Factor 55 pro or flat-link.

 

[nykipen]

Light brackets

what is your light bar mounted to? Any pics from trimming the valence?

they are bolted on to metal upper bumper cover support. There are two extra holes that i found. As far as trimming valance got to do it step by step meaning on & off bumper cover so you can mark cutting edges from the inside. Bumper cover you have to the entire length & width of a winch plate also you will lose to clips at the end.

 

[nykipen]

they are bolted on to metal upper bumper cover support. There are two extra holes that i found. As far as trimming valance got to do it step by step meaning on & off bumper cover so you can mark cutting edges from the inside. Bumper cover you have to the entire length & width of a winch plate also you will lose to clips at the end.

need to use spacers for the fairlead to compensate for the space between bumper cover & valance molding i would say 1" t6 aluminum will do.

 

[LawnDart]

they are bolted on to metal upper bumper cover support. There are two extra holes that i found. As far as trimming valance got to do it step by step meaning on & off bumper cover so you can mark cutting edges from the inside. Bumper cover you have to the entire length & width of a winch plate also you will lose to clips at the end.

I also suggest cutting the whole about a half inch or more wider than your fairlead. The last thing you want is the cuts (sand the cuts smooth) grinding against your rope.

 

[nykipen]

Hook???

demello makes a great hidden winch plate, which is what i'm using.

Also ditch the hook and get yourself a factor 55 pro or flat-link.

why? When i have this

 

[DesertCanyons]

Demello makes a great hidden winch plate, which is what I'm using.

Also ditch the hook and get yourself a Factor 55 pro or flat-link.

I couldn't find the hidden winch mount on Demello's website. Do you have a link or photos of the mount?

General T4R page for Demello:
4-Runner, Demello Offroad

 

[LawnDart]

why? When i have this

Because winching with hooks sucks big time. I used to have a hook on my old 1978 FJ, and the F55 setups are so much safer and lower profile.

As close to HIDDEN as you can get:

 

[LawnDart]

I couldn't find the hidden winch mount on Demello's website. Do you have a link or photos of the mount?

General T4R page for Demello:
4-Runner, Demello Offroad

Sorry brainfart, it's made by Pelfrey.

 

[cjacob316]

There is a group buy with undercover and they will also have a shackle mount option that the others don't.

 

[LawnDart]

Cool hopefully they actually reply back to emails. I wanted to go with one of their mounts but their communication or even interest in taking my money seemed to be missing. Sorta rubbed me the wrong way.