Winch solutions

[Beeeshh]

I was looking at the accessories catalog and noticed that the Ford Perfromance winch by Warn is only available on vehicles without a front facing camera and without adaptive cruise control ( meaning no lux package).

My questions are:
1. Doesnt the badlands come standard with a front facing camera? ( asking because i reserved a badlands)
2. What are your winch solutions if you want a lux package or have a front facing camera?

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[BlueOvalBandit]

I was looking at the accessories catalog and noticed that the Ford Perfromance winch by Warn is only available on vehicles without a front facing camera and without adaptive cruise control ( meaning no lux package).

My questions are:
1. Doesnt the badlands come standard with a front facing camera? ( asking because i reserved a badlands)
2. What are your winch solutions if you want a lux package or have a front facing camera?

1. No, front camera comes with 360 camera option which is part of the High package.

2. Wait for aftermarket bumper solution or a Ford redesign.

 

[Bud2020]

2. What are your winch solutions if you want a lux package or have a front facing camera?

Wait for aftermarket hidden winch bumper.

 

[Superstition]

I drive a Rubicon on 35's with a front winch and it has saved my ass off road (and various random others) quite a few times. Frankly, it's an essential tool for the Bronco if you want to compete with Jeep. I ordered a Badlands/Sas/Lux and had this very discussion with the Bronco reps last week. Disappointingly, they do not have an answer right now. I implored them to take the message back to Ford that Badlands/Lux is an EPIC FAIL without some kind of relocation bracket for the radar antenna and front camera allowing a winch. The aftermarket guys are pretty good at this stuff, but Ford would clean up if they "fixed" the design to solve this problem. I'm just hoping that they're on it .... cause I'm not selling the Rubicon until the Bronco provides me the full functionality I'm used to with my Jeep. I WILL sell the Bronco if they can't fix this. And I'll be real pissed about it because the Bronco is near perfect in every other way. I can't help but believe they're on it and a solution will be at hand by the time my Badlands/Sas/Lux finally ships.

 

[Ripcurl]

Yeah, this has been a hot topic for awhile with no proven published solution yet, although people are likely working on it, either at Ford, Warn or other suppliers that see a profit to be made on this dilemma

 

[Mattwings]

In my mind it's a pick one or the other for the foreseeable future. I am sure there will be better options in the aftermarket as some point, but it's not a simple solution with lots of issues to resolve. I decided I loved the camera more than a very rarely used winch, but we all have different requirements.

 

[Headsong]

Traction boards.

 

[Virtual-Chris]

I drive a Rubicon on 35's with a front winch and it has saved my ass off road (and various random others) quite a few times. Frankly, it's an essential tool for the Bronco if you want to compete with Jeep. I ordered a Badlands/Sas/Lux and had this very discussion with the Bronco reps last week. Disappointingly, they do not have an answer right now. I implored them to take the message back to Ford that Badlands/Lux is an EPIC FAIL without some kind of relocation bracket for the radar antenna and front camera allowing a winch. The aftermarket guys are pretty good at this stuff, but Ford would clean up if they "fixed" the design to solve this problem. I'm just hoping that they're on it .... cause I'm not selling the Rubicon until the Bronco provides me the full functionality I'm used to with my Jeep. I WILL sell the Bronco if they can't fix this. And I'll be real pissed about it because the Bronco is near perfect in every other way. I can't help but believe they're on it and a solution will be at hand by the time my Badlands/Sas/Lux finally ships.

I think it's pretty sad that Ford did not design the grill and bumper around a winch. It seems like a major oversight.

However, I'm more interested in your take on a winch being an essential tool. In my 50+ years of off-roading in BC with my Dad (and later myself) we've been in two situations where a winch was necessary, and the first time, it would have been much better to have the winch on the rear as pulling forward was not ideal. In the other situation, while a winch would have helped, I managed to recover with some shovelling and traction boards.

So I'm curious what kind of situations you're getting into where a winch has saved you?

Not to be a jackass, but if you're often getting into a situation where you need a winch, isn't that more a statement about bad judgement, than the necessity of a winch?

Now if you're doing trails where winching over some obstacles is a known necessity before you even depart, that's another story... but if you don't have a winch, you just don't do those trails... right?

 

[flip]

Need something like this. Even though it was on a '77 the bumper is steel and from James Duff and has the winch mounted inside. Hopefully the aftermarket is working on a solution like this.

 

[swooshdave]

Need something like this. Even though it was on a '77 the bumper is steel and from James Duff and has the winch mounted inside. Hopefully the aftermarket is working on a solution like this.

There a whole lot less behind and below that bumper than on the new one.

 

[flip]

There a whole lot less behind and below that bumper than on the new one.

True but if there's will, there's a way.

 

[R11]

I drive a Rubicon on 35's with a front winch and it has saved my ass off road (and various random others) quite a few times. Frankly, it's an essential tool for the Bronco if you want to compete with Jeep. I ordered a Badlands/Sas/Lux and had this very discussion with the Bronco reps last week. Disappointingly, they do not have an answer right now. I implored them to take the message back to Ford that Badlands/Lux is an EPIC FAIL without some kind of relocation bracket for the radar antenna and front camera allowing a winch. The aftermarket guys are pretty good at this stuff, but Ford would clean up if they "fixed" the design to solve this problem. I'm just hoping that they're on it .... cause I'm not selling the Rubicon until the Bronco provides me the full functionality I'm used to with my Jeep. I WILL sell the Bronco if they can't fix this. And I'll be real pissed about it because the Bronco is near perfect in every other way. I can't help but believe they're on it and a solution will be at hand by the time my Badlands/Sas/Lux finally ships.

I’m a base, so I don’t have this problem, but I appreciate that it is a legit problem.

Seems to me the solution is a camera relocation kit, maybe even onto a bracket that attaches to or near a winch, to look down from above the winch.

But just as a matter of perspective, Ford doesn’t need to fix this to “clean up” i.e. sell a zillion Broncos.

 

[Raskew]

I think it's pretty sad that Ford did not design the grill and bumper around a winch. It seems like a major oversight.

However, I'm more interested in your take on a winch being an essential tool. In my 50+ years of off-roading in BC with my Dad (and later myself) we've been in two situations where a winch was necessary, and the first time, it would have been much better to have the winch on the rear as pulling forward was not ideal. In the other situation, while a winch would have helped, I managed to recover with some shovelling and traction boards.

So I'm curious what kind of situations you're getting into where a winch has saved you?

Not to be a jackass, but if you're often getting into a situation where you need a winch, isn't that more a statement about bad judgement, than the necessity of a winch?

Now if you're doing trails where winching over some obstacles is a known necessity before you even depart, that's another story... but if you don't have a winch, you just don't do those trails... right?

I'll run trails with you in BC when our Broncos get here. Full disclosure: I'll be a relative newbie

 

[Paul Gagnon]

Get a winch that doesn't have integrated solenoids. Problem solved.

 

[MSparks909]

What Ford *should* have done is put the radar sensor in the windshield ala Jeep. Their adaptive cruise sensor is below the rearview mirror. Lower front bumper is a terrible place for it. This same sensor is on every single Bronco (part of the auto emergency braking BS). The camera relocation kit will probably need a software update as well, seeing as how it ties into the 360 camera function. Moving it might mess with the functionality in 360 view.

Since every Bronco has that stupid sensor in the lower bumper, a hidden winch mount isn’t happening unless you relocate that sensor to behind the grill like some of the Gen 2 Raptor guys do, or use a bumper with a cutout for that sensor like the 4WP bumper. Additionally, you might have to go to an aftermarket grill mounted intercooler for a hidden winch.

Simplest solution so far if you *need* a winch is drop down to Mid/standard package so you don’t have cameras to worry about and run the 4WP bumper. Or keep the High package and use the mirror cams for spotting the tires instead of the front camera

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