Damage while using winch on improperly installed Rough Country High Mount

[da_jokker]

I'm looking to maybe buy some used but still good LOD brackets...so as you all convert over to the better TD ones, let me know

Btw...local To NorCal for pickup would be even better!

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[shawn6107]

So good news, my frame horns didn't move, although they sure tried. The unmodified LOD brackets were hanging on for dear life but the modified ones are straight as an arrow and showed no sign of bolt pull through.

I'm done with the RC mount and the mod bumper. I'm deleting the intercooler louvers and tucking the winch up in there and building a bumper around it. The Warn fits between the horns with 1/2" to spare. Non-ACC FTW.

I’m going to give the high mount one more try (once I get my new mount from RC) before I try to explain to my wife why I need to spend another $1500 on my rig . However, if I bend it again, I’ll be really tempted to do the same thing you’re going to do but I haven’t fabricated anything that complicated in a really long time. It might be a good excuse to buy a pipe bender though .

 

[Tricky Dick]

Had to do a little minor trimming and will update the CAD file but it's a success.

 

[MillerAndCheeto]

Had to do a little minor trimming and will update the CAD file but it's a success.

JEEEEEZUS those look friggin' beefy.

Nice work.

 

[Tricky Dick]

The first run is in production and should be in my hands around 5/25. I'll add them to the site shortly.

 

[Tricky Dick]

Available for pre-order HERE

 

[Tricky Dick]

RC approved my warranty claim. I'd already decides to sell off my bumper with the mount so the new owner will get a nice new one.

 

[21BroncoFlyer]

Am I correct that the reinforcement brackets are really geared towards a high mount winch? IE a hidden winch wouldn’t suffer from these issues?

 

[Tricky Dick]

Am I correct that the reinforcement brackets are really geared towards a high mount winch? IE a hidden winch wouldn’t suffer from these issues?

A hidden winch should be pretty safe if it's not relying on the frame horns exclusively.

 

[shawn6107]

Am I correct that the reinforcement brackets are really geared towards a high mount winch? IE a hidden winch wouldn’t suffer from these issues?

I don’t know enough about the hidden winch mount to say but our issues are on the high winch mount and the leverage created by the position of the pull relative to the frame. IMO all bumpers and and winch mounts need some kind of additional support besides just the factory bumper plates if you’re going to pull on them or winch with them but that’s just my $.02

 

[Grumpy]

@Tricky Dick all I will say about your bent bumper mounts 2.0 is this. If you end up bending these 3.0's, you are banned from ever using a winch again until you go to winching school and get certified as a winch whore.

With my OCD for aesthetics, I would get a tad shorter set of through bolts, and run the bolt from outside in so the excess bolt and nut are inside the frame horn. But that just me! Did you end up welding the 90° ears on the brackets before you installed? Nice design for sure. If it fails again, it won't be the brackets but the horns. Those brackets look to be double the wall thickness of that of the boxed frame.

 

[Tricky Dick]

@Tricky Dick all I will say about your bent bumper mounts 2.0 is this. If you end up bending these 3.0's, you are banned from ever using a winch again until you go to winching school and get certified as a winch whore.

With my OCD for aesthetics, I would get a tad shorter set of through bolts, and run the bolt from outside in so the excess bolt and nut are inside the frame horn. But that just me! Did you end up welding the 90° ears on the brackets before you installed? Nice design for sure. If it fails again, it won't be the brackets but the horns. Those brackets look to be double the wall thickness of that of the boxed frame.

The ears are welded and the packaged bolts are a bit shorter.

The fact that the RC mount is what gave and not my modified LOD plates was the proof I needed to know that my over-built version is going to be rock solid. I might have been safe using 3/16" like LOD but I wanted a one and done sure fire fix so the extra beef was worth it.

The frame measures at 0.100" give or take a few thou, so that makes mine 2.5x thicker. Obviously the frame is a high strength alloy so it's much stronger for a given size than mild steel.

 

[shawn6107]

Finally got my replacement mount from Rough Country and finished installing it tonight. Everything looks much better but I can still tell that my bumper plates are a little off on the passenger side. I doubt if anyone else will be able to tell. I’m going to give this a try again with the LOD frame tie ins and see what happens. I really hope it holds but @Tricky Dick’s experience says otherwise. It’s too much of a PIA to keep taking this all apart and remounting it so if this mount fails, I’ll be moving on to a whole new solution, bumper and all.

 

[Tricky Dick]

It’s too much of a PIA to keep taking this all apart and remounting it so if this mount fails, I’ll be moving on to a whole new solution, bumper and all.

Yes, that's where I landed this last time. It's a total pain in the rear. I'm confident I have the frame sorted but I don't trust the RC mount.

 

[Mudlight]

The ears are welded and the packaged bolts are a bit shorter.

The fact that the RC mount is what gave and not my modified LOD plates was the proof I needed to know that my over-built version is going to be rock solid. I might have been safe using 3/16" like LOD but I wanted a one and done sure fire fix so the extra beef was worth it.

The frame measures at 0.100" give or take a few thou, so that makes mine 2.5x thicker. Obviously the frame is a high strength alloy so it's much stronger for a given size than mild steel.

So the RC mount bent again after installing the LOD brackets? Do you think the RC mount bent b/c of the initial incident? RC mount was weakened?

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