DIY Hidden Winch Mount v2.0

[Tricky Mike]

Oh, I thought you indicated you built your bumper itself.

I did. The only part I didn't make was the winch plate.

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[GI_Jo_Nathan]

Oh, I thought you indicated you built your bumper itself.

I'm pretty sure it's his fab shop.

 

[MFP2241]

Like what?

Just not a fan of mounting anything that blocks air flow in the red "High Risk" area detailed in the Bronco Cooling Considerations section of the Bronco Equipment Installation Guide.

 

[GI_Jo_Nathan]

Just not a fan of mounting anything that blocks air flow in the red "High Risk" area detailed in the Bronco Cooling Considerations section of the Bronco Equipment Installation Guide.

I get all of that. But the statement was "I'd never put a winch behind a bumper for many reasons...".
Wonder what those many reasons are from the person thst made the statement.

 

[cynicalrider]

Just not a fan of mounting anything that blocks air flow in the red "High Risk" area detailed in the Bronco Cooling Considerations section of the Bronco Equipment Installation Guide.

The winch is clearly above the IC though.

@tobyw Do you feel like the two bolts is more than enough to support the solenoid? I was test fitting mine last night after I completely switched directions from where I was going to mount mine after seeing this setup. I could see that for the most part it seems a decent amount of weight will rest directly on the shroud itself and the bolts seem to just hold it in position, correct?

I originally was going to house both the isolator and solenoid on this bracket by the battery but it would be super tight to fit them both, but it would fit. Solenoid would mount to the top, isolator under it:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

 

[tobyw]

@tobyw Do you feel like the two bolts is more than enough to support the solenoid? I was test fitting mine last night after I completely switched directions from where I was going to mount mine after seeing this setup. I could see that for the most part it seems a decent amount of weight will rest directly on the shroud itself and the bolts seem to just hold it in position, correct?

I originally was going to house both the isolator and solenoid on this bracket by the battery but it would be super tight to fit them both, but it would fit. Solenoid would mount to the top, isolator under it:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I'm not sure what winch you are using, although I'd guess all solenoid boxes are pretty similar, but the HF 12k unit was actually pretty light... I don't think I'd put my body weight on the bracket I came up with, but I'm satisfied it'll hold the solenoid box through the majority of my shenanigans

That said, I dig your bracket setup idea, even though it's a tight fit it looks good and I'm sure it'll serve you well. I'm a big fan of CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) myself

I just added the wireless control widget next to my controller. It's mounted on a little bracket that uses the intercooler piping anchor bolt, and just hangs there in space since it weighs nothing:

 

[Giddyup Buttercup]

Reasons I would not have a hidden winch;

I live in northern, NH (mud, salt, snow and ice)
Difficulty getting to free spool lever with a 2.3l. Impossible with a 2.7l that I have heard.
Changing/fixing rope
fixing wiring issues

 

[NORCALGXP]

Nice job, but to be honest, I'd never put a winch behind a bumper for many reasons...

By Bronco Bob Banned

 

[cynicalrider]

I'm not sure what winch you are using, although I'd guess all solenoid boxes are pretty similar, but the HF 12k unit was actually pretty light... I don't think I'd put my body weight on the bracket I came up with, but I'm satisfied it'll hold the solenoid box through the majority of my shenanigans

That said, I dig your bracket setup idea, even though it's a tight fit it looks good and I'm sure it'll serve you well. I'm a big fan of CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) myself

I just added the wireless control widget next to my controller. It's mounted on a little bracket that uses the intercooler piping anchor bolt, and just hangs there in space since it weighs nothing:

I gotta thank you for the inspiration. Splitting the solenoid from the isolator definitely cleaned everything up and I like that the three main wires from the solenoid are going to be a much shorter run than trying to package and bundle the wires for a longer run. This is my version:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

The bracket self locates into the mount in the shroud. Makes install a tiny bit more difficult but if I take the air box cover off it's super easy.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Just enough space to get the wire to plug in the controller if I ever didn't want to go wireless. Since I run the winch on an isolator activated by an auxiliary switch I can always leave wireless on without the risk of parasitic drain.

Now that everything is made I can finally start installing the damn thing and making the wires.

 

[tobyw]

I gotta thank you for the inspiration. Splitting the solenoid from the isolator definitely cleaned everything up and I like that the three main wires from the solenoid are going to be a much shorter run than trying to package and bundle the wires for a longer run. This is my version:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

The bracket self locates into the mount in the shroud. Makes install a tiny bit more difficult but if I take the air box cover off it's super easy.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Just enough space to get the wire to plug in the controller if I ever didn't want to go wireless. Since I run the winch on an isolator activated by an auxiliary switch I can always leave wireless on without the risk of parasitic drain.

Now that everything is made I can finally start installing the damn thing and making the wires.

Looks great, glad to help provide some inspiration

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