- First Name
- Jake
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2023
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 23
- Reaction score
- 29
- Location
- Seattle WA
- Vehicle(s)
- 4-Door Bronco Badlands w/ Sasquatch + Lux
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
I'm also finally done with my winch mount install, control box relocation, and camera relocation. It was a bit of a process with some trial and error, but I'm happy with where I am now. Big thanks to everyone here for all the ideas.
I started with the Badlands Apex winch when I hit my first snare. It didn't fit with the parking sensors. And I know the RC instructions tell you you'll have to shave some of it down, and I don't know if the one of the products changed, but it just wasn't going to work. I estimate I would've had to shave off ~3/8" and been just about down to bare wires. So I returned the winch and bought the RC winch instead figuring it had better fit with their own mount. It still required some shaving as they said, but it was much more manageable.
The RC winch also had the advantage of a smaller OEM control box, so it made relocating it more straightforward since I didn't have to re-package it into a project box. I just used some angle iron I had lying around and trimmed, bent, sanded and painted until I got a bracket that fit just right, mounting to the coolant reservoir stud, fender sidewall, and strut bolt. I didn't want to mount on top of the fuse box as I didn't want to limit accessibility to the fuses there, nor did I think the load paths were good through the plastic cover, though I see plenty of people have done that with no issues so obviously it's fine as well.
I also added a cutoff switch near the battery:
I got all this installed and working, and then (reading here - thanks!) realized I needed to add frame horn reinforcements. So, I bough the LOD brackets and took it all back apart. A couple more snags here. One, the LOD brackets interfered with the skid plates, so I had to notch them. Luckily it was just the chain loops for flat towing, so not a load-bearing location for my application.
Second, the bumper-mounting bolts no longer fit! With the winch mount, spacers, and frame brackets each adding 0.25", I needed longer bolts. I got these from McMaster. Obvious in hind-sight, but didn't consider it and was really annoying with my bumper laying on my garage floor for another two days.
I took this opportunity to also relocate the camera since it was useless in the original position, even with the control box relocated. Here I took inspiration from @66GT for the location and trimmed away part of the RC mount.
For the camera bracket though, I just used the OEM Ford parts and whittled them down with a Dremel so that I could sandwich it all back together around the camera like it was from the factory. It was also simple to extend the washer hose, so that still works.
It's not flush like 66GT's was, but fit's within the existing approach angle.
And the view is perfect! When stitched together as a bird's eye view, given the resolution, you'd never be able to tell the location changed.
I started with the Badlands Apex winch when I hit my first snare. It didn't fit with the parking sensors. And I know the RC instructions tell you you'll have to shave some of it down, and I don't know if the one of the products changed, but it just wasn't going to work. I estimate I would've had to shave off ~3/8" and been just about down to bare wires. So I returned the winch and bought the RC winch instead figuring it had better fit with their own mount. It still required some shaving as they said, but it was much more manageable.
The RC winch also had the advantage of a smaller OEM control box, so it made relocating it more straightforward since I didn't have to re-package it into a project box. I just used some angle iron I had lying around and trimmed, bent, sanded and painted until I got a bracket that fit just right, mounting to the coolant reservoir stud, fender sidewall, and strut bolt. I didn't want to mount on top of the fuse box as I didn't want to limit accessibility to the fuses there, nor did I think the load paths were good through the plastic cover, though I see plenty of people have done that with no issues so obviously it's fine as well.
I also added a cutoff switch near the battery:
I got all this installed and working, and then (reading here - thanks!) realized I needed to add frame horn reinforcements. So, I bough the LOD brackets and took it all back apart. A couple more snags here. One, the LOD brackets interfered with the skid plates, so I had to notch them. Luckily it was just the chain loops for flat towing, so not a load-bearing location for my application.
Second, the bumper-mounting bolts no longer fit! With the winch mount, spacers, and frame brackets each adding 0.25", I needed longer bolts. I got these from McMaster. Obvious in hind-sight, but didn't consider it and was really annoying with my bumper laying on my garage floor for another two days.
I took this opportunity to also relocate the camera since it was useless in the original position, even with the control box relocated. Here I took inspiration from @66GT for the location and trimmed away part of the RC mount.
For the camera bracket though, I just used the OEM Ford parts and whittled them down with a Dremel so that I could sandwich it all back together around the camera like it was from the factory. It was also simple to extend the washer hose, so that still works.
It's not flush like 66GT's was, but fit's within the existing approach angle.
And the view is perfect! When stitched together as a bird's eye view, given the resolution, you'd never be able to tell the location changed.
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