Comments: Compared with my stock Sahara bumper, this is a beast. You may want to consider adding a leveller to your springs to counter any sag from the extra weight of center, ends, hoop, winch etc.
Lockable End Units: After ordering on Quadratec, the XHD lockable end sections arrived several days after ordering. Boxing was secure and product well wrapped. On opening the carton, I searched every inch of the box, wrapping, and conspicuous empty zip-lock bag within but found no keys. Supplier was great and in one day I had a replacement with 2 keys. End units attach with 3 bolts which, although beefy, makes me wonder if they will stay on in a crash. Keys are small, one key per storage section, so 2 keys per order. A plastic cap covers the keyhole keeping out dirt. Keys were somewhat difficult to push in but with a bit of force and wiggling, work properly. Gasket of storage end is rubber and seems of good quality. Caps of storage units have no hinge but simply hang from a small steel wire attached from inside the unit.
XHD Winch Mount Bumper: Good gauge steel and design. Looked great in photo. Looks ok in real life too. Stock auxilary lights fit well into new bumper but disregard instructions which tell you to simply unplug your old bulb. What they mean is remove the entire housing from the original bumper and set into the new bumper. No rough edges noted, black wrinkle finish was even and no bare spots although it did come off easily when the bumper rubbed against anything. Of note was a long bend in the leading edge of the steel by the winch area. Hello.. calling quality control? Anyway not too serious, but made me wonder why. Holes lined up well and slid on nicely. My 3 18mm 12 point sockets all fit the front bolt heads, but none even deep, fit the locking nuts from behind. I'll pick up a 3/4" 6 pointer today to tighten them fully. Have both handy on your install.
All in all, looks great, is a huge improvement over stock, and allows you to mix and match components. I may swap the hoop in near future and try a prerunner. If I don't like it..snap! back to hoop in minutes. Good product. Good price. So-So quality control from RR. Enjoy!
UPDATE/ALERT w Smitty Built XRC8 Winch: Ok, thought I'd give a heads up to anyone doing the XHD with grill guard along with a Smitty Built XRC8 combo. Given both are inexpensive, this seems a popular combination. A problem arises from the grill guard blocking access to the solenoid housing. The winch's control unit can't be plugged into its socket as its under the grill guard if the XHD guard is in the outward oriented position. The XHD guard can be flipped so it's "lean" is rearward but this may not suit some tastes and makes removing the grill impossible without first removing the XHD guard.
A solution is to tilt the solenoid housing forward which moves the socket forward as well. To do this, use the original forward attachment point. Do not attach the rear as instructed. This is a close up of the rear of the solenoid unit tilted up at an acceptable angle. Note the distance between the hole, and the rear crossrod of the winch spool, where it normally would be affixed:
Simple fix: Use the small galvanized bar they supply for the alternative mounting. It will be used as a small extension bracket after drilling a couple larger holes in it as such:
Attach it as such using a small bolt and locking nut.
It ends up tilting the solenoid perfectly. Looks fine, still sturdy and ends up not such a problem after all...
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Rugged Ridge XHD Winch Bar
