[Ski01xj]

I got out of class tonight, and parked next to me was a really nice XJ. On the front I saw his winch, but it wasnt until I was leaving that I noticed he had it mounted to a tubular style bumper, that was hugging the body. I was thinking that if you could mount a winch onto a tube style bumper, it could be done to my JCR stage one.

I was thinking of adding, I'm not sure how long, but a plate long enough to mount the winch too. I'm thinking 6-7 inches? Then from that, go down from the front of the plate I added, back to the bumper to create triangle. Then box the entire thing.

I'd use 1/4" thick plating. Also on my bumper I have the JCR unibody tie ins, so that might help its strenght.

Does this idea sound strong enough to winch with? I'm just tossing an idea around since I dont want to pay 350+ for a winch bumper.

Heres an absoloutly terrible description of what I'm talking about.

[BESRK]

Would probably work. However, instead of butting the top plate (the actual winch plate) to the edge of the bumper, overlap the top of the bumper with it so you can lap weld it. You'd need to be able to bolt the winch on from underneath so you have to have access for the mounting bolts.

If you're feeling adventurous.. maybe even move the winch back on the mounting plate so that the rear mounting bolts come up thru the bumper itself. You could bore some holes thru the bumper with a hole saw and weld in tubing to seal it back up. The two rear winch bolts would come up thru the tubing into the winch. The front bolts would come up thru the plate (the front overhang part). It wouldn't be too hard to fill in the sunken bumper part with plate to seal it up...

If you used big enough tube thru the bumper, you could use shorter bolts (rear bolts) that would just need to go thru the winch plate..

Something like this..

[Terrain Twister]

6" wide will work but just barely. I'm running 6" wide for the mount I made but it's also 3/8" thick plate. I'd suggest running 7" wide with 1/4", but that's just me. Boxing it is a good idea, but make sure you can still tighten things up! Can you get access to the inside of the bumper? You might be able to run with something not as wide and not hanging the winch so far out if you can by using the bumper as the back part of the mount and welding the thinner plate to the front. If the bumper isn't thick enough, use a big backing plate.

Edit: Bezrk beat me to the idea!

[Ski01xj]

Both of those are great idea. However my bumper is already boxed. I supposed I could drill through it entirely like you said. Just not sure what we have around the shop to bore with. I'll have to look around tomorrow. I think what I'd do is buy the winch first, then measure it so I can make it as long as I need in L and W. Definatly gonna see if its possible to go through the entire bumper and run some serious bolts up to secure the winch. That would be badass. Thanks guys

BTW- I am in no way a fabricator so if you guys are scratching your head at something I say just straighten me out. Just got a new job where I happen to have several welders, cutting tools and all sorts of fun **** at my disposal. My boss loves this kind of stuff. He'd get a hard on if I asked him to help me with something like this.

[BESRK]

Use a carpenter's or machinist's square to mark and centerpunch for the bolt holes. Use a drill with a hole saw bit to bore the hole.. do one side then flip it over and do the other.. I bore thru 3/16" bumpers with a 1 1/2" hole saw everyday.

[Terrain Twister]

Originally Posted by BESRK

Use a carpenter's or machinist's square to mark and centerpunch for the bolt holes. Use a drill with a hole saw bit to bore the hole.. do one side then flip it over and do the other.. I bore thru 3/16" bumpers with a 1 1/2" hole saw everyday.

WHAT! You're not using one of those fancy broaches?

Ski01xj, The typical mounting for most standard winches is 4.5"x10" should you not want to buy the winch first. Of course, having the winch lets you actually fit it to what you want to do!

[BESRK]

Originally Posted by Terrain Twister

WHAT! You're not using one of those fancy broaches?

Ski01xj, The typical mounting for most standard winches is 4.5"x10" should you not want to buy the winch first. Of course, having the winch lets you actually fit it to what you want to do!

My largest annular cutter is 1".. I'll probably pick up a 1.5" one.. but I only drill the holes in bumper blanks a couple times a day at most.. versus the hundred clevis mounts that I do (okay.. that my wife or sons do ) at one time.