Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

Winch on Factory JK Bumper? Which Mount?

77K views 34 replies 18 participants last post by  nwco4x4 
#1 ·
Hello All,

I trying to decide what mount to use to mount my winch to the factory bumper of my JK. I have a Superwinch Epi 9.0.

The two mounts I can find are the Warn #74247 or the Ramsey #295378. Not sure which is better.

If you have your winch mounted to your factory bumper, please let me know what mounting kit you used and if you like it.


Thanks for all your help,
Bill
 
#4 ·
I went with the Rough Country as well and am totally pleased with it...:2thumbsup:
 
#5 ·
I've seen threads on using universal winch plates to mount a winch to the factory bumper. Requires a bit of ingenuity and cutting the factory bumper. Pics I've seen look good. Trouble is after all that work you still have the factory bumper which is relatively easily damaged.

When I was looking at this I also looked at the winch plates such as the Rough Country, Warn, etc. Trouble for me was even with the RC you're spending $240 when for $70 more you can have a Rugged Ridge XHD winch-mount stubby bumper. Add another $125 or so for the ends if you want a full-width bumper.
 
#6 ·
this is a great point....the reason I went with the RC is I needed to maintain the OEM bumper for my tow setup behind my RV...most people do not have this limitation...
 
#10 ·
my tow brackets that mount to the Jeep that the hitch attaches to only work with the stock bumper...

they also make brackets for the Mopar and the Warn...
 
#8 ·
I used a universal plate from Harbor Freight for $30.00. It took some trimming, but it has worked great. As mentioned earlier, the Rugged Ridge is a nice piece for the money. We just put one on my buddy's JK and I really liked it- that's the route I would take if I did it again.
 
#9 ·
Sharkbite, I have a Blue Ox base plate mounted on my 09 Rubi and flat tow it behind my motorhome. I have been looking for a stubby bumper that would fit. The base plate fits fine with the stock bumper but I really like the Hansen medium bumper. What is the make and model in your photo? Any ideas?
 
#14 ·
I think what Sharkbite did was pull the plastic off, and trim in the ends. [edit: yeah, follow Platinum's link]
I've known guys that just took off the whole plastic piece, and walla-they had a basic stubby!
In my experience, everything is bolted to the frame rails, whichever bumber, so there are a lot of open possibilities there for mods.
 
#20 ·
That's clean Sharkbite, real clean. I've never even seen anyone plastic weld but you seem to have mastered it. You may have gotten yourself into trouble because a write up is in order. You know we work on our own stuff for free and time is all we got. Harbor freight seems to always have stuff at REASONABLE prices. Good job!
 
#23 ·
From looking at mine with the bumper off, couldnt you just buy a standard winch plate and mount it right side up and to the bottom of the front frame instead of mounting it to the top? THis would allow you to put the winch inside the bumper as shown on his.

I dont know, just brainstorming.
 
#24 ·
Exactly what I was thinking but my thinking is often wrong, just ask my wife...

I would LOVE to see pictures of the install. This is the cleanist - stockyist winch install I can remember seeing. (sorry for that)
 
#32 ·
sorry guys, i'm on vacation and haven't checked the site in a while. Thanks for the kind words on my bumper mod. The winch plate I used is the universal winch channel from Harbor Freight. It took a little trimming, but it is plenty sturdy and can be used on top as well. It was $30 when I bought mine 3 years ago, definitely worth 15 minutes of trimming compared to the prices of the JK-specific plates. I have a word doc I have sent to a few people with some details of the mod, but I didn't take any pics during the build as I was flying by the seat of my pants and had no idea how it would turn out! PM me your email if you want a copy of the doc.
 
G
#34 ·
Badland winch mount

Just wanted to share with you guys the installation of my son's Badland winch plate that we did this weekend. I purchased a Badland winch for his X-mas gift, so I decided to do the winch plate ahead of time and found out that winch plates for Jeep JK's are not cheap! Anyway I saw this Badland winch plate at HF and liked the construction of it, not to mention that it fits the 9,000 lb winch I got him, so I decided to give it a shot. I purchased it for $42. then spent around $25. for the 1/2" hardware and two hooks. The rest I fabricated for $0.00 myself since I work at a machine shop. Just know that it can be done just as well with regular tools in your garage so long you have the time and skills. I will post a new thread later on of the entire install and fab work if anyone is interested...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top