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Winch mounting

CherBear

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Indiana
After seeing a winch in use, it seems like a really good idea to have one on the XJ, but I dont really know how to go about attaching one.
Here is my current setup:

http://www.quadratec.com/products/72108_1001.htm

I have that bumper, it isnt designed for a winch, is there anyway I could make it work with one?

I have a torch and basic fab skills.

Thanks
 
I quite like being able to remove my winch when not in use. I would just cut an opening in the bumper to accept 2" reciver stock and a couple of gusset's. Then get a quickmount for your winch, or better yet make it our self that way you get what you want. I have done this an all my other 4x4 I have owned and its worked well. Could also remove some of the top of the bumper and weld in a mounting plate, all this should work if the bumper material is 3/16 or better also check to see how your bumper is mounted to the truck. If its only using the factory mounting points this may not be good enough. If you think it would help could post some pics how mine is mounted bumper and winch.
 
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I quite like being able to remove my winch when not in use. I would just cut an opening in the bumper to accept 2" reciver stock and a couple of gusset's. Then get a quickmount for your winch, or better yet make it our self that way you get what you want. I have done this an all my other 4x4 I have owned and its worked well. Could also remove some of the top of the bumper and weld in a mounting plate, all this should work if the bumper material is 3/16 or better also check to see how your bumper is mounted to the truck. If its only using the factory mounting points this may not be good enough. If you think it would help could post some pics how mine is mounted bumper and winch.

Its only mounted using the 4 stock bolt locations. But tying into the frame more is an option.
I would LOVE to see any pics you have of winch mount, how your bumper is attached to your frame ect.
Thanks a ton!
 
Not to be a stick in the mud but, this has been covered umpteen bazillion times here on NAXJA.:D

You need to have your bumper tied into the unibody. This consists of plates that run along the "frame" and use existing bolt holes along the "frame" to securely tie the bumper to the Jeep. www.jcroffroad.com sells the unibody tieins at a reasonable cost. With any bumper used for recovery (on an XJ) it needs to be securely tied in. Click on the pic to take you to JCR Offroad.com The tieins use the three stock bumper bolts, the steering box bolts and then two more additional bolts. The passanger side uses the same.

I'm not familiar with how your bumper is made so, I won't make a recommendation on adding a winch. I can tell you that my JCR Offroad winch bumper has held up very nicely to everything that I've put it through.

 
You would be better off selling your bumper and purchasing a winch-designed bumper.
 
Hello CherBear,

I have tried posting pics but no luck, I have an album of 5 pics for you to look at under User CP hope it works and the pics are helpful.
 
I considered a mulit-mount winch and decided against it. It dosen't matter where you mount it, front or rear it's going to kill your approach/departure angles.(Even more so than most winch bumpers.) It's heavy as heck. Then, if you don't want to wheel with it on the out side of the Jeep......that means that it'll be on the inside of the Jeep. That, in turn, means that you need to fab up some sort of mechanism to secure the multi-mount while it's inside the Jeep. I usually have a cooler and my trail box in the cargo area when I wheel and that pretty much fills it up. Not to mention the wiring, and getting some quality Anderson connectors or something similar.

To me......it just didn't seem worth the hastle.
 
I recently bought one of the hitch adaptors shown in the link thinking the riser would improve my approach angle. Of course, in a winching situation I would have removed the adaptor and plugged my winch cradle right into my bumper receiver. Anyway, the adaptor makes the winch stick out so far that using it makes my approach angle slightly worse, even though the winch is higher. Another purchase I didn't think out very well.

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-BM~D210.htm?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=ppc
 
Another option might be a Warn Transformer...your current bumper looks like just a beefed up version of the stock one so maybe it'd fit...you'd have to take measurements from a stock bumper and compare...
 
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