winch mount-which mount?

Just purchased a 8000 pound winch, Now how to mount it? I have seen a couple winch bumpers and also the front receiver hitch with winch mount. I think the receiver style will hamper my offroad. I really like the detours but shipping to Canada will be half the cost of the thing. Any suggestions?
p.s. I suck at fabbing. Thanks all

Well the cheapest one to ship would probably be the receiver mount, if you want to keep costs down. And they probably sell them in Canada.

There are quite a few companies that sell winch bumpers.
TnT customs
JCR offroad
Warn
ARB
ORfab
Detours
AJ's Offroad
Ect.....

I was going to get a winch bumper, until I came across a hellava deal on a non-winch with a front hitch reciever. Then I got to thinking, a front bumper with a reciever is a lot more flexable than a bumper with a winch, simply because if I get a winch plate, I can mount the winch in the front or rear when it is needed, and when it is not it is secured inside my jeep.

It also lets me have a "community" winch, meaning if one of my buddies needs to use it, as long as he has a reciever he can.

Shipping the BackBone to Canada isnt all that bad, while I dont recall any
hard shipping numbers...it should be around $60 USPS.

Biggest problem with USPS is, and its not there fault, but the last few that
went through Canadian Customs were held up for a couple weeks due to
their backlog.

I can check the files later and provide some previous shipping costs.

A few thoughts from the receiver mounted winch side of the house.

My setup has never hampered me offroad, I have wheeled in various places across the country and it hasnt held me up yet.

Build your own winch plate. It only costs a few dollars in material, and a welder.

You'll use your winch a lot less than you think. Although it's cool to have one hanging out on the front of the Jeep, you can always take the winch and store it when not in use to minimize exposure to the elements, and reduce the weight on the front of the Jeep.

As an added bonus, the front receiver costs a fraction of a front bumper setup so you can spend more money on a winch.

GI-John said:

A few thoughts from the receiver mounted winch side of the house.

My setup has never hampered me offroad, I have wheeled in various places across the country and it hasnt held me up yet.

Build your own winch plate. It only costs a few dollars in material, and a welder.

You'll use your winch a lot less than you think. Although it's cool to have one hanging out on the front of the Jeep, you can always take the winch and store it when not in use to minimize exposure to the elements, and reduce the weight on the front of the Jeep.

As an added bonus, the front receiver costs a fraction of a front bumper setup so you can spend more money on a winch.

Click to expand...

Just to toss something in the mix though... If you're using the hell out of your winch and getting yourself out of REALLY buggered spots, keep in mind that a front receiver isn't going to be rated for hard side pulls. They're technically rated for utility use on straight line pulls...which is why companies like Warn only offer a hawse fairlead with their multi-mount kits. YMMV, but it's something to consider.

ECKSJAY said:

Just to toss something in the mix though... If you're using the hell out of your winch and getting yourself out of REALLY buggered spots, keep in mind that a front receiver isn't going to be rated for hard side pulls. They're technically rated for utility use on straight line pulls...which is why companies like Warn only offer a hawse fairlead with their multi-mount kits. YMMV, but it's something to consider.

Click to expand...

BINGO! Something that's often overlooked with a receiver mount. However there is a way to help this...using a multimount that has adjustable reinforcement plates. That's all I'm saying.:gag:

AJsArmor said:

However there is a way to help this...using a multimount that has adjustable reinforcement plates. That's all I'm saying.:gag:

Click to expand...

Do tell! I'll be making front and rear receiver bumpers just for this purpose and what I've come up with so far is dual receivers on each. I figure it'd be easy enough to do and very stout.

We've actually considered a 'swivel head' for the baskets, but decided to
stay away from it........multi mounts could do the trick, but venturing much
further than the idea, well, I guess it would be a decent home brew. Seems
cumbersome, might not work so well after a few good recoveries.

bcmaxx, few examples:

Beaumont,Alberta-$72.35
Kimberly,BC-$48.00
Ontario-$45.25

Depends where your at.

Detour said:

Seems cumbersome, might not work so well after a few good recoveries.

Click to expand...

Can you shed some light on this for me? I don't see how it would do anything but strengthen it.

Hey Detour where in Kimberly?couple hours away!thanks!

Go Detours - I had mine shipped across the Atlantic and don't remember it costing too much.

Checked your profile...dunno, but I'm glad your happy!

We've got the BEST customers!!

If you are only using your winch occasionally, then by all means a reciever mount is the way to go.

If you expect to use your winch frequently, or are using it for HARD pulls, I would seriously consider spending the money for a quality bumper with multiple frame attachments.

AJ's offroad is the best bang for the buck, however it does take a while.

AJsArmor said:

BINGO! Something that's often overlooked with a receiver mount. However there is a way to help this...using a multimount that has adjustable reinforcement plates. That's all I'm saying.:gag:

Click to expand...

Well I've made several multimounts, usually for people who have had me make a front bumper with 2" receiver. However there was one guy who had the same concern with off center pulls. He didn't buy his bumper from me and was thinking of selling it to get a different one down the road so... The idea was to have the normal receiver mount. But then 2 reinforcement arms on either side of the multimount to push against the front of the bumper. They were adjustable to fit nearly any configuration so if he got a different bumper down the road it would work fine. It's been awhile but I'll see if I can't find a pic.

I debated the "multimount" verses "permanent mount" for a long time before making my final decision. I ended up getting a Detours winch mount.
Here were the factors that I considered:
Good things about the multimount: I liked the idea of being able to move the winch from front to back or to other vehicles. I liked that I couldve removed it for DD duties.
Bad things about a multimount: I didnt like how low the winch would be in a receiver hitch. I figured the winch would spend most of its time in the rear cargo area taking up room and with it being nearly 100lbs, I would have to be meticulous about securing it in the cargo area. I also didnt like the side pull restrictions that a multimount has. I didnt like the idea of carrying 100lbs through the mud or over rocks to mount it up.
Good things about a permantent mount: Its always there, waiting for you to use it, ready to work, no hassle, no fuss. Its out of the way. Its a more secure, stronger mount to the vehicle.
Bad things: Its always there whether I need it or not, its always weighing the front of the Jeep down, its in the weather 24/7. Rear pulls are practically impossible.

After weighing this stuff, I went with a permanent mount.
Of all the above things, the only real advantage of a multimount is the ability to move it to the rear. As cheap as a winch can be picked up today, I figure its not out of the question that someday I may buy a cheapo and mount it to a receiver plate as a backup winch (literally).

We also have customers using our system with tow bars for flat towing,
as far as rear pulls go, where are your buddies? j/k

The BackBone is going on a diet for '07, we're doing some reconfiguring as
we speak making a good product even better, also most likely offering it
as a full bumper for '07 as an option.