Receiver Winch Install - Front and Rear

I decided to go the receiver winch route instead of mounting the winch permanently in the front bumper. I have been in situations where a rear winch would have been helpful. Also, I did not want to haul the heavy winch around every day in the front bumper and only wanted the winch along when I was on an off-road outing or in country where winch use was a possibility.

I have an old Warn M8000 that I picked up cheap from a friend that I did a really basic refurbishment on; ditched the unreliable solenoid pack and added a new

$248 Warn 83664 Contactor with Electric Cables for M8000, XD9000, and 9.5XP-S Winches

Warn 83664 contactor pack, ditched the nasty old steel line, refinished the drum and installed new tie rods, 80 ft of 3/8" Amsteel Blue synthetic line from Custom Splice and a Factor 55 Loaded Prolink.

I mounted the winch in a cradle from Fab4Fun (TW user bark beetle) who also fabbed a nice receiver adapter plate for my ARB bumper. The cradle mounts in the receivers with a stinger made from a short length of solid 2"x2" steel bar. The front receiver adapter plate also provides a nice means of attaching a receiver D-ring shackle mount as a recovery point.









I looked at a couple of threads on TW about receiver winch installs. bjmoose had a helpful thread:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/144184-bjmoose-installs-receiver-winch.html

I did not want the winch cables to be hot with un-fused and un-switched power unless I was going to winch, so I installed a switch near the battery. I ran 2 AWG (2 gauge) wire from a switch in front of the battery to quick disconnect plugs at the the rear and front bumper. I found an ebay seller (cv-supply) with a 2 AWG wire kit of 24 ft (rear), 5 ft (front) and 3 ft (winch) lengths with Anderson SB 175 quick disconnects on one end and 3/8" eye terminals on the other. Routing the rear cable in split loom conduit was a bitch as I took care to mount it inside the frame rail such that it will not get snagged by something off-road. The 24 ft rear cable was long by 2 ft or so which was better than being too short but if I was to do it again I would go for a 22 ft length. I secured it with zip ties. I did not use the slit loom conduit for a short distance beside the front catalytic converter as there was not sufficient clearance behind the heat shield and the heat from the cat worried me a bit with the conduit having a much lower melting point than the insulation on the 2 AWG cable.

I used a Blue Sea 9003e switch mounted in front of the battery on a bracket made from a 4 in section of 4 in x 4in square aluminum tube following the approach used by JAGCanada is this thread:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...-disconnect-switch-warn-8274-hitch-mount.html

The bracket was drilled and tapped to accept the Fuel Resister Module and also the Blue Sea switch and to mount to the original Fuel Resister Module mounting points.

I connected the black negative 2 AWG wires from the front and rear directly to the auxillary negative terminal stud of the battery. I connected the front and rear red positive 2 AWG wires to the output side of the Blue Sea 9003e switch. A short 24" cable was run from the positive terminal of the battery to the input side of the switch.

This switch arrangement requires that I pop the hood to switch on the winch power but it is worth it to me to not have the winch quick disconnects hot all the time.













I was worried about clearance for the rear quick disconnect plug mounting since striking on a rock off-road would be an expensive mistake. I had a friend weld a 2" x5" strip of 1/8" plate to the rear trailer hitch cross member so I could mount the quick disconnect plug further forward to provide more clearance.

On trips with the winch, when not winching the winch rides in the bed with the cradle strapped upside down to the front bed D-rings with a ratchet strap.

Dodge Sprinter D-rings see:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...nstalled-d-rings-bed-pics-16.html#post4383957

 

Very nice! Something I am looking forward doing too.

How heavy do you think the winch and the bracket together?

 

A guess would be 70-80 lbf.

 

Your setup turned out awesome. Now all you need is a pull pal for adventures in the desert where there are not many trees or boulders big enough to winch from. You will also be able to move the winch back and forth to your new 16 Tacoma when you get it

 

Excellent work and write up. I find myself winching backward almost as much as forward. (That's not me)



Mine just hangs out with the rest of my stuff in the back (I drop in a divider to keep everything from sliding to the tailgate on climbs) http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/364689-finally-took-pics-my-sleeping-platform.html



Stock bumper

 

Nice set-up.

 

Looks good, nicely done! I debated such a setup before I built my hidden winch mount, but realized I'd probably have the winch sitting at home when I needed it the most, or risk theft of the winch on the cradle. But the versatility of winching rearward is a big plus.

 

Very nice!

All of that, and I get stuck on the fact that you have a 2011 grill on your 2006...

 

I wanted a more secure way to stow the winch in the bed of the truck to get it from getting loose on rough roads or perhaps in a minor wreck. @bark beetle (who built the winch cradle and also has a receiver winch) discussed the problem and came up with design of a stowage bracket that mounts to the front bed bolts and uses the receiver on the winch cradle to securely mount the winch. @bark beetle built the bracket. The winch is offset to the passenger side to help counterbalance the weight of the fuel tank and Taco lean. The winch should stay put in all but a very severe wreck. The bracket does not encroach into the truck bed much and the winch should be easy to access if needed on the trail. A short section of receiver tube welded to the bracket vertically stows the short 2"x2" stinger used to mount the winch to the receiver when winching. A ratchet strap snugs the winch to the bracket to keep it from rattling.

 

Very clean set up you have, winch for front and rear would be nice

 

Great planning and install. If I decide to go the winch route this is the method I prefer.

 

The storage bracket looks great, and I'd assume you could use a locking hitch pin to help secure it against theft as well - unbolting the bed bolts would still free it, but it would still discourage all but the most determined with the time and tools needed.

 

Yes, locking hitch pin. With the camper shell, I am not too worried about it but yes with the right tools and time it could be taken.

 

I bought my winch from a friend who had it on a work truck with a locking hitch pin, but he had lost the key. It took about 15 seconds with a saws all.

 

Well, I just placed my order for the Anderson wire kit from cv-supply... I'm pretty excited and can't wait to install it. It has been awhile since I bought the winch and haven't installed it yet.

 

You're going to love it.

 

Is this cable also 2 AWG? From the battery to the switch.

Where can I get this tube from? I called a couple of places that I found online and they won't cut it that small?

 

Yes, 2 AWG also, like this:

Camco 47484 Red 3/8" Stud 24" Long 2-Gauge Marine Battery Cable and Lug Assembly Tinned

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-47484-2-Gauge-Battery-Assembly/dp/B00JGJGLEU

I found the tube at a local Metal Supermarket, and bought a couple feet and had them cut it into several 4" sections.

 

I'll try to find a metal shop around town. Thank you very much for your help and I appreciate it.

 

Good shit. Been thinking about this for the future if necessary. Subbed.