Winch effect on stock?

if you do extended travel get 14” 650lb coils. If you do regular(stock), get 13” 700lb coils

 

Everything installed today. Lost just under 1/4” and drives no differently. Thanks for all of the info. I’ll probably do a bilstein lift this summer….we'll see how it goes the next few months.

 

Make sure to use rubber washers in the shackles them flopping around will drive you crazy

 

Yep. They are in there. I thought red would look good….it doesn’t. Haha

 

Looks good do you plan to put a ligh bar?

 

Doubtful…I have no use for it and it’s kind of nice to be able to reach the winch.

 

I don’t blame you. Mine doesn’t shine very good anyways. It kinda sits up to high and then all the metal in front of it.

 

Looks great!! And it still drives the same? That's awesome!!
I'm thinking about doing the same thing. What winch did you go with?
And can you add more pics?
Thanks

 

It feels a touch heavier driving….but I might be imagining it a bit. Definitely not a major difference. I think I lost 1/4 inch in the front….I’ll know more when I hit some actual trails. I was going n some quasi rough unmaintained stuff in a local state forest and it handled just like it did pre install. MPG is actually 1 mpg better…which makes absolutely no sense, but the weather has warmed up a bit.

I went with a Smittybilt XRC Gen 3 9500. Swapped out the hook for a Badlands Apex hook. Might get a factor 55, might not.

Here are some pics for you (taken in a monsoon today haha)

 

This is an awesome thread. Thanks for posting the (interim) end result. I’ve been contemplating this bumper and a smitty option for a while. Had a solo incident in logging cut mud where I was able to self extract without a winch using all the truck’s traction stuff, but it was sketchy.

I’m impressed by what a stock taco with decent tires and a snatch strap is capable of, but we occasionally need to move wayward rocks and trees to get to flying sites, where a winch would be handy. Still on the fence, but it’s great to see the results of your install.

I take it the smitty fit in the bumper tray with no issues?

 

No issues with the fit…but it’s tight in there. I bought a winch cover to keep salt off, and there is no way to fit it under the top bracket. But the winch fits just fine.

 

I'm ordering the same style setup, will be about 20lbs more. I'm so glad I found this, because it will save me money, as I don't have to buy shocks and spring for now.

 

Do you have a long term review of the stock suspension with the added bumper and winch? I'd very much like to get the Hi-Lite bumper and a Smittybilt winch (approximately 156 lbs total) installed on my truck but this thread had me going down a rabbit hole about suspensions. I think I have more questions after trying to research what suspension I would need now than before.

Such as when I was looking for upgraded suspensions, they all seemed to lift the truck 2". Am I misunderstanding something? I wouldn't mind lifting the truck, but that opened up another rabbit hole of handling, if the rear should be upgraded too to keep the current rake, effects on towing, etc. I read the FAQ here, but parts confused me, like when the post said the Bilstein 5100s shouldn't be used with aftermarket coils, but others including website imply that it's fine. Someone please educate me...

Your post seems to imply that adding that weight will have minimal if not negligible impact on real world performance.

I'd like to get a bumper because I love the aesthetics of it. From what I've read it doesn't appear to have much impact on performance, just want to make sure I'm doing it right. As for the winch, I plan on using it mostly for utility purposes such as pulling stumps (after cutting roots) or helping someone if they get stuck in a muddy lot/snow.