bjmoose installs receiver winch

I wanted a receiver mount winch because it can be used front or rear in a pinch, assuming you've got both front and rear receivers, and because I still prefer the "factory bumper" look.

However, I've gotta tell you that having done all the work, it is neither less work, nor less expensive to go this path. For the amount of money I've got in this project, I could have purchased a relentless front bumper and mounted the winch in it.

Shopping. Here's my parts list:
(Already had rear receiver installed)
CBI Fabrication Tacoma High Clearance Front Receiver Hitch
Warn M8000 p/n 26502
WARN Industries 26370 Multi-Mount Winch Carrier Kit (includes front power cable)
WARN Industries 32963 20' Quick Connect (rear) Power Cable
Reese Towpower 81378 Step Bumper Receiver
Curt Manufacturing 31002 License Plate Holder
Viking 100 x 5/16" synthetic winchline (www.winchline.com)
Viking Aluminum Hawse

Except for receiver hitch and cable ordered direct from CBI and Viking, everything was ordered from Amazon. They've got a great price on the 26502!

Knowing I was going to have to manhandle the thing around if I needed to use it in anger, I wanted to keep the weight of the portable unit as light as possible. So I ordered the WARN winch carrier instead of the CBI one - since the warn weighs about 20lbs vs. 40lbs for the CBI.

Much of the weight of the winch is in the front rollers and the 100' of steel cable. So I swapped those out for a synthetic line and aluminum hawse from Viking Offroad. These appear to be of very high quality. However, if I were to do it over again, I'd probably order a technora winch line instead of the amsteel one, because of the superior heat resistance. If you use a winch brake to lower your vehicle, you generate a huge amount of heat and the "blue" line is liable to melt under this condition! Technora ones are available from http://www.jeepswag.com/winchline/. All that being said, a LOT of people use blue amsteel winch lines.

Install. Normally, I take a lot of pride in writing a thorough photo install process. However, in this case, I don't need to document the CBI install because LivianInt already did such an awesome job of it here:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/129351-cbi-offroad-hidden-front-hitch-install.html

Once that's done the WARN switch, solenoid, and remote mount cables are run. HINT: WARN usually supplies everything you need. But in this case, they DO NOT supply the needed friction protection for those fat 2 gauge power wire pairs. So go down to the electrical departement at your local hardware store and get LOTS of 1" diameter "split corregated wire loom" plus additional cable ties.

Winch in Rear Receiver:


Rear Cable connect:


Winch in Front Receiver:


Front Cable Connect


Front with License plate and cable unplugged:


Note how I cut the front bumper to make an access for the power plug. You'd most logically want it behind the grill, but I couldn't find a spot that reached and had a secure mounting point. I mounted this one on a plain old of pair of 3" T brackets doubled up for strength.

Now, we just need a place in the bed to mount the winch. It's still pushing 90lbs, so we want a secure mount that will remain fixed in place in the event of a crash. BrutalGuyRacing mounted his at the front of the bed. I thought about that, but if I'm out camping that means if I need it, I have to empty the bed of everything to get to it. Not a desirable state of affairs for the emergency equipment. And at about 80lbs, it is not easy to move around. So I decided to put it at the back of the bed.


That's the reese receiver mounted on the reinforcing board. Note how It's shimmed up by a 1/4" thick piece of plywood. Once the pin is in place, the winch is safely fixed in position. 1/2" bolts hold the mount in position, with the original thick backing plates designed for towing holding it against the metal reinforcing plate at the back of the bed.



And in place. Remember, this position is for storage only - not for winching!

 

Clean!!

Hope you're bringing that puppy this Saturday at HH

 

nicely done

 

Nice job......looks like my extra piece of plywood I had laying around. .....that's now mia. ....lol
now you need some action shots of the winch recovery in motion.......

 

Nice job! Clean!!

 

Thanks for the compliments.

 

Grab a u-haul locking pin for peace of mind incase someone gets curious about what is under your tonneau.
Nice setup.

 

Love the front and rear setup.not a fan of the bed mount.maybe make a quick release for the bed bracket

 

I thought about that but couldn't think of a good way to make it work. Wing nuts on the bolts? But I've gotta drop the spare to gain access to the front two bolts. Whatever it is needs to be strong enough that the winch doesn't become a missle in a crash.

Alternatively, if I need to carry something big and flat in the bed, I can just run a couple two by fours down the bed, one on either side, and rest it on top of them.

 

BJMOOSE great looking setup and install! I like what you have done in the rear also. Just so everyone is aware our winch mount weighs 24 lbs.

 

Just curious why you mounted the 12vdc plug so low up front?

 

I wanted a solid mount point, and that aluminum bumper bar had good access.

If I'd mounted it while I still had the front bumper plastic off, I could have put it on top of that, then cut through the plastic to access it. But I had already buttoned everything up from the receiver install, to do the electric cables the following weekend. And it wasn't worth it to me to pull all that plastic again. It's especially a hassle with the bushwacker fenders. I now have to remove them If I want to remove the plastic bumper.

In my first cut - it was sticking *way* out, and the plug was the furthest thing out breaking my angle-of-approach plane. So then I reversed the bracket I mounted it too, and now it's pretty safely far back.

I'll have to hit something awfully steep and hard to hit it. And I try pretty hard not to do that. If I were expecting to do that regularly, I'd have just installed a Relentless bumper.

 

I like your setup! & Some Relentless bumpers are on my wish list!

 

I try to keep it as "my daily driver that I wheel off road" not "a hard-core trail rig that I drive to work."

 

I would use Clevis pins and mount the pins up front from underneath (permanent) drop your wood plate down.use a spring on each pin.(to keep from bouncing around).and install you clip. Not sure if that makes sense?

 

X2

 

On another thread, someone asked me for a wiring diagram, so I drew this up.

Since the cables run direct, unfused power all over the truck, it's a good idea to have them on a solenoid. Big fat unfused unswitched cables, running right past the gas tank - not a great idea in a driver-side T-Bone.

So I've got a solenoid mounted right next to the battery, with a little power lead switch right there. So the plugs are only live when I need them. I could have run the switch into the cab, but I actually thought under the hood would be more convenient.

The downside to this switch/solenoid arrangement is if your battery is REALLY DEAD - you can't use your own jumper cables via plug to start your own truck. But it doesn't take much life left to close that solenoid.

 

Very nice!!!
Would you be able to itemize the cost? It looks like a very useful and versitile project. I agree that I would like to see it mount somewhere else but couldn't suggest an alternate.