Landphil '05 - '11 Hidden Winch Mount

Well guys and girls of TW. It has finally happened. This project has been on my to-do list for a long time - but you can't rush into these things you know. My final motivation was getting stuck in snow on a camping trip in July - I spun out heading uphill on a corner, then slid sideways trying to back down, and nearly rolled my truck down the bank with the family inside. To make a long story short, I decided then and there that it was time to install my winch - it had been sitting for far too long in my garage and wasn't doing me any good there.

I'd decided a long while before that I wanted to build a hidden mount, mainly in the interest of keeping the weight down while still having a permanent mount. I also wanted to add a pair of shackle mounts, since the stock Tacoma has a lack of adequate front tow points. I know the hidden mount idea isn't new, but I hadn't seen any detailed pictures of anything like what I wanted to build. I wanted minimal drilling or modification to the frame, but in the end, I drilled two holes in the lower frame to mirror the tow eye bolts, and opened the holes in the front frame horns to allow the attachment method I designed. So, after enough head scratching to create a temporary bald spot (at least I hope its temporary), I present the Landphil winch mount.

Rear view of frame extension:


Winch plate tacked in place with condensor / radiator guard:


Front plate formed and welded in place:


Lower braces and gussets, with bumper cover mounting tabs:


All tacked and ready for final welding:


Tada - final test fit before paint!:



For more photos, see the photobucket album: http://s946.photobucket.com/user/landphilsite/library/Tacoma winch mount?sort=3&page=1

 

Nice

 

Umm, yeah

That looks fantastic. I love the stock look with the fairlead and d-rings hanging out. Great job Op

 

you gunna start making and selling those!?!?

I know a lot of people who would buy that.

 

Like it! Looks well planed it. If I had a winch, I would like it have this for it.

 

Nope! The hours I put into it were ridiculous, even beyond the design time, and I'm not set up for commercial fabrication.

So, that said, there are no patents, feel free to copy as you feel the need.

Thanks for the comments guys, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, if I don't say so myself.

 

That is an awesome job!

 

That is so awesome! I want one

 

Used it again today, a first gen Tacoma and I winched a Ford Souper Duty out of the rhubarb. Tacoma 4x4s with winches FTW.

 

x2

 

Sick man,

Great job!

 

Very Nice

 

Like it a lot. Maybe someone with a fab shop will make some jigs and mass produce these.

I think others will also like the clean look. I do.

 

Hey PHIL,
Do you happen to have any pictures of the winch type or even pictures of the winch in operation???? An update would be nice. Any difficulties you experienced????

What type of winch did you use and which lb pull rating???

Thanks Great idea.
QUE BALL

 

Where the hell do you find snow in July other than Alaska? lol Looks good man!! I wish I would've learned to weld.

 

Very nice.

 

Ah yes...he found it in Canada. How long did it take you to make that bad boy? what are the specs?

 

Que-Ball - I've got an older warn M8000 in there - any planetary winch of the same platform or one of the knock-offs would work in that space, so 9500lbs max. There is a couple poor pics in the photobucket link of the winch before I overhauled it. No issues with it other that I am feeling a need to improve the front suspension a bit - thinking 884 coils and 5100s all around, no issue on the hard pull I did that was nearly stalling the winch - in hindsight, I should have run a snatch block and a double line. No action pics unfortunately.

Dorf, the snow was found in a shady area at the foot of an avalanche path at high elevation - I cant recall exactly, but 5500 ft comes to mind. I was fairly hot that day too - about 30C or 85F.

The mount weighs 47lbs IIRC, so 43lb net increase over the stock crash bar, plus the winch itself. I spent over 50 hours on it.

 

Well, this is how it stood up in a 50 mph collision that totalled both vehicles involved (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bad-day-for-my-tacoma-video-added.449839/) :



The truck frame was badly bent and diamond shaped. The hammer marks on the winch mount are from the ham-fisted clown at the body shop that removed it.

And a bent bumper mounting tab: