Pelfreyblt Hidden Winch Mount Instructions need updating for the 2017 TRD Pro

I finally installed my Pelfreyblt hidden winch mount on my 2017 TRD Pro. I also purchased the Warn Zeon 10S along with the solenoid relocation kit. The front grill and bumper cover come off pretty easy. While removing the Aluminum crash bumper, I noticed an outboard support brace on either side of the crash bar as well as two central support brackets which are riveted to the bar. They stabilize the lower front (middle, left, right) bumper cover. These are all omitted in the instructions. However, when the fairlead is installed it does somewhat stabilize the bumper cover on the corners but the bottom middle is still very loose.

Additionally, the adjustments for the winch and winch plate mounting bracket do not allow the winch body to go back far enough. The winch hits the backside of the lower front grill. To remedy this you must trim a wedge (approx 3/8ths in the front going back about 3") of the vertical support piece (part of the hood latch mechanism). This allows the winch body to be located closer to the radiator and also away from the grill. I also had to trim small wedges of plastic on the back of the lower portion of the grill in three places.

Also, with the main mount plate in place, the winch mounted as far back as it will go, there is not enough cut out slot space to get the upper mount plate to flush up against the bumper cover. There is a gap of about an 1/8 of an inch between the back of the bumper cover and the front of the fairlead mounting plate.
Be prepared to mount, unmount, and remount your number cover multiple times to get the fitment as close as possible.

Finally, mounting the bolts for the fairlead through the mounting plate, bumper cover, and fairlead is a tricky operation especially if you have large hands. The bolts i received in the kit were not long enough to securely hold the fairlead to the mount.

I will say the guys at Pelfrey were sympathetic to the situation but the reality is you are going to have to figure out some of the install on your own. They also said Toyota makes multiple variations of parts, etc. and its almost impossible to be accurate with installation instructions in all cases.

 

Thank you for the feedback. I hope that we can get a Pro version in the shop soon so we can take a look at these concerns. It was our understanding that all the versions shared the same configurations under the bumper cover so this is news. Several dozen of these have been installed without a hitch so we definitely would like to get ahead of this on the Pro versions since it appears there are some small differences.
We always appreciate the feedback whether it be good or not so good, it helps us work on continuous improvement.

 

I can only tell you my experiences with what all I did. I have a CBI hidden winch mount and ran into some of the same issues. Yes , I had trimmed several trim pieces inside the bumper in order to make it fit clear. Also with the gap in front of the bumper I used "rubber" stripping from my dealer ship to make it look clean. See attached pics

Let me know if I can help in any other way!!

 

Your Fairlead mount looks awesome! What trim "rubber" stripping did you use? I also see what appears to be a Prinsu rack. I'm still waiting for mine..... They are a month behind from what they told me.

 

I can find out exactly what trim they used, I let my Dealership do it so it was included under the warranty.


Hey I saw something about his kid being really sick! I ordered my rack 3 months before I got the truck lol

 

It's a 3M protector from a fender skirt flare

 

Thanks! Is the fender trim from a Tacoma?

 

Yes

 

@Bray1197 @Trailguy Any sagging in the front after the weight of winch mount and winch were added on stock Pro suspension? Anything to be overly concerned about?

 

Not that I've noticed, but I didn't measure it before

 

No notabile sagging in the on my stock Fox suspension TRD Pro. I installed the Warn 10S which has a synthetic line to save weight. Nothing to be overly concerned about. I did have to trim a small wedge out of the metal hood latch support so the winch could be be located as far back as possible. Otherwise, the winch hits the back of the lower portion of the grill and you can't the bumper cover back on. Additionally, I purchased the solenoid relocation kit for the Warn winch. No way it would fit still attached to the spool housing frame. Finally, it's a bit tedious to mock-up the fairlead. I did the entire install myself one evening but it would have gone much quicker if I had a helping hand.

 

Yeah what he said lol

 

Awesome. Thanks guys. I'm leaning towards the SDHQ hidden winch mount. It looks like their mount allows the winch to be further back based on how flush the fairlead looks at https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/sdhq-built-trd-ultimate-pro.478022/#post-14535621

 

They make high quality parts with great customer service. I have the SDHQ hidden behind the grill dual light bar mount. Easy to install and fits with the hidden winch mount.

 

What was the point of the rubber trimming? Not sure I see what you were talking about in the picture above... Can you explain a bit more?

About to pull the trigger on one of these

 

Ever get this figured out on the pro's?!

 

See the rubber around the farelead? Imagine it without it....
Youd have exposed cut plastic and a hole in the middle

 

Ahhhhh... I see... Note to self on buying some rubber! Did you just cut it by hand to get it to find so well?

 

Sparks Toyota has done all of my installs. The deal was if they installed it any modification would be included in my warranty. I assume they used a drimel style tool

 

That sounds like it was the right way to go. Super clean too...