U.S. Offroad Hidden Winch Mount Bumper

Anyone have any experience with the U.S. Offroad Hidden Winch Mount Bumper (Link below)? If so, is it compatible with the TRD skid plate? Does the downwards hawse effect winching capabilities?

https://www.usoffroad.us/new-product-2016-tacoma-winch-mount/

 

I like the concept, minimalist but functional. I have the Pro skid so I'm curious too.

 

Id probably replace that winch hole cover (not sure what it's called) with one o the stainless steel roller ones.. I can only imagine the amount of rub you'd have with the steel cable and the cover when in use. Other than that it's a cool concept not unlike the lopro winch bumpers that just replace the pop out front bumper.

 

Good point, a roller fairlead would work better on this steep angle but I don't want to spend money twice. Since it comes with the hawse fairlead already.

 

It's synthetic line so you use a hawse fairlead not a roller. Regardless of the fairlead type though I'd be worried about the angle of it. It's not ideal at all. I'd like to see how the winch is mounted in that also.

 

Check his vendor section. From my understanding it is compatible with skids. Give him a shout & find out. Brad at @usoffroad is a good dude.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/u-s-off-road.220/

 

Let's ask them. @usoffroad

 

Seriously, Brad is a great guy. Legit customer service and excellent products.

 

Nice but a little expensive, $500 plus shipping. Looks like a great idea, wonder how it impacts front crash/air bag deployment

 

Just judging by eyeballing, but it looks like the stock skid plate works just fine (seen in picture), i would imagine the TRD skid plate would work just as well.

 

You can use delrin rollers with synthetic.

 

We just released these a week or so ago and have shipped quite a few all over the world already. Our skid is part of the product, there is a .250" winch tub internally, you use the skid we provide as a template to make the cuts in your chin piece/valance (you do NOT have to cut your bumper cover), the skid also ties in to the winch tub via the shackle mounts, hawse bolts, two more bolts and then two at the subframe... so it's not just a skid but is also a structural part of the mount. IF you bend or damage the skid (10 ga / .125"), which won't be easy to do, all it takes is 6 bolts and you can remove and repair or order a new one from us.



The angle is 30 degrees which is not that much different from some other bumpers out there that don't exit on a vertical plane. Demello for instance has a few. We actually designed this 'Big Mouth' hawse just for this application, it has a wider opening and more radius front and back and is then coated with a Teflon infused powder coat...very low friction stuff. We include this hawse with every winch mount.

For comparison.

Read above...

Compared to other solutions out there we are hardly expensive. Other solutions cost anywhere from 650-1200+, weigh more and are more expensive to ship. PLUS ours comes with a hawse. This is a well thought out product that took some time to get just right for the new Tacos and their design. There is a dev thread in our forum that discusses it all at length and why we did what we did.

In short, over the years we listened to our customers and overwhelmingly they said they wanted these things:

1. Did not want to overly alter the basic look of the truck.
2. Wanted a low weight solution to mount a winch.
3. Wanted ease of installation with minimal modification to the truck. Something they could install their self in a garage.
4. Lower cost than a full plate bumper.
5. Easily accessible recovery points and shackle storage.
6. Additional armor protection without sacrificing the items above.

We supply relocation brackets for the steering cooler (moves back 1") and cut ventilation holes to move MORE air than stock over the cooler and lower radiator. We offer a winch solenoid relocation bracket and mounting slots in the winch tub if your winch solenoid box won't mount over the winch motor side (no center mounting). We developed a front (quick removable) license plate mount for those that live in states that require it. This also has 1" shackle mounts that were custom designed to also be a structural part of the winch tub. Another words, a full well thought out solution.



Additionally, we don't build our products out of A36 which is your most common carbon steel used for bumpers. We build ours (winch tubs, skids, shackle mounts, etc) out of A572 Grade 50 steel which is a high strength, low alloy steel. For comparison, the tensile strength of A572 has a yield strength of about 50000 PSI where A36 is around 36000 PSI. This costs more and is not just stronger but cuts MUCH better on a CNC Laser than A36 which can have a lot of contaminates and scale too. Try cutting 1" A36 on a laser and see what happens... tulip cuts, elephant skin looking striations on the cut edges and other issues.

You will NOT find another winch mounting solution for the 16+ Tacos that is easier, lighter and faster to install AND doesn't require you cutting the very expensive bumper cover (don't screw THAT up!). It's impossible to mess up the cuts for our mount and even if your wife runs over it while you had it off you can buy another chin piece from Toyota for $100 now. Replace the chin valance and you can put it back to stock if you ever wanted to. Oh...and once ours is installed you do NOT need to pull the bumper cover to remove the winch and/or mount either!

Finally... being an aftermarket off road piece of equipment, we are no different than any other off road bumper/mount manufacturer in that we don't do airbag/crash testing (these wouldn't be 499 but more like 4999 if we did). However, airbags are deployed by 'deceleration sensors', not impact sensors in the bumper as they once were (FJ's are in the center console for example). We have had several customers email us photos of accidents and their bags deployed 'normally' as they expected in a variety of...and unsubstantiated, impacts. No way for us to know the exact conditions though. Bottom line, any time you start altering the OEM front end of a vehicle it could have unknown effects on frontal impact results.

Winch Mount: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/bumpers/toyota-tacoma-2016-2017-winch-mount/
Combo Kits: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/bumpers/winch-mounts/combo-packages/tacoma-2016/

 

Thanks for answering my questions and some others I didn't know I had yet, but I have another if you have the time. Thanks

Does it work with the bumper mounted LED light bars? I'm assuming you would need another bracket, but looks like there is still space between the winch and grill for a light bar? Have you guys thought about making an bracket option if it could work?

 

I have been working with DB Customz to do just that with a lower grille that would match his custom radiator grilles. It is above the winch so LED depth is not a problem. One thing you can do that is optional is remove a few slats in that lower grille to gain access to the winch clutch and box to attach a cable... in lieu of opening the hood, I had suggested to DB that the create openings on each side for that and a 20" single row light in between. Here was a quick and dirty example of what I am talking about:



Additionally you could go with this Rough Country 30" route from us as well but loose any openings to reach your winch: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/lighting/rough-country/2016-tacoma-30-light-kit-lower-grille/

 

Read my lengthy response above that I think will address this thoroughly.

You can...but don't have to. Plus roller fairleads stick out that much more.

When is the last time you had a perfectly straight on pull with your winch? Almost never. The rope/cable is almost always in contact with the hawse or fairlead. Heck, just go watch a few YouTube vids for examples: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=winch+recovery

 

Love This Concept!
I am interested in the 2005+ mount... is there a thread with that unit? @usoffroad
If you could give me a tag that'd be radical!

 

Very Cool. So no Warn XDi top mounted solenoid winches then. If you still use a plug in winch controller, what is the best way you have found to attach and run the remote wire?

 

I'm extremely enterested in the bumper for my 2013 is their a thread on that and would I have to do any major cutting on my truck?? Would love to know before purchasing thanks!!
@usoffroad

 

Check in the US OffRoad vendor forum.

 

You have to cut the recovery tow hook and a section out of the stock bumper.

You'll need a grinder for the hook and While I used the grinder initially for the bumper I used a box cutter for the finishing touches.