US Offroad Winch Mount

Finally got my @usoffroad bumper and although there are plenty of posts here regarding the install, as well as good detailed installation instructions on their website, I ran into a few issues that I didn’t see in the other posts I read...

1) If you go with line-x like I did, the coating is pretty thick which made for a very snug fit against the frame, especially when trying to push it in (that’s what she said) because of the 2 bottom tabs that go tight against the bottom of the frame. Had to bend those down a bit and lots of force to be able to thread in the front bolts.

2- also because of the thickness of the line-x, as well as the thickness of the steel plate washers that usoffroad supplied, the bolts don’t stick out far enough for the nuts to thread on. So for now I used regular washers until I get a thinner piece of plate steel to use instead of the ones supplied with the bumper. (Will post pics on that later when I do it)

Third issue relates to us northern tacoma owners who have a block heater plug next to the driver side fog light. There isn’t a way that I know of to disconnect that so I couldn’t get the bumper completely off the truck. I just hung it up off the hood to get it out the way.

I also removed my allpro sliders which were rattle canned, they were starting to rust and the rocks did a number on the underside so I decided to sand blast them along with the new bumper for a proper prep before the line-x.
Here’s some photos i snapped along the way.















Block heater plug







Before


After


I used a Trail FX 9.5k winch. It fit perfectly with good access to the clutch and remote plug. Also comes with a wireless remote which is a bonus.

I measured from the center of the hub to the fender before and after, and with the sliders and winch it only dropped 1/2” in the front. I’m on stock suspension with a spacer leveling kit. I will be upgrading to king coil overs next year.

The install was straight forward, I did it with no helper and only took about 5 hours for the winch mount and sliders. Thanks again @usoffroad for a very well made product!

 

How did you tighten the front two winch mounting bolts? I have the same bumper and I have no idea how I got those suckers tight - I don’t own any offset wrenches etc that can reach them tucked up inside the cutouts. And I certainly didn’t have any fancy tools when I installed it about 4 years ago in the driveway of my college house. I’m half sure that I probably just hand tightened them and then forgot to pickup the appropriate tool…which is a scary thought considering how much I’ve used my winch lol.

I need to replace some parts on my Smittybilt winch, hence the need to get at the bolts. I’m probably going to pickup some crowsfeet wrenches but I just wanted to see if there’s something I’m missing here. US Offroad doesn’t even get into the winch mounting procedure in their PDF guide.

 

I used a short stub wrench with the closed (round) end on the bolt head, I hand tightened as much as possible with a bar for leverage on the last bit. No issues.

 

Hmm really? On mine there’s no way you can get a closed end/box wrench onto those two bolts, there’s just not enough vertical space. Like 1/4” or so between the back edge of the bolt (where my fingertip is) and the pan below.

 

Looks like plenty of room to me!

 

haha I know it’s kind of hard to tell but the clearance in the back is way tighter than the front

 

Use the open end

 

“Crows foot” on my ratchet. 2 ugg-a-duddas

 

I raptor lined only the exposed faces of my US Offroad winch mount. Everything else was done with brush on rustoleum. i was worried the thickness of the raptor liner would cause issues

 

Last night I picked up a set of Icon crows feet from HF. It almost instantly started to spread and slip under barely moderate torque…bolt didn’t budge but the crows foot got jacked up. Might try a flare nut crows foot for some better grip but it’s getting iffy.

 

Are the parts you Line-X-ed noticeably heavier?
I almost did a Line-X on my sliders, but was concerned about the flush fitment to my frame since my silders box in the frame snugly.
Looks like it came out pretty nice though.

 

Recommend “Tekton” and “Gearwrench” for off brand tools. US companys that source in Taiwan-China.