Son's 06 Front Receiver

My son seems to be enjoying his 06 Tacoma. Originally a Pest Control Truck, it was well taken care of, purchased at a terrific price, 180k miles. He wants to go off road. Problem, it's not 4WD. Solution, - he purchased a new 12,000 lb winch from Harbor Freight and a winch plate for approx $400. But how to mount it? In my metal spare parts in the back yard I had a front hitch from my old 96 Silverado. Remove the Tacoma Bumper, fabricate some 1 inch spacers from heavy gauge square tubing, cut some sleeves so as not to crush the areas where bolts will be going through the spacers and frame rails, drill holes in the frame rails, and bolt it all together. Trim the bumper where the receiver will protrude and "Voila"! A front hitch on a 06 Tacoma.

Here are some pics.

 

Looks good! But does it stick out too far from bumper? Did you need it to stick out that far for the winch?

 

In person it's not bad at all, but more importantly, it's very easy to insert the pin and you also need that length for the draw bar portion of the winch plate. With the winch installed, there is 1 inch between the winch and the bumper.