Hidden winch mount

Looking for a stealthy winch mount that utilizes the factory bumper to put in my 2008 Tacoma. Any suggestions?

Theres a picture of one I saw

 

I have an undercover hidden winch. Works great and several people make their own versions. You won’t find one that uses the factory bumper though. It’s basically an aluminum crush can that can’t support a winch

 

Hidden front hitch with hitch mounted winch for the win





Then you can winch from the rear too

 

I have U.S. Off road winch bumper from your first pic. I love it!!

 

Looks good !

 

I like this setup. I'll put it on my wishlist!

 

US Offroad.

 

@Pigpen talked me into the front hitch receiver bar so I could mount the winch in the front and the rear too. It made the wiring a bit more intensive but I suspect it will be REALLY worth it when I get REALLY stuck doing something I shouldn't have tried. It's also nice because it means my winch is nice and comfy in my garage when not in use so it's not subject to the elements on a regular basis. It also means the truck is 60lbs lighter for daily driving.

 

I used to have a front hitch receiver with a hitch mounted winch on a previous truck. I liked that I didn't have to carry the winch around all the time when I wasn't likely to ever need it. I hated the way the front receiver looked, it drove me crazy. Even worse than the receiver, I hated the way the winch looked when mounted and it reallly screwed with the approach and departure angles depending on where it was mounted. I would like to do a U.S. Offroad hidden winch on my current truck but am hesitant to hack up my bumper.

 

Who makes the front receiver? I like that idea.

 

@MoonKnight can chime in, he just put his in recently

 

Relentless Fabrications make a nice one for the 2012-2015 facelift. I don't know if he ever found time to fabricate something for the earlier 2nd gen bumper though.

Here's a pic I could find on my phone without digging to much....more pics in my build thread and on the @RelentlessFab vendor page

 

I've found that most of the times I get stuck, I tend to winch backward. I then either pick a different line, air down more, etc..., or turn around When I know I'm going to get into something tough that I want to get through, I do prepare to winch forward through it though.

There are a couple places that make them. I have the CBI Offroad hidden front hitch, and couldn't be happier with it. Mobtown Offroad also makes them - with very nice recovery points as an option. Their hitch reciever is a little less hidden than the CBI, but awesome looking product with great reviews.

 

I have the Mobtown hidden receiver with the recovery hooks. I think it's quite decent looking actually with the rubber "plug" in the hitch spot. I'll agree with the previous poster that I don't like the "look" of the cradle mounted winch nearly as much as a permanently mounted winch. But then again, I don't have a winch for looks; I have a winch for when I'm on my way to destination fucked and I don't want to stay long. The approach angle is compromised a little bit but since it takes less than 10 seconds to remove who the heck cares?

Here's a shot of the truck in VERY rare form (aka: clean) with the bar without the winch.

 

Not a perfect side angle shot, but you can see the hitch is high enough that approach angle is affected very little, if at all.

 

I got the the us off road bumper for the 05-11 the 12-15 is pretty much the samething

I recommend it looks great my suggestions for cutting

Where the blue lines on the side says cut here leave 1 inche you can fold them behind the bumper and it will hold the rest of the bumper in place better if not then you can cut them with a razor blade to get better fitment

The top part follow here you can cut out the the black part out if this one on the 2012s have it not sure

Also I’ve never looked back another suggestion to is try going to a junk yard see if you can find one the same colour as yours and you could cut that one instead and have your original bumper to put back on if you change your mind and you take off the use off road bumper

I installed mine by myself in my drive way to longest part doing this was finding all the black pins and screws all around the bumper for removing

For cutting I used a air saw it was easy to follow the lines for cutting

 

I believe the CBI one you have sets back inside the truck a bit more and might even be a bit higher than the Mobtown unit. Where yours is I HIGHLY doubt your approach angle is affected at all. I think mine is a bit but it's too quick to pop off for a serious obstacle so it's not much of a concern for me. I'd have gone with the same unit you have but the recovery points were a HUGE plus for me and I couldn't not get them.

 

Pigpen, what brand is yours?

 

I like a lot of these. Very clean look.

 

Relentless Fab Lower Stingray Winch Mount for the win with a Smittybilt X20 Wireless Winch