A hidden system for my 1997 F250 Diesel. or a bumper.
I saw the one from bronco air but to pricy for me.

any suggestions would be great. (note me and tools mean
a hospital visit :-) do it my self won't work :-)

Talon

 

You don't have many choices. Good winch bumpers are very expensive to buy, or they require good design and fabrication skills to build a DIY version. Bronco Air bumpers are priced very well compared to a lot of them out there.

 

Consider a front mounted hitch. You can then move it front or rear. best of both worlds........maybe.

Rog

 

I like the idea of the front mount receiver as well, but I read somewhere that there are serious issues with load capacity (read: amount you can pull) because it's just the pin holding the drawbar in the receiver.

 

I have a front mount receiver that I keep my 8000 lb winch mounted to. Works great and the winch can be removed when necessary. I have loaded it down to the point where the winch stopped pulling trying to pull out a jack knifed tuck/fifth wheel with a GEHL fork lift on the bed from a snow bank down hill and off the road probably weighing 30,000 lbs combined. I was able to get it back on the road between my winch and the truck w/fifth wheel spinning it's chained up tires. MAXED out the winch for sure. Hitch pin and everything held together.

When I was researching mounting the winch on the front of my truck it became apparent that the best option was a front mounted receiver unless you can find a used bumper with built in winch mount somewhere. Sorry, I can't find the location I purchased the front receiver from. It only took about an hour to install.

 

thanks for the suggestions,
the winch I have is the m1200 at 135#'s I don't think a receiver hitch is the way
to go ..

I did see one company "winch ready" Fleet Winch Bumper

haven't checked on their price. not sure I like how low the bumper sits either.

Bronco Air does make a sweet bumper ...

oh well the search continues ....

Czzzzzz-ya .....

Talon

 

I'd go hitch style mount if I was to do it.

moving wagons and trailers from the front of the truck is much easier than backing them up.

Serve double duty for me.

 

That bumper looks to be for the new body style not the OBS.

 

fridgeddiesel, thanks for the reply. Up 'til now I'd never actually had input from someone that actually used this setup.

 

The hitch style mount means more versatility. Kinda useless if your winch is up front and your stuck face down in the ditch with a bumper mount system.

 

Here is a Curt on ebay.

1992-1996 Ford F 250 Front Mount Hitch | eBay

Here is one rated 9k.

Hidden Hitch Trailer Hitch - Free Shipping

 

Hey thats the one im gunna buy but painted white and will all the extra goodies. i called them last year and for just that bumper in bare metal is $1450 then u add paint and everything else and it get spendy. i think with paint and all the extra stuff i wanna add im looking at about $2200 for that bumper. IMHO thats the best looking winch bumper you can put on an obs, just costs a prett penny.

 

The gap under the grill just doesn't look right imo. Other than that it's a sweet bumper.

 

thats just to access the winch, but u can get a plate to cover it.

 

I think the hidden hitch receiver cost me $150 and $60 for the receiver mount for the winch. I use it a lot logging fire wood and hauling LARGE trees up hill to the road. Never had any issues.

If you are worried about the stress on the receiver pin I'll bet you could drill a 2nd set of holes through the receiver and use two pins to spread out the load. My front mount hitch bolts to the frame and is at least as strong as any replacement bumper with winch mount. They both mount to the same place with the same bolts. Nice thing is that you can take off the winch and keep the look of the OBS truck. You can hardly see the receiver under the bumper and like Talyn said you can also use it to shift trailers around the yard much easier than backing them around.