Definitely a friendship to maintain.

Well done admitting you were stupid. A lot of kids your age would never admit it.
I was fortunate in the stupid stuff I did bit me close to home.

I don't there's room behind the stock bumper for a winch.

As mentioned, receiver mounted winches aren't good unless you're winching pretty straight forward. You could do a modified one that uses two receivers, one at each frame side rail.
The downside of receiver mounts is that the usually make the winch stick out further than even a winch bumper, and they are heavy, probably close to 150lb or more with the winch and rope installed.
So you have a choice of off-roading with this thing sticking out front more likely to get damaged and reducing your approach angle, or waiting until you're stuck to install it in which case, assuming you can even get to the mounts, you're trying to wrestle a 150lb chunk of steel around in the mud and getting it hooked up.

I'm sure with a bit of research you could find a winch bumper design that you like that you and your friend could make.

It's actually possible to winch yourself backwards with a front mounted winch. Of course it's dependent on suitable anchor points and the right rigging.

 

Are you anywhere near South Carolina or MD? LEB Fab can help with hidden hitch for front winch and whatever else you want done:
\/-Alpha/omega ... Captain p4/obie-trice \/

 

the only problem with doing that is it is kind of hard to get the cable under the truck once stuck.

 

You don't have to, watch the video.
Though I have run it underneath before. Also have had to winch myself sideways.

 

Have you ever needed to roll your truck over or pick up a welding machine in your driveway with your winch?

 

Yes, on the rollover, no on a welder (always had a crane for that), but have loaded a deuce and a half chassis on to a flatbed with my winch.

 

Tell me how this sounds.
My idea for a rear mounted winch:

1)Okay so cut a slot where the license plate is on the rear bumper.

2)Attach low profile fairlead to the slot.

3)Mount winch in between rear frame rails.

4)Then make a bracket with a hinge for the license plate to be raised off the bumper.


Now it seems that this will only work for moving the truck straight backwards, with some tweeking of this original design it could possibly move the truck forward.

How does this look/sound? Ever seen something like this?


Thanks
--Bryan

 

Why are you so hellbent on hiding your winch and simultaneously making it a colossal pita to get to when you will really need it?


Do a hidden front hitch like in the pic Paul posted above (read A/Os SASsy thread for details) and have a standard class V hitch in the rear. Mount your winch on some 2 x.250 square tube and call it a day.

 

yup.
ran the winch cable through large tree limbs to lift the miller bluestar up so i could get it in the truck. i put some planks down off the back of the bed to slide it up, once it was at bed level it slid rite in.

and my winch was mounted to a hitch reciever plate so it could go in either the front or rear hitches. if i was doing recovery, it went in the front. if i was is swampy areas, it was in the rear.

 

Okay, I'm convinced.

I like the hidden hitch.

More photos?

 

Again, they aren't best for side pulls. Do you know you'll always have a straight line pull?
Most of the hidden hitch winch mounts are only rated at 9,000lb.
Use a ****** block, even with an 8,000lb winch, and you're likely exceeding the rated capacity of even custom made ones.
Winching is dangerous business, if you don't want to do it right, don't do it.

 

Okay so somebody mentioned about getting lockers instead of a winch,
They're two completely things but will the locker do the same thing?
And which costs more? Locker? Or a Winch? Because I might want to go the locker route if its a good idea.

 

No. Lockers will get you through more than open diffs, but you can still get stuck.

A new quality winch and bumper will cost more than a single new locker.
If you watch for a used winch on craigslist or ebay and make your own bumper you can probably get it cheaper than a new locker.
You seem really against a proper winch bumper so maybe a rear locker and something like a Truetrac in the front would be a better choice for you. Then just be sure you always off-road with another vehicle, or at least have cell coverage.

 

I vote for rear locker, front locker or LS.

Than a winch later down the road.

As for a recever mounted winch, that's the way I'd go. Even if the hitch is rated for 9,000 lbs, or 12,000 lbs.

If you double up the line, it doesn't mean you are doubling the stress on the hitch. The stuck rig will take the same lbs of a pull to get unstuck in a single line pull vs a double. If you are seriously stuck, even a home built recever can bend.

 

Since your a young kid and broke. I would suggest getting some 33's and some buddies to go wheeling with. You'll gain experience, which is invaluable.

I would save my money on the lockers. It would be better to wait till you can do lockers and gears at the same time. Unless, you go with a lunchbox locker. But sometimes they have reliability issuse.

I also wouldn't buy the winch just yet. I would spend money on a good tow strap and learn how to properly recovery a vehicle.

The experience you gain will help you make the choices that are right for you later on when you have a little money without having to spend it on redoing everything.