Just thought I'd post some pics of the winch bumper I recently finished for my '92 F250. About three years ago I scored a good used Warn 8274 complete with the mount and bumper for $300. I originally intended to use it on a rock crawler project I was building at the time but lost interest in that truck and the winch just sat in my shed. I've had a bunch of trees leaning over several of the buildings on my property that were making both me and the insurance company nervous so I figured it was time to put the winch to use and remove them. The bumper that came with it was designed for a square body Chevy so it didn't match the contour of my '92.



So, I cut the wings off leaving only the center mount and started building a bumper to fit my truck. I started with some 3/8" x 4" angle that I already had in the scrap pile. I don't like making permanent modifications to any of my trucks so I decided to leave the original bumper brackets on the frame and work around them. I cut a notch into each angle on both sides to fit around the bumper bracket and used the existing holes in the frame with four 3/4" grade 8 bolts (two are hidden behind the bumper brackets). I also bolted another piece between the two to act as a crossmember.





With the frame built, the winch bracket fit perfectly. I drilled through the existing holes in the bracket and bolted it down with three 1/2" grade 8 bolts on each side.

 

Now that its mounted, time to build the bumper. I bought a 7' long piece of 6" C channel. Using my chop saw I made angled cuts on each end.







I cut a second piece the same way and butted the ends together to turn the ends straight back toward the wheels. After welding the two pieces together, I ground the welds smooth and polished the joint with a sanding disc.



I used a piece of 3/16 x 1 1/2" to cap the open ends facing the wheels, then ground and polished the welds.







With the sides built, I welded them to the winch bracket.




I needed bracing to support the ends, so I bolted a 1/4 x 5" square plate to each side of the frame, then welded pipe between the bumper and plate.





To fill in the gap between the bumper and the front of the truck, I made cardboard templates to use as a pattern. All of my careful measuring paid off because once I had the templates cut out I was able to lay them on top of each other and they matched up perfectly. I dropped them off at the local welding shop and they cut out two pieces of 3/16" diamond plate. I wanted it thick enough that I could use them as a step without them sagging or flexing.




I used 1/4" carriage bolts to attach the plates to the bumper. Two reasons: they're heavy, so if I ever need to remove the bumper for any reason I can shed a little weight off it to make it easier to handle. Or, if I need to remove the winch to service or repair it I can access the bolts easier with the plates removed. Once I had them in place I masked everything for a paint job.

 

And here's the final result. I sprayed two coats of Rustoleum gloss black, followed by a clear coat to give it UV protection and protect it from fading. The clear was a mistake though. For some reason it wrinkled and shriveled up in spots, ruining the paint job. I'll probably strip and refinish it later when I have more time. I also added a Westin flip up license plate bracket in front of the fairlead. I'm very pleased with the quality of it...much better than a lot of those cheaper ones I've seen and it locks into place when flipped down.








Total cost was around $180 which includes the price of the license plate bracket.

 

Nice work, that certainly looks one like it can take a few hits. Plus now you have a huge step to make working under the hood easier.

 

looks good. awesome you have the skills to build something like that yourself.

 

Not trying to dis your build but I would have ran a piece of metal/pipe that runs to about the height of the solenoid cover and in front of it to protect the winch solenoid and electronics. That is what I have on my 05 Chevy Colorado I also put a light bar on it.
Trav

 

Nice work, that thing is beefy!

 

Nice work! Now get some decent LED lights for the front and sides of the bumper so you can illuminate whatever is ahead and to either side. Not a light bar, do recessed cans up front and flush mount on the sides. And with that nice winch you're gonna want some D-rings on there so you can use a ****** block and do a double line pull.

Good job on the build, it earns my seal of redneck approval. Now go push something around with it and see how it holds up!

 

do you have a straight on shot? showing how far out to the side the wings project? I like how clean this looks

 

frickin gorgeous ... you are a metal artist my man! what a cool skill to have.

 

I don't, sorry. About the closest shot that shows the width is the pic showing the cardboard template. Its about an inch wider than the fenders on both sides.