When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Done with the winch and bumper install. I went with the Badlands Apex 12k, which has the synthetic rope and winch control that can operate wired and wireless. The bumper is a TJM Heavy Duty Frontier model that is rated up to 16.5k. The winch frame that came with the bumper is heavy duty, but I found out something surprising about Ford frames. The distance between frames can vary due to Ford assembly variances. I found this out when the wind frame wouldn't slide over the ends of my frames because the inside spread between my frames was 1/8" narrower than the winch frame. Talking to TJM's engineer, he said the Ford variance in inside spread is the only mfr who has this variance, and it caused them to fabricate the winch frame with wider tolerances. Of course my frames were the closest he'd heard of, but much to my surprise the frames can be spread some. In my case, I used a high lift jack, and I was able to get a little more than the 1/8" needed for the winch frame to fit.
Everything else about the install went fine. Just took me a little longer doing it myself. TJM was surprised I was doing it myself because they have always heard customers hired shops to do it. Routing the power and ground cables kinda sucked, and finding a place to mount the power disconnect switch was even harder because of how full the engine bay is on these trucks. I ended up fabricating a platform that I attached to the inside battery hold down bracket on the passenger side battery. Turned out to be a good location.
I'm waiting on a set of fog lights that will arrive next Tuesday, and then I'll finish the job completely. The 12k winch fit nicely under and behind the bumper without relocating the control box off the winch. I think this is about as short a bumper as could fit with this size winch, and while it does stick out farther than the stock bumper, it's not grossly far out there. Total addition of weight is 210 for all the bumper parts and about 90lbs for the winch, power cable, and parts. So it added about 300lbs, and driver's side height didn't change at all and passenger's side dropped only 1/4".
Done with the winch and bumper install. I went with the Badlands Apex 12k, which has the synthetic rope and winch control that can operate wired and wireless. The bumper is a TJM Heavy Duty Frontier model that is rated up to 16.5k. The winch frame that came with the bumper is heavy duty, but I found out something surprising about Ford frames. The distance between frames can vary due to Ford assembly variances. I found this out when the wind frame wouldn't slide over the ends of my frames because the inside spread between my frames was 1/8" narrower than the winch frame. Talking to TJM's engineer, he said the Ford variance in inside spread is the only mfr who has this variance, and it caused them to fabricate the winch frame with wider tolerances. Of course my frames were the closest he'd heard of, but much to my surprise the frames can be spread some. In my case, I used a high lift jack, and I was able to get a little more than the 1/8" needed for the winch frame to fit.
Everything else about the install went fine. Just took me a little longer doing it myself. TJM was surprised I was doing it myself because they have always heard customers hired shops to do it. Routing the power and ground cables kinda sucked, and finding a place to mount the power disconnect switch was even harder because of how full the engine bay is on these trucks. I ended up fabricating a platform that I attached to the inside battery hold down bracket on the passenger side battery. Turned out to be a good location.
I'm waiting on a set of fog lights that will arrive next Tuesday, and then I'll finish the job completely. The 12k winch fit nicely under and behind the bumper without relocating the control box off the winch. I think this is about as short a bumper as could fit with this size winch, and while it does stick out farther than the stock bumper, it's not grossly far out there. Total addition of weight is 210 for all the bumper parts and about 90lbs for the winch, power cable, and parts. So it added about 300lbs, and driver's side height didn't change at all and passenger's side dropped only 1/4".
\
Looks pretty good and clean. Well here I thought my frame was tweaked. After finishing welding my bumper I noticed getting it on was a pain as the horns taper out on mine. All I need to complete on mine is cut a slot on it for one of the gear selectors and paint it. But I'm waiting on some fittings in the mail.
Edit: the rust wasn't from the kit manufacturer but from me. I placed the piping under cover while I was working on the truck but it still was exposed to the elements.
Unless you are winching up a rock as with the Rubicon trail, then very little force is needed to roll a vehicle, even if the driver has succeeded in taking the axle down to the ground. The winch takes the place of traction from the tires and does not need to light the weight of the truck.
My concern is more with how much cable I can spool on the drum to be able to reach an anchor point and how much current is drawn by the motor of the winch. A separate issue is wondering if the winch will prevent the front air bags from deploying as the sensor behind the front bumber.
very nice install. Mine is powered off the drivers battery. Not sure if that matters or not.
Since they are wired in parallel, I expect not, but the bigger issue for me as I surveyed the room under the hood was the more limited space for a disconnect switch on the driver’s side.
mine does not have a disconnect, Did not think I needed it.
It could be a point of failure, but I don’t expect to operate the switch often. I do like not having power to the cable and winch all the time. Protects the battery from an inadvertent drain.
mine does not have a disconnect, Did not think I needed it.
I bought the Warn kit that included cable, connectors and a contactor (really big relay). I put in everything but the contactor. Back then, I didn't have a good enough grasp of how the contactor worked, so I left it out. Now, given all the DC electrical work that I've done on my RV, I absolutely would put the contactor in. The upfitter switches would integrate very well with the contactor.
Got the SS3 fog lights in today from Diode Dynamics today, and they installed easily and work well. They have a true fog light pattern and not a flood or driving light. Output is 1520 lumen per pod, 6000k color, full metal enclosure, 8 year warranty, a little more at $200, and I bought the pigtail adapters for $10 so I could just plug in the existing fog light plugs vice cut and splice. Drove the truck tonight, and I could actually drive with them. I will aim them down a little more, and I think I'll move the driver's side pod back a little more to reduce the shine into the other lane a little more.
