This morning I received my front receiver in the mail. So, I promptly decided to pull the front bumper off and put it on. I got the Hidden Hitch receiver.

Pulling the bumper was ridiculously easy. The 6 bolts are all simple to get at, and then the bumper just pulled right off. I was surprised at just how simple it was to remove the bumper. I pulled off the tow hooks, slipped the receiver into position, put the tow hooks back in, and then tightened them up. That was the most time consuming bit out of the whole process, as the bolts holding the tow hooks in place didn't particularly want to come out or go back in.

While the bumper was off, I ran the wires for the winch to the battery. Big suckers! I then slipped the bumper back on and put it all back together.

The winch I bought (Sam's Club special) came with a receiver mount and all. Really, it's a very inclusive package. It's also $350 for a 10,000 lb winch, so it's by no means any of the name brands that most of you probably buy. However for my purposes, I figured it would do just fine. I installed it, and no matter what brand it is, it looks sufficiently cool for my needs.

I tested it out on a "dry run" by putting the truck in neutral and seeing if the winch would pull me up the driveway. It did without issue.

So, now I have my winch, and I am happy. I can't find my camera, though, so no pictures yet.

 

Congrats on the new setup. I have a winch like that for my toy hauler. We winch a small trailer with our bike on it into the toy hauler and when we get to the camp ground we winch it out
Nick

 

U cant forget those pics. Congrats on the new purchase though. Was the bumper easy for u to line up with one person? (im assuming that u worked by ur self on the winch and hitch)

 

FordCrusherGt, So where did you get the mount? I am very interested in doing this to my truck.

 

I actually found that doing the bumper one person was extremely simple. Then again, I am used to doing all my work myself, including operations that generally require 2+ people. However the bumper itself is lightweight, and I was just careful about lining it up and properly punching it in place with my precision fist. It really was not a big deal like people said it would be. Removing the bumper and putting it on you need to use a little pulling force, but that is it.

Matt, if you don't have a winch, being a 2wd truck, I would think you'd want it. I know my 4x2 Dodge got stuck frequently (in the most annoying circumstances, always) and I really wish I'd had a winch on it. I kept on thinking about getting one, but never did. This is a purchase I should've made years ago.

ShakinX, the front receiver is a Hidden Hitch unit that you can obtain from any online vendor. Costs about $140-150. The winch itself was a complete kit available at Sam's Club for $350, I believe it was a "Champion" brand (i.e. no-name). For that price it came with the winch, power cables (a 5' and a 20', I ran the 5' from the battery to the front but the 20' could be run to the rear if you wanted power available there, too), the clevis hook, a pulley for looping it back around to get double pulling capacity (if you're REALLY stuck), and, of course, the receiver mount. That is why I was so attracted to it in the first place - for that price it came with everything I needed. Like I said, the line speed is slow, but depending on what you use your winch for, it may not matter. For me it is very occasional use (but one of those "When I need it it's worth every penny), so spending $350 vs. probably twice that for a name brand winch with accessories was much more attractive. If I was more serious about off-roading (which I am not) I would have gone with a different winch.

I will look for my camera and take some pictures when I find it!

 

That sounds like a great weekend project! I would love to see the pics as I have 2 lights mounted right where that hitch would go I think......Hmmm

 

If they're the factory driving lights, certain receivers will allow you to retain them. You just have to look for those specific receivers. If they're aftermarket, I don't know what to tell you, but I would probably look for the receivers that allow you to retain the factory driving lights as that would probably provide you with whatever you need.

Still looking for my camera...