80 Series Hidden Winch Mount (1 Viewer)

[stevesoutriding]

If you have a 1993 this is what you will have to do in order for the Trail Taylor hidden winch plate to fit. Previous post from TT said this was tested on a 92, 94 and 97 with no issues. I am definately having issues getting mine installed. Still won't reach the mounting holes and I am having to drill new ones. I have to say I feel duped into believing this would look like the 80 in the photos TT has on the website. Should have saved the $480 and put it towards an entire bumper. This was not worth all the fab work I have done. I'll post the finished work later. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Toyota newbie]

I had the same issue on my 1993. It does not fit 92 through 94 period. I had to modify the bracket by cutting the back on about 2” and resending it and have it powder coated. Only then was it able to fit the bumper in the stock position. That is what you will have to do to have it work. I can send you some pictures. I was disappointed as well because it only made for bumpers for 95 on with air bags that have wider bumpers I believe.

 

[stevesoutriding]

I had the same issue on my 1993. It does not fit 92 through 94 period. I had to modify the bracket by cutting the back on about 2” and resending it and have it powder coated. Only then was it able to fit the bumper in the stock position. That is what you will have to do to have it work. I can send you some pictures. I was disappointed as well because it only made for bumpers for 95 on with air bags that have wider bumpers I believe.

I considered trimming the back portion of the mount but was concerned about compromising it's integrity and loosing bolt down surface area. I'm sure it would still be stout enough as it is built well and the metal is thick. I also had a problem with hacking off any part of a $480 winch plate.

 

[PIP]

$480 for a $30 piece of 1/4" plate? And it only fits 3 out of the 7 years it says it does?

 

[stevesoutriding]

So.... There are three holes on my 93 frame. 2 are have threaded captured nuts and the middle is just a hole. If I move the plate back it leaves me with one hole that has a captured nut to thread into and the plate covers the second captured nut. My thoughts are I could put a nut in the frame and that would allow two bolts on each side. My only concern is the load will be more isolated on one part of the winch plate. I tested the plate by lifting the front of my rig with my jack (not all the way) and felt the plate for movement as I lifted. Nothing could be felt. I'm a winch noob so I have no idea of the stresses involved. Anyone have any input?

 

[stevesoutriding]

Thought it over. This is the best solution for a maddening situation. Looks the best and I think it'll be strong enough. I'm going to put a grade 8 lock nut in the empty hole. Cut a crescent in two washers and bolt it up. Pic on the right is using the two threaded holes. It significantly bumps the bumper away from the body. Even my 14 year old didn't like it. Left pick is using the factory bumper holes in the stock location. Much better. Still don't care for the front of the winch plate sticking out, but oh well!

 

[Toyota newbie]

Here is what I did. Cut of back and had new back plate welded on, then extended the holes forward to use threaded holes as contemplated. Cut hole through from bumper like yours.

 

[Surfdc]

Thought it over. This is the best solution for a maddening situation. Looks the best and I think it'll be strong enough. I'm going to put a grade 8 lock nut in the empty hole. Cut a crescent in two washers and bolt it up. Pic on the right is using the two threaded holes. It significantly bumps the bumper away from the body. Even my 14 year old didn't like it. Left pick is using the factory bumper holes in the stock location. Much better. Still don't care for the front of the winch plate sticking out, but oh well!

View attachment 3336145

View attachment 3336147

View attachment 3336148

That is an option that does give you two anchor points. Although imo too close together to disburse the load creating a stronger attachment to the frame.
You already cut the bumper, so at this point I would go back to the original mounting location holes and either double nut everything. Or do what I did and chisel off the captive nuts and through -bolt and sleeve all three. I know it sounds like over kill but I’d do this for recovery points and especially for a winch. Yes it will stick out of your bumper like you were told it wasn’t supposed to, but it will be solid.
Or chuck it up on the classified section and it will sell. Use your profits towards an aftermarket bumper.

 

[stevesoutriding]

I finished up. I thought over the mounting points and went with the 2 bolts next to each other on the frame. I would have liked the load to be spread out more but I tested the winch plate with only 2 bolts in by almost lifting the front end off the ground with my jack. Since the bolts in the plate are massive compared to the bolts actually holding the winch on. I'm guessing the winch bolts will fail before the plate to frame bolts would. Here's the finished project.

 

[Toyota newbie]

Looks very nice!

 

[PIP]

Overlapping washers like that is very not good! The washer on top is going to sit at an angle which is putting a huge side load on the bolt going through it. Bolts don't like that. You could probably get away with an 8.8 or lower grade bolt fine, but a 10.9 or 12.9 bolt is likely to break when loaded like that.

You can notch your washers so they sit next to each other flat. You can even buy washers already clipped for this if needed.

 

[stevesoutriding]

Overlapping washers like that is very not good! The washer on top is going to sit at an angle which is putting a huge side load on the bolt going through it. Bolts don't like that. You could probably get away with an 8.8 or lower grade bolt fine, but a 10.9 or 12.9 bolt is likely to break when loaded like that.

You can notch your washers so they sit next to each other flat. You can even buy washers already clipped for this if needed.

They are notched. Wrong pic.

 

[stevesoutriding]

I thought about welding the back part to the frame but I'm not completely sure I'll keep this setup. If I decide to keep it I may at least run a short weld on the side.