Installing a winch on my GX470 - hitch mounted - yes or no? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter danmm7
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- gx470 hitch hitch mounted winch
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yes. I placed the winch plate as far back as it would go. I had to gently bend back the air conditioner lines to get more space for the plate. This way the front of the plate was sticking out about 1/2 inch ahead of the steel bumper. It was as far back as I could go without relocating the AC lines. I cut a spacer that was 1 1/2 inches thick to fit between the plate front and the plastic bumper. All you need is something like hard solid plastic or even a treated 2x4 because there is some pressure on it but no pulling force. I bought longer bolts for the fairlead to compensate for the added distance. When I put on the fairlead it was perfect because there was a tiny bit of space between the bumper and the spacer, and the plastic bumper is flexible so it flexed and formed a nice solid clamp or bond when I tightened the fairlead bolts. Also, I opted to cut the top about 1/2 inch of the front part of the bumper so my plate would be lower and be level. Alternatively you could leave it and raise the back part of the plate about 1/2 inch as long as your winch fits. I'm sure I weakened the bumper a bit by cutting into it, but I figure bolting the plate to it made up for some or all of it. If not, I'll let you know when I rip the bumper off!
Oh, and I had to trim the top middle part of the styrofoam between the plastic bumper and the steel bumper to leave room for the spacer. I don't think cutting a hole in the styrofoam would have made it strong enough. So my spacer was 1 1/2 inches thick and as wide and slightly higher than the winch plate front. (2x4 size would be perfect). Then I used silicone to refasten the bottom part of the styrofoam to the metal bumper.
Great job, I love this idea. Somewhat of a noob question here. Are the stresses of pulling out a stuck vehicle going to be too much for 4 bolts holding the winch plate to the frame? I'm guessing and hoping not, just curious as to how this set up is different than the $500 options out there. Awesome job again!
Actually I have 6 total bolts holding the plate to the frame, and they are half inch bolts. The winch itself came with only four smaller bolts to attach to the plate, so I assume those will hold up. But yes, I think it will be okay but we'll see. I figure if I rip the front bumper off it will give me an excuse to buy an off-road bumper!
