2019 Ram 2500HD, Is there a hidden winch mount available?

[Brutal_HO]

I wouldn’t even consider if it would see “minimal use” when selecting a winch

It only needs to fail one time to really F up my weekend. when you need a winch, you NEED it to work.

Watching PF videos on jump starter packs (i got the Gooloo 4000), I was SMH on the epic fails of the HF units.

I have an off-brand Viper Max 3500 lb winch on my ATV and it's been good so far but the most duty it's seen is winching my fifth wheel hitch in and out of the truck as a POC. I don't go out alone so it's more of a convenience for the other guys I ride with that don't have one.

(self proclaimed winner for use of the most acronyms in a short post award)

 

[McHenry2500]

If I had a dedicated off-road rig/jeep/buggy that I took 100's of miles into the mountains or Moab or something like that, I'd go Warn or maybe Smittybuilt?

For an occasionally used trailer/atv/work truck winch, the badlands is probably ok. Just my .02 so take it for what it's worth....

 

[Lary0071]

If you go offroad and think you might need a winch, but twice the winch you think you need.

The worst day you have is when your cheap trash winch fails you and you find Jesus as you pray for someone like me to stumble on you because your screwed 3 ways from Sunday.

Save money on non functional junk, not on one of the most important things you'll ever buy at the time of need.

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

I wouldn’t even consider if it would see “minimal use” when selecting a winch

It only needs to fail one time to really F up my weekend. when you need a winch, you NEED it to work.

Even for the winch on my flat deck trailer i went with a warn m8000 i may only use it a couple dozen times in the trailer life but atleast i know it will work everytime..... i had a 10k superwinch on my 14 jk it worked fine but made some awful noises from day one

 

[NHOverland]

I wouldn’t even consider if it would see “minimal use” when selecting a winch

It only needs to fail one time to really F up my weekend. when you need a winch, you NEED it to work.

can I ask why though? Have you personally used one? Have you intentionally gone out to put it to the test beyond capacity? I be curious to hear directly from someone who has had an issue with the Apex 12k.

 

[heavyg603]

I have an old (8 years ?) HF winch. I use all the time. Had in my Jeep then moved it over to my 2020 3500. Replaced the wire with rope when I did. That winch has probably done 50+ recoveries over its lifetime. It isn’t pretty but it works and is inside my bumper on the 3500. If it ever failed I’d just put the newer Apex one in but so far it’s going strong.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Has anyone attempted to bolt a roller fairlead on the front where the Hawse fairlead is currently bolted?

Don’t do it! Hawse fairlead is superior in all ways to a roller. They can be used with steel cable as well.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

OK, you have my attention - sell me on the Hawse versus the roller for a steel line.

No parts to break
Better approach angle
Tucks in closer
No parts to break
Oh and they don’t break

But for real. Bang a roller one good time and it won’t roll anymore. They end up looking like this (below) after they quit rolling they get junked out.


warn ships a couple of their steel cable winches with cast iron hawse fairlead. That’s the kind I have on my Toyota because I used to have steel cable. Right now there is no cable on it but You can see where the cable slid in the fairlead but it is smooth as a baby’s butt.

The warn m12s on my ram 2500 has a hawse because it came with synthetic rope

I’ll save the argument for synthetic rope for a later date lol

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Hey, that a pretty bumper and winch bolted to that beer can unibody of your XJ, lol. I have had four or five of them between 1991-1999 and wheeled the heck out of all of them and still love 'em. Maybe I am a bit more gentlemanly on the trails but I have always had rollers and never beat them up that bad. Most of my wheelin' has been back east but I have spent a good amount of time in Moab, Colorado with a little in Texas and New Mexico.

This does not mean that I am not willing to consider a Hawse but rollers have always served me well. Approach angle is a worthy consideration but for an overland vehicle with a stock bumper I am not too concerned.

That’s my buddy’s XJ but I cut my teeth on XJs and one MJ.
If you don’t beat up your rollers then they will serve you well
Another thing about the hawse is I run the factor 55 puck and it snugs tight on the fairlead and looks nice but even that puck has taken a beating.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

This guy is what I have on my rock crawler. I’m not sure if you can run an alum hawse fairlead with steel cable but this cast iron one works for both. Fits the normal 10” pattern and warn says it’s for winches over 6000lb (which is the 10” pattern)

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Great info and yes, you are correct - Warn even says the cast iron fairleads are OK for use with wire rope.

WARN offers two types of Hawse fairleads: black cast iron and polished aluminum. The black units are good for use with steel or synthetic, on winches with a 6,000 lb. (2722 kg) pull capacity or greater. The polished aluminum fairleads are designed to be used with synthetic rope only, and minimize the possibility of fraying.

And it looks like they have two cast iron Hawse fairleads to select from:

Powersports Offroad Accessories | WARN Industries

Warn offers a full line of off-road equipment for 4WD vehicles, ATV's and UTV's. Browse our Powersports offroad accessories. Go Prepared.

www.warn.com

Hawse Fairlead for 6,000lbs+, Cast Iron - 73850

Black, rugged cast iron, for winches with a 6,000 lbs capacity or higher, designed for wire or synthetic rope.

www.warn.com

Plus they look sleek and sexy.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

also The factor 55 makes for a closed system without a hook. I have been very happy with the safety and functionality it provides. Not a great pic I cropped it

 

[abillerbeck]

Finally finished making a winch bumper for my Disco 2, installed a Smittybilt X20 12k winch with synthetic rope and hawse fairlead... love it so far. Think I want to switch to a factor 55 style mount on the end of the rope instead of a hook though.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Finally finished making a winch bumper for my Disco 2, installed a Smittybilt X20 12k winch with synthetic rope and hawse fairlead... love it so far. Think I want to switch to a factor 55 style mount on the end of the rope instead of a hook though.


View attachment 14156

That’s awesome man. Seriously good work. That’s a feather in your cap, I’m sure. Looks way better than the bumper I made (above) for my Toyota.

 

[abillerbeck]

That’s awesome man. Seriously good work. That’s a feather in your cap, I’m sure. Looks way better than the bumper I made (above) for my Toyota.

Thanks dude, it's been a long time coming (the whole vehicle really) but I'm happy with the way it turned out. Don't sell yourself short... your bumper looks like a beast!

 

[kraftwerx]

Okay, this is about the winch mount brackets, but not for mounting a winch. Specifically the L/R (#7) ones here:

I am actually trying to put a PIAA RF light bar in the lower grille, I guess now from reading above because of the CTD, but also I had a Warn for 5 years, never left the box, sold it for half what I paid for it.

In trying to come up with a sturdy mount for the light bar, which has this type of mounting bracket:

I was thinking to grab these brackets then fab a bar to run across the opening to mount to. Maybe throw in a couple of tabs to attach to the lower bumper posts the grille seems to be bolted to. I might be paranoid, but feel like without a rock solid surface to mount to, the lights will get bounced all over the place. Using the factory mounts seems to save me the most time in building a bracket to fit on the tow hook bolts.

While I am still waiting on the right tools to get the retaining pins out of the rather expensive 3 week old truck, I am trying to understand the clearances and what impact the rubber / plastic shroud around the intercooler will do here.

It might be possible to just push it out of the way, or I might have to cut it. Not sure until I open up the air dam and crawl up there. Are there any other gotchas to worry about?

Of course, if anyone has a better idea, I am all ears.

Thanks in advance, Erik

 

[kristof]

Probably not what you want to do but this is what I did

 

[kraftwerx]

Are they secured by the winch frame or the grille? My goal is to keep it behind the factory grille to keep the front clean and not tempt thieves to try to snag them.

And, I am assuming going up from the bottom is the way to get up there?

Thanks, Erik

 

[kristof]

Are they secured by the winch frame or the grille? My goal is to keep it behind the factory grille to keep the front clean and not tempt thieves to try to snag them.

And, I am assuming going up from the bottom is the way to get up there?

Thanks, Erik

I made a plate that is sandwiched between winch frame and fairlead. It's secured with the two fairlead bolts. Then pods are attached to it. Yes get there from the bottom.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Are they secured by the winch frame or the grille? My goal is to keep it behind the factory grille to keep the front clean and not tempt thieves to try to snag them.

And, I am assuming going up from the bottom is the way to get up there?

Thanks, Erik

Where do you live that you have to worry about people stealing some fog lights off your truck wtf