WINCH TALK

ZWSMITH

Hello Bronco nation,
I'm seeking information on a front mounted winch for my '23 Bronco. I've been an avid fan of off-roading my whole life but I've never purchased or installed a winch on any of my vehicles. I know these new Bronco's have front cameras and I've seen some who offer a camera relocation bracket. Hidden under bumper vs above bumper? Steel cable vs synthetic rope? Brands to trust vs brands to avoid? My Badlands has the heavy duty steel modular bumper on it so it looks like all I need is a mounting bracket besides the winch itself. This would be a great place to start a discussion on winches. Those with real world experience, please share your knowledge here. Thanks, Zack

I have a Basesquatch with the HD Modular bumper. I wanted the OEM Ford winch mount but I think they only offer it in a bundle with a Warn winch.
I already have a Badland Apex winch, came down to Rough County or JCR.

I went with Rough Country. Probably going to install it next weekend. Will post pics and any info then.

HeliPilot

Warn Zeon 10 Platinum form me. Install was super easy as my bumper was made for the Warn winches.

Whose front bumper did you use, that is not a Ford Modular? I like the Bull Bar as well.

It does not look like you had to worry about the ACC, at least I do not see it. I am going to use the Zeon Platinum, however, I'm torn between the LOBO Hidden, which I ordered, or to install the Westin bumper I have. In either case I plan on mounting the Control Pack under the hood. In doing this, I'm wondering if that will negate the need to relocate the ACC, hoping with the Control Pack out of the way the camera view will not be blocked.

Your thoughts appreciated

gtabert

Whose front bumper did you use, that is not a Ford Modular? I like the Bull Bar as well.

It does not look like you had to worry about the ACC, at least I do not see it. I am going to use the Zeon Platinum, however, I'm torn between the LOBO Hidden, which I ordered, or to install the Westin bumper I have. In either case I plan on mounting the Control Pack under the hood. In doing this, I'm wondering if that will negate the need to relocate the ACC, hoping with the Control Pack out of the way the camera view will not be blocked.

Your thoughts appreciated

MaxLider Bros front and rear bumpers. Mine does not have ACC, but if you look left and right of my hook, there are 2 removable plates. I believe that's where people are mounting those. If you go to the MaxLider site, you can see pics with what looks like the ACC installed.

I finished installing an Ironman 12,000 lbs Monster Winch using the Lobo hidden winch mount.
I will be making a video of the process, which was not trivial.
But, everything fits, and it looks nice:

3Dogs

I finished installing an Ironman 12,000 lbs Monster Winch using the Lobo hidden winch mount.
I will be making a video of the process, which was not trivial.
But, everything fits, and it looks nice:

When you post your video I would love to see it!

Harbor Freight has a President’s Day 20% off any one item* and it includes their Badlands Winch. It’s the best discount they offer.

*Any item does not mean any item. They have some exclusions, like jacks.

TechnicalDisaster

Harbor Freight has a President’s Day 20% off any one item* and it includes their Badlands Winch. It’s the best discount they offer.

*Any item does not mean any item. They have some exclusions, like jacks.

Saw your post and went a bought a 12,000 Balands Winch with synthetic rope for $472 plus tax. If you have the membership you can get 25% off of one item! 😊

Jumpmasterken27

I decided to go with the Rough Country High Mount 12,000 winch instead of the hidden winch. The installation went well. The total time took approximately 4 hours and that included the Mountain2Metal camera relocation kit. I really like the way it turned out.

I like the look. It doesn't seem to interfere too much with the approach angle. I'd prefer the hidden winch but I have the 2.7 and don't want to mess with the oil cooler. My garage space is tight. How far does it extend from the bumper?

Jumpmasterken27

I decided to go with the Rough Country High Mount 12,000 winch instead of the hidden winch. The installation went well. The total time took approximately 4 hours and that included the Mountain2Metal camera relocation kit. I really like the way it turned out.

How do you like the new camera location? Is it a comparable view? Could you activate the camera and post a picture of the image. Thanks in advance, Tim

TK1215

How do you like the new camera location? Is it a comparable view? Could you activate the camera and post a picture of the image. Thanks in advance, Tim

Yes, I like it and it seems to work just fine.

RNC

I like the look. It doesn't seem to interfere too much with the approach angle. I'd prefer the hidden winch but I have the 2.7 and don't want to mess with the oil cooler. My garage space is tight. How far does it extend from the bumper?

It looks like it's about8.25 inches

I went with the Rough Country 9500 mounted in the ARB Summit bumper Looks great

Jumpmasterken27

It looks like it's about8.25 inches

Very helpful. Thank you.

I just ordered the IAG modular bumper winch mount "under $400". Seen it on a bronco last week and loved how clean it looked. Not sure what winch I'm going to set on it yet but I'll post pictures when I get it mounted.

I went the Rough Country route with the 9500lbs RC winch. Like others, used the Mountains2Metal camera relocation kit. Everything went well. Here's a video of each. Hope this helps!

SCBronco1

I just chatted with the folks at Rough Country, there is no way to Free Spool when using this setup, UNLESS you have really, really thin, long arms (think of The Slenderman) the only way is to reach down thru the top engine compartment and get the switch from there.

I saw in a forum where a guy had a similar setup and he was able to use one of those grasping claw tools "as a really thin, long arm" to turn the clutch. Might be worth a trip to HF to get one and test it out.