Slowly getting my projects completed and I'm ready to start the next. I have a small ATV winch that I'd like to add to the front end to lift a snow plow. It will not be used for off-road recovery, so I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this without having suggesting I add a gigantic winch bumper. I'd like to place this little winch behind the factory bumper and use a roller fairlead to assist with lifting the plow. Wondering if anyone has tried something like this with a 15-2500 ATV winch?
I used 3/8" flat bar across the frame for the mount.
Be sure to upgrade the solenoid prior to using, it will save you from needing to replace them later, they come with ones that are not of the best quality.
look at the left hand chassis rail Don, its squashed, thats what i was on about, where your mounting for the winch plate is attached. I would have a tube inside the rail to stop that happening.
Oh, that squished.
Yeah, as you can see there is no nut on the bolt either, it was just a progress picture and the frame rail was re-shaped, tube fitted to the ID.
Then bolted up.
Keen eye!!
Thanks
There was a repair done prior to me getting the Tracker.
The plastic bumper was split and the metal behind the plastic was "repaired" by welding it together using a piece of re-bar for the filler.
It was news to the seller also, I found it when I went down and picked it up while attaching the tow bar.
He took out his phone and took a picture of the re-bar, he was as impressed with the repair as I was.
New winch controller, mounting plate, and solenoid arrived in the mail last night. Probably not gonna get it done just yet as I have a camping trip this weekend followed by surgery. Thanks for the idea!
So I'm all recovered from surgery (almost) and had some time to install the winch just before Winter arrived here in Montana. For the record, Glacier National Park got hit with 36in of snow in 12hrs on Sunday......
My factory AC is still fully functional and I have no intention of removing it, so that complicated my winch install leaving me less room to work with. I ended up welding some 4in angle iron to the hook brackets that bolt onto the front of the frame. This made my winch protrude from the bumper a smidge, but was the best I could do until I fab up a replacement front bumper. I'm not in a big hurry to do that as I prefer the factory look over a rig that is obviously heavily mod'd.
Ordered a 72in plow and a mounting bracket meant for Honda UTV. I chose this model because it was a front mount, not an under-body mid mount, and it had wider spacing in which to attach the plow. Had to do some mods to the bracket and welded it to the winch bracket that I had previously mentioned. This was the only way to clear the steering components and the leaf springs/shackles. My welder is a Chinese special and won't quite burn as deep as I'd like on this thicker 3/8in material, so I bolted everything as an extra precaution. Once cooled, I sprayed it with some bed liner material I had laying around. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. The controller is mounted on my gear shift, so its about as one-handed of an operation as it's ever going to be. Unlike the UTVs, I'll have heat and full protection from the wind whenever I'm plowing! Once Spring arrives, I can remove the winch and the bracket will hardly be noticeable. It doesn't hang down very far.
Bumper is attached, just wasn't included in the pics from last night. Plow is mounted and have already had offers for my rig from the head of our maintenance department at work. I politely told him its not for sale. You know you've done something right when your wife takes one look at it and says....."now, that's bad azz!"
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