Looking for input on an idea for a front receiver hitch for a winch.

[dcmdon]

Use case - I've got a Gladiator Mojave on order and would like to take it off road occasionally. There is a good chance I will be alone so there won't be much opportunity for a rescue. We are talking about possibly getting high centered on a muddy trail or stuck in the mud. There won't be any rock crawling really.

I can easily justify the purchase of a HF winch if it will last for years. Where I spend my winters in NH, there is a huge amount of salt on the road. So I'm concerned about corrosion turning the winch into garbage in 5 years. The other thing is reliability. I won't be winching myself out of situations weekly. So it may go a year or 2 or 3 before its needed. I don't want to find out when I need it that corrosion has caused a problem that only shows up when some load is on it.

My thought is that if the winch lives in the house most of the time and even when off road, lives in a plastic bag in the bed, it won't get covered in salt.

I've looked into front mount receivers for the Gladiator/Wrangler and they hang down very low. So my thought is this.

Weld a 2" receiver tube to a winch plate. Mount the winch plate and simply cut a hole in the front of the factory bumper for the draw-bar that will hold the winch. So you have a bit of an ugly hole in the bumper but you get pretty factory appearance without the receiver hanging down.

Finally, this would be relatively cheap and easy to do. Buy a winch plate. Buy a used 2" receiver hitch on Craigslist, cut off the mount. weld the receiver to the hitch plate. (A friend of mine does TIG welding on jet engines. I'm sure he can make it work)

The hole in my knowledge (that I'm aware of) is that I've never actually torn the front of a jeep apart to mount a winch before. Does the winch plate mount to the Frame or the bumper? I'm 90% sure it mounts to the frame. If its to the bumper then I'd need to get a bumper, right? If yes, would a factory rubicon bumper work?

In my perfect world, I'd keep the plastic Mojave bumper or maybe buy one of the ebay Rubicon knock offs.

Thanks in advance.

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[Labswine]

I believe @ShadowsPapa did this very thing but to aid in moving a trailer around the yard on the front of his Jeep instead of the back (much easier). It's still a 2" receiver. Look in the 'Towing, Trailering, Flat Towing section.

 

[rharr]

you can buy 2" receiver stock by the foot at metal supply places locally. www.industrialmetalsupply.com is a place we have locally. Almost any city with more then 100,000 ppl should have a place, builders need their metals....

I would suggest 1/4" plate and 2" receiver tube. You can mock something up using cardboard, then use a angle grinder with a cutoff wheel to make the pieces you need.

You will want to mount the receiver high on the bumper so the cradle doesn't effect approach angle.

I just bought a aftermarket bumper where i plan to cut it up to mount a 2" receiver. Like you i don't like to carry a winch around when I am not in the back country.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/strength-of-custom-hitch.45870/#post-740068

 

[dcmdon]

you can buy 2" receiver stock by the foot at metal supply places locally. www.industrialmetalsupply.com is a place we have locally. Almost any city with more then 100,000 ppl should have a place, builders need their metals....

I would suggest 1/4" plate and 2" receiver tube. You can mock something up using cardboard, then use a angle grinder with a cutoff wheel to make the pieces you need.

You will want to mount the receiver high on the bumper so the cradle doesn't effect approach angle.

I just bought a aftermarket bumper where i plan to cut it up to mount a 2" receiver. Like you i don't like to carry a winch around when I am not in the back country.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/strength-of-custom-hitch.45870/#post-740068

Looking at the photos of the front Curt receiver mount, its not nearly as low as I thought. Maybe rather than making extra work for myself I get that. ha.

Though that photo of the receiver right in the middle of your bumper looks perfect.

 

[Mr._Bill]

The Curt Front Receiver mounts to the frame and comes out just below the bumper. The air dam will need notched to fit around it. The front shock reservoirs on the Mojave may need adjusted or moved.

 

[Mac]

I would get one of these https://www.harborfreight.com/hitch-receiver-mount-for-winches-69106.html
I would also look at a smaller winch maybe 8k-10k capacity, which should be fine for the type of winching you are asking about and will be much lighter and easier to handle. I would also make a receiver mount in the bed to store it so it doesn’t move around. You can buy marine grade wire online in any length so you can run power to the rear where you already have a receiver just put a disconnect at the battery and some type of quick connect for the power at the rear, leaving the solenoid and controls on the winch.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Use case - I've got a Gladiator Mojave on order and would like to take it off road occasionally. There is a good chance I will be alone so there won't be much opportunity for a rescue. We are talking about possibly getting high centered on a muddy trail or stuck in the mud. There won't be any rock crawling really.

I can easily justify the purchase of a HF winch if it will last for years. Where I spend my winters in NH, there is a huge amount of salt on the road. So I'm concerned about corrosion turning the winch into garbage in 5 years. The other thing is reliability. I won't be winching myself out of situations weekly. So it may go a year or 2 or 3 before its needed. I don't want to find out when I need it that corrosion has caused a problem that only shows up when some load is on it.

My thought is that if the winch lives in the house most of the time and even when off road, lives in a plastic bag in the bed, it won't get covered in salt.

I've looked into front mount receivers for the Gladiator/Wrangler and they hang down very low. So my thought is this.

Weld a 2" receiver tube to a winch plate. Mount the winch plate and simply cut a hole in the front of the factory bumper for the draw-bar that will hold the winch. So you have a bit of an ugly hole in the bumper but you get pretty factory appearance without the receiver hanging down.

Finally, this would be relatively cheap and easy to do. Buy a winch plate. Buy a used 2" receiver hitch on Craigslist, cut off the mount. weld the receiver to the hitch plate. (A friend of mine does TIG welding on jet engines. I'm sure he can make it work)

The hole in my knowledge (that I'm aware of) is that I've never actually torn the front of a jeep apart to mount a winch before. Does the winch plate mount to the Frame or the bumper? I'm 90% sure it mounts to the frame. If its to the bumper then I'd need to get a bumper, right? If yes, would a factory rubicon bumper work?

In my perfect world, I'd keep the plastic Mojave bumper or maybe buy one of the ebay Rubicon knock offs.

Thanks in advance.

Welding to a winch plate may not be as strong as a commercial receiver bolted to the frame. The winch plate gets strength as the winch load is spread over a fair area of the plate.

The receivers don't hang down low at all.

If you had a winch cradle for a receiver, you would see the winch would in the end sit almost the same height as my bumper-mount winch does. The winch would sit on a platform on TOP of the bar that goes into the receiver - putting it on level with the bumper.
You can see the rubber cover I have on my receiver just below the bumper.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I would get one of these https://www.harborfreight.com/hitch-receiver-mount-for-winches-69106.html
I would also look at a smaller winch maybe 8k-10k capacity, which should be fine for the type of winching you are asking about and will be much lighter and easier to handle. I would also make a receiver mount in the bed to store it so it doesn’t move around. You can buy marine grade wire online in any length so you can run power to the rear where you already have a receiver just put a disconnect at the battery and some type of quick connect for the power at the rear, leaving the solenoid and controls on the winch.

Yes on the smaller winch since the receiver specifies 9,000 pound pull max.
I have the receiver mount but didn't go that direction. (so it's still in the box)

 

[Jaxmax]

Curt hitch fits Mojave, but requires about a 4”X 6” square hole cut in skid plate,( I spent hours trying to get a tight fit and consider myself a good fabricator, but it just had to swing in place)skid plate is probably stronger after cutting as it rests solidly against the curt mount. Had to cut an angle across remote shock res mount, as the Curt hitch used one of the holes but cutting the res. Mount it rests right against Curt hitch can’t move. I use it for surf fishing rod holder and would not have a problem with a 8,000 winch with a mostly straight pull.
I did not like the look of the big cutout on silver skid plate so painting it black made it great looking, plus like black wheels have gotten old so have silver skid plates!….Jack

 

[dcmdon]

Welding to a winch plate may not be as strong as a commercial receiver bolted to the frame. The winch plate gets strength as the winch load is spread over a fair area of the plate.

The receivers don't hang down low at all.

If you had a winch cradle for a receiver, you would see the winch would in the end sit almost the same height as my bumper-mount winch does. The winch would sit on a platform on TOP of the bar that goes into the receiver - putting it on level with the bumper.
You can see the rubber cover I have on my receiver just below the bumper.

The receiver doesn't hang nearly as low as I thought it would.

Though I tend to take the harder route if given an option of an easy route. ha.

I have looked into receiver mount light duty snow plows and this is an option for. a plow also. Which is a good thing. The land we will be building on soon has a 2000 ft driveway.

If I was to try to make a winch plate receiver work, what thickness metal would you recommend? How thick is a normal plate?

Finally, what brand of front receiver do you have?
eTrailer shows a Curt and a DrawTite. They sit about the same height.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The receiver doesn't hang nearly as low as I thought it would.

Though I tend to take the harder route if given an option of an easy route. ha.

I have looked into receiver mount light duty snow plows and this is an option for. a plow also. Which is a good thing. The land we will be building on soon has a 2000 ft driveway.

If I was to try to make a winch plate receiver work, what thickness metal would you recommend? How thick is a normal plate?

Finally, what brand of front receiver do you have?
eTrailer shows a Curt and a DrawTite. They sit about the same height.

I have a Curt on mine now.
When I had the "plastic bumper" I had the Draw-tite. Then I moved to the steel bumper and winch plate and found the different construction of the Draw-Tite would not allow the winch plate to attach to the frame. It wanted the same space and same holes.
The curt worked with my winch plate - with a couple of mods to the winch plate brackets.
Both are fine receivers, IMO - just that with the different way they are designed or engineered, the mounting was different and the "beam" (can't think of the correct word now) sits differently on each.
I have a Draw-Tite I'd sell cheap (shipping would be the killer) sitting in a box ready to go. Can't call it new because it was mounted and I did file one of the mounting areas a bit to try to make it work with my cheap winch plate but structurally and strength-wise it's fine. It's only cosmetic.
Otherwise it sits in my garage sort of in the way. It's the one I took off my truck when I found it wouldn't clear my cheap winch plate.

 

[dcmdon]

I have a Curt on mine now.
When I had the "plastic bumper" I had the Draw-tite. Then I moved to the steel bumper and winch plate and found the different construction of the Draw-Tite would not allow the winch plate to attach to the frame. It wanted the same space and same holes.
The curt worked with my winch plate - with a couple of mods to the winch plate brackets.
Both are fine receivers, IMO - just that with the different way they are designed or engineered, the mounting was different and the "beam" (can't think of the correct word now) sits differently on each.
I have a Draw-Tite I'd sell cheap (shipping would be the killer) sitting in a box ready to go. Can't call it new because it was mounted and I did file one of the mounting areas a bit to try to make it work with my cheap winch plate but structurally and strength-wise it's fine. It's only cosmetic.
Otherwise it sits in my garage sort of in the way. It's the one I took off my truck when I found it wouldn't clear my cheap winch plate.

Your situation is definitely unique. I suspect that most people with a front receiver hitch aren't also mounting a winch.

 

[FrankFrqnkFrank]

I don’t want to go to the expense and effort of replacing my front plastic bumper. I didn’t think about the corrosion on a permanently-mounted winch, but that would be an issue for me too. And then there’s the weight issue with what’s left of my 961 pounds of maximum payload

I see my most likely uses as: (1) pulling trees off the road (we are in an oak savanna on sand dunes - those oaks topple over all the time) (2) helping pull out others and (3) pulling me out (most likely when I can’t stop/steer down a twisty hilly snowy/icy road in the dunes or if i am the first to drive after a lake-effect snowfall)

so I think using the factory trailer hitch is my ideal set up

@ShadowsPapa: any recommendations on the wiring from the battery? I don’t see why I’d attach that wire to the vehicle. And any recommendations on a light-weight adequate winch?

thanks!

 

[Mr._Bill]

I used these pieces for the wiring. The plug lays on top in the lowered area right in front of the grill. The interrupt is wired to an AUX switch.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CQDQ7Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00029XEFM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/WARN-69847-Quick-Connect-Covers/dp/B000OV7DG4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1G0VMJRMBB49S&keywords=warn+quick+connect+cover&qid=1638720788&sprefix=warn+quick+connect+,aps,371&sr=8-1

https://smile.amazon.com/WARN-62132-Power-Interrupt-Kit/dp/B000CQFVN8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N69ULMOPIC6X&keywords=warn+power+interrupt+kit&qid=1638720903&sprefix=warn+power,aps,234&sr=8-1

I went with an 8k pound winch, since the Curt front receiver is only rated for 9k pounds pull capacity.

https://smile.amazon.com/WARN-96805-VR-8-S-Winch/dp/B01M3XLUN3/ref=sr_1_2?crid=7NQJ8L6H3MBW&keywords=warn+vr8s&qid=1638720093&sprefix=warn+vr8s,aps,220&sr=8-2&th=1

 

[dcmdon]

I wouldn't buy $150 worth of quick disconnect. I'd probably buy the highest quality jumper cables I could find. Confirming that they were at least as thick as the wiring from the winch, cut one set of alligator clamps off one end and splice it to the winch wiring.

Then you have an essentially universal cradle mounted winch that can be mounted to and used with almost any vehicle.

Thoughts on this?

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