Advice on winches? Mounting & wiring?

[Capt.]

Love to hear what other Gladiator owners learned buying and installing winches and bumpers?

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[Aleph]

Be prepared for it to take 2-3x the time you anticipate, lol

 

[Brad.Clarkston]

1.) Make sure you get the correct wench plate for the wench you buy unless you want to spend time drilling holes or making them bigger.

2. Don't forget to order a fairlead plate to cover that front hole (I'm waiting on the mopar plate to put my Badlands on).

 

[Gvsukids]

2. Don't forget to order a fairlead plate to cover that front hole (I'm waiting on the mopar plate to put my Badlands on).

Buy the correct one for wire or synthetic line. I saw a Jeep with a roller fairlead with a synthetic line.

 

[Mr Miami]

Love to hear what other Gladiator owners learned buying and installing winches and bumpers?

I would start by asking what features are important to people here and not, at least at first, get bogged down by brands. Think in the direction of what you want the winch to do and not simply what the winch can do. If you plan on installing it yourself, make sure you get some insight on the complexity of the install. At least in my case, installation was one of the key issues and I planned on doing it myself (with some help lifting) and didn't want to be cutting or drilling stuff to make it fit. I wanted the plug-and-play approach and got some great information here.

Don't forget to include what type of bumper you will be using since there are variations based upon OEM and various aftermarket types. Also, don't get too hung up (IMO) on weight capacities and how much they can pull, etc. 10k-12k seems about the average used and you should be fine. And don't forget to include the winch plate in your calculations. Even the Jeep OEM steel "winch-ready" bumper on some Gladiators does not come from the factory with a winch plate in the bumper. I see you have a JTR (as I do) but keep in mind that only the Rubicon X has the steel bumper as standard equipment; my standard Rubicon had the steel winch-ready bumper as an option in something called the "Bumper Group" or something.

I'll get out of the way and comment more later on mine but again look for the features you want and the price you are comfortable with. One feature I like on mine is the wireless remote thing. I see you are from Florida too and if you get get stuck in some deep mud, it's a lot nicer to be controlling the winch standing on firm ground instead of up to your crotch in mud.

But then again, just my thoughts.

 

[nbennettksu]

I would start by asking what features are important to people here and not, at least at first, get bogged down by brands. Think in the direction of what you want the winch to do and not simply what the winch can do. If you plan on installing it yourself, make sure you get some insight on the complexity of the install. At least in my case, installation was one of the key issues and I planned on doing it myself (with some help lifting) and didn't want to be cutting or drilling stuff to make it fit. I wanted the plug-and-play approach and got some great information here.

Don't forget to include what type of bumper you will be using since there are variations based upon OEM and various aftermarket types. Also, don't get too hung up (IMO) on weight capacities and how much they can pull, etc. 10k-12k seems about the average used and you should be fine. And don't forget to include the winch plate in your calculations. Even the Jeep OEM steel "winch-ready" bumper on some Gladiators does not come from the factory with a winch plate in the bumper. I see you have a JTR (as I do) but keep in mind that only the Rubicon X has the steel bumper as standard equipment; my standard Rubicon had the steel winch-ready bumper as an option in something called the "Bumper Group" or something.

I'll get out of the way and comment more later on mine but again look for the features you want and the price you are comfortable with. One feature I like on mine is the wireless remote thing. I see you are from Florida too and if you get get stuck in some deep mud, it's a lot nicer to be controlling the winch standing on firm ground instead of up to your crotch in mud.

But then again, just my thoughts.

I agree with this, especially about the part about researching what fits with what. I got a frame chop bumper that was quoted to 'fit with all new age winches'... It did not. I had to cut into the front mount part where the fairlead attaches, just to get my EVO Warn winch (incredibly common winch) to fit. It wasn't a huge deal, but it required modification and not what was expected.

 

[ross neill]

And remember that a steel bumper and winch weight will change how Jeep looks I had to add a 1 1/2 inch spacer lift . And it will change how it rides

 

[NC_Overland]

If you bought the stock style steel bumper, and have a plastic front skid from the factory, you need the steel bumper skid mounts for the metal skid plate. They don’t always come with it. It delayed me several days. I ended up using the warn winch plate, I was really happy with the quality.

 

[D_JT]

Warn Evo 12K synthetic is what I'm running. Factory steel bumper with Barns 4WD winch plate. As for wiring, red cable goes to positive and black wire goes to negative/ground. Factor 55 Flat Link-E.

 

[Gvsukids]

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/what-winch.26021/

If you bought the stock style steel bumper, and have a plastic front skid from the factory, you need the steel bumper skid mounts for the metal skid plate. They don’t always come with it. It delayed me several days. I ended up using the warn winch plate, I was really happy with the quality.

Winch can be installed with a plastic bumper.
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/installation-of-winch-on-rubicon-plastic-bumper-diy-photos/

 

[NC_Overland]

Winch can be installed with a plastic bumper.

With all due respect, that’s not remotely what I was talking about.

 

[corey8922]

I have the factory winch steel bumper or my 2020 Rubicon. Went with a heavy duty winch plate that had the most contact and fastener points I could find. I went with the Ericsson 12 k with steel cable as I live in Canada and synthetic just makes me feel wouldn’t be best in the cold with icing. It’s a tight fit to run the wiring between my winch and grill and takes some sweat to keep it tight to the winch so it doesn’t rub. We also need a front plate so I was able to find a slick flip up plate holder that mounts to a roller fair lead. It takes a while but there was NO cutting or drilling so I can put it back to stock. I also made a set of Scotch blocks as anchoring the jeep so the winch don’t overwhelm it

 

[JMojaveX]

I copied a post I made in another thread regarding "Mopar brush guard", it's pertinent to your decision on winch and mounting. Choices galore, and the install is pretty simple for whatever you choose. Good luck!

j


" A Heads up on the Mopar Bar. I installed Warn Zeon XD 10-S using a Grimm plate. That install went fairly easy. Enter the Winch Guard, which I bought for mounting lights and not really for guarding anything! Anyhow. The problem: With my above winch and mounting setup the very top front of the winch hit the guard. I had to stack two washers(about 1/4" high) under the rear bolts to tip the bar forward. this gave me .020 clearance between the bar and top front of the winch. I don't see it being a problem and you wouldn't notice it unless I pointed it out, because everything is black anyway.
Bottom line, if the guard actually has to guard against anything It's only got .020 till my winch is on it's own.
I'll keep the setup for awhile, but it bothers me! Just a heads up if you're look to do the same setup I just did."

 

[Stan H]

Warn Evo 12K synthetic is what I'm running. Factory steel bumper with Barns 4WD winch plate. As for wiring, red cable goes to positive and black wire goes to negative/ground. Factor 55 Flat Link-E.

Those lights are enormous . But I like em

 

[NC_Overland]

Those lights are enormous . But I like em

Hah. I think I have the same lights. The hoop makes them look smaller.

That’s all that you can see on my wiring. I spent a lot to time hiding everything and it’s all run into my aux switches minus my winch. There are accessories you can’t see here. I’m using 3/4 aux switches

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