Phishs
Well-Known Member
I have the same bumper that came with the winch plate. Did you use the winch plate that came with the bumper? I have seen others say it isnt strong enough but it seems pretty substantial to me. If you did use the provided winch plate, have you been able to test it out with the winch to see how it holds up?The look-alike bumper is identical in every way as far as size, fitment, shape, etc. You can interchange all parts without issue. You can put the wings from the eBay bumper on the MOPAR bumper, you can put the bezels from the MOPAR bumper on the eBay bumper, the bars are the same fit and so on.
If I was doing it again, I'd put washers between the bumper and the winch plate to push the bumper forward about 1/4" and then likely not need to trim anything. Spacing the plate forward with washers may have helped with clearance for the power cable but I got that taken care of pretty easily with some manipulating of how the cable is attached inside that top box, and carefully "bending" the cable by hand when warm and clamping it in place. My cable doesn't touch the grill.
The winch plate doesn't attach to the bumper at all - it should be attached at the frame horns where the bumper attaches to the frame and have braces running down to the frame to support it at the rear and sides - at least these do.
I used heat shrink over the cable where it exits the box, and a clamp holding the cable forward away from the grill.
I did mock-up by bolting the plate to the frame horns on each side, and those two large black bolts attach a bracket to the plate which also bolts to the frame below.
I got everything in place where I wanted it, put a floor jack under the winch plate to hold it in place while I removed the bolts that held it to the front ends of the frame so I could position the bumper. If I had thought ahead or realized the clearance issues between the top of the winch and the bumper, I'd have put washers on the bumper bolts to space it forward from the winch and plate a bit. I may still have needed to trim a bit - and it turned out fine, really.
These are the brackets that hold the rear/sides of the winch plate to the frame ->
I had to trim the "release" or "clutch" lever - if I had left the bar off - no problem, or if I had used the Warn bar which is wider it would not have been any issue. I may buy the warn bar at some point because of better clearance and the fact it sort of closes the open end of the tow hooks, making them more like loops so soft shackles and so forth can't slip off.
Basically, the bumper I have is exactly like the MOPAR labeled bumper in all ways except finish (perhaps some other ways but it's the exact same shape and size) so any issues with one will be an issue with the other.
I have used my winch to pull a car out of a snowy/icy ditch. Wasn't real steep, not a huge load like pulling it out of deep mud with suction, but still, it was working. I truck driver hauling scrap iron pulled up behind me just in case I had to tie my truck to his to prevent my truck sliding on the ice and snow but my truck stayed put. I had parked on a level area with rougher ice and some traction and ran out almost all of my rope.
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