Got myself a Smitty 10,000lb waterproof winch and a few accessories.
So the install process begins.
Found myself in a bind, needed to get a piece of 1/4" plate at minimal cost.
So I went out scavenging a few places i know and hit the jackpot at the very first stop.
For the super low price of "One Blue Note" 47" x 18" x 1/4"...
So after removing the bull bar that houses my Hi-Lift jack
(I should have removed the jack first though)
And doh laugh at my tie strapped indicators,
dat went 'bago and survived a few roadblocks without incident.
Offering up the plate and measuring out the cut required.
A view from the underside, the polcadot gloves to save the fresh paint.
Well about this time I realized cutting 1/4" eats these cutting disks.
That was my last one, time to borrow.
So eager to see the winch on the van I just had to do it.
With bumper.
Without bumper.
Brackets need some cleaning up, gussets for the extra weight and paint.
Bracing up.
Bumper gusset and a little paint afterwards.
The last of the welding rods, have to make each one count.
Hydraulic lines need rerouting, my take on a fire blanket (wet rag).
Plate trimmed and welded onto the bracket.
Next problem I faced is a half dead black n decker drill and no oxygen
to use the torch to get the holes to mount the winch.
So I went ahead and used up a few more of my fast dwindling rods to burn the holes.
Adding two struts to make a center support.
A lil coat of paint.
Throw on back the bumper.
With the winch bolted down, there was no more place on the plate to install the fairlead.
So the next best place is the bumper, which presented its own problems.
So what you see is the best i could do.
After installing the rollers, i tried to release a little bit of cable to send the loop through the roller.
And that was a disaster, all the cable hit the floor.
After making up the electrical connection and trying to spool in back the mess on the floor.
I realized the the rubber protector for the remote jack was hanging in the spool.
So I removed it and changed the orientation to the top.
Wiring covered up.
End of day one, install complete. Tomorrow to reinstall the bull bar and indicators.
After i make a trip to the hardware to get welding rods and cutting disk.
Day two.
Had to lose the fog lights, which were a mere decoration.
And trim off the lower brackets, original mounting no longer possible with the plate.
Welding directly to the bumper.
Now to solve the tie-strapped indicator.
Taking pieces of sheeting from an old shock that I had cut-up.
I made some brackets, welding that thin sheet was hell. Needed a mig for that.
Wiring cleaned up and the finished product looks like this.
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