Greetings everyone. A couple hours ago I finished installing my new LoD mid-width front bumper with skid plate as well as a new Recon synthetic line winch. I thought I would share a little bit of my experience with those of you who are interested in this set up from a guy who is not very mechanically inclined. If you're wondering whether or not you can install this bumper and winch yourself, the answer is, Yes. If I can, anyone can, trust me.

The entire install, including removal of the old bumper, was about 8 hours. I know, many of you are thinking that's 5 hours too long. The reality is, I am meticulous and wanted to take my time to be sure I got it right. Prior to this project, I had never wired or soldered anything in my life.

The bumper arrived about a week after my wife ordered it as a present. The bumper is awesome and was shipped very well. The powder coating is fantastic. Thanks to you guys on the forum, removing the old bumper, skid plate, and whatever that flat plastic thing is that sits on top of the bumper took about an hour. I pulled out the fog lights from my old bumper and, as suggested on the forum, drilled out the holes on the housing units a bit so they would fit on the new bumper.

I mounted the fog lights in the bumper before mounting the bumper to the vehicle. After mounting the bumper, I mounted the winch. I did NOT remove the grill; it was not necessary and I had no problems (with help) lifting the winch and placing it onto the winch plate. I had to cut the wiring for the fog lights and splice in additional wire, just like everyone talks about on the forum. Soldering was a piece of cake and fun actually.

The hardest part of this was trying to tighten the outer most bolts on the bumper. There is simply little to no space to get your hand in there. I added lock washers to help create tension but it still took close to an hour of messing with it before I felt comfortable they were secure. The other issue I had was with two of the bolts on the skid plate. Two of the rear holes did not align properly so I had to drill them a bit so the provided bolts would fit. Note- the holes on the skid plate were fine, it was the piece of metal the rear part of the skid plate attached to that I had to modify a bit. Finally, the lever to engage/disengage the winch will not completely disengage once you install the winch using the pre-drilled holes on the winch plate. I have provided a picture below. I do not think this will be a problem, but if anyone has input, I'm all ears.



Once I was done, I went back and checked the tension on all bolts to make sure everything was sound. Wiring and testing the winch took 20 minutes. I have provided a couple of pics below. I would suggest using the write-ups here in the forum for this project. They are great guides. I have the Generation 3 LoD rear bumper with tire carrier waiting in my garage (just came last week). This one will take some help.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. I will be doing this procedure this wednesday after I pickup the bumper from LOD.

 

What year is your JK?

 

Looks good man

 

Great job. Can't wait to get mine!

 

wow, that is a long time! Looks great. You better plan on about 12 hrs. for the rear if it took you 8 for the front. I would suggest using the write up on here as well as the write up on the LoD website for that install.

 

My Jeep is a 2008.

 

I am definitely using the write up here, as well as additional notes provided my others on the forum who have already tackled the rear bumper. I'm recruiting two other guys (one who's good with wiring) to help with that installation. I can't beat their price of a few cold beers for their help. Thanks for the post.

 

Congrats and good job. Regarding the lever on your Recon, I have the same issue with my full length LoD. I have not had any problems with the lever, or disengagement of the winch. Originally I planned to rotate the housing unit that has the lever in it, clockwise, but have not gotten around to taking apart the winch, nor has the need to rotate it come about. It works as is.

 

I appreciate the response. Being unfamiliar with winches, I was a bit worried it might engage accidentally or draw from the battery when not in operation. I'll probably leave it as-is unless something comes up. Thanks again!