I just got in my xhd bumper w/ the rugged ridge skid plate fo my Rubicon. I also have a warn m8000 winch. Is there anything I need to know about the install?

 

Stock bumper is harder to get off than the RR is to install

 

Put the winch in before installing the bumper, otherwise it is difficult to get to the bolts to mount the winch.

 

x2. It is possible to install the winch with the bumper on, but much much easier with it off.

 

Thanks for the help. I was reading that I had to install something backwards (the brushguard?) to get the m8000 winch to fit right.

 

Also that I might need to cut a small section of the bumper in the winch area b/c of my electronic sway bar disconnect.

 

I have yet to install all 8 bolts that hold my bumper on because of the electronic disconnects. I can't decide whether or not to cut the bumper or to drop the assembly to give me room to install it.

 

The electronic disconnects create a real issue with new bumpers. Taking the OEM one off is simple, but I recently installed a new Benchmark Elite Stubby and the two inner bols on the passenger side requred several different extensions and a universal joint to get to them.
I would put the winch on my XHD I had on my 2009 prior to installing the bumper to the JK and it seemed easier to me.

 

I had zero issues with the RR bumper and skid with my sway bar motor. I have a 2010 Rubi.

I believe that RR adjusted their bumpers so they would fit without any cutting. I remember reading about a small cutout that was needed on the bumpers but when mine arrived, it had already been done at the factory! Depends on when you bought it and from where I guess (ie..working through old invesntory). So no issues with the motor. RR has instructions on their site for those of you without the cutout. Its just a small section and it shouldn't be too hard.

The 2 issues I had were as follows

1. 2010 front crossmember was changed from '09 which required both cutting of the ends to be flush and drilling holes to get the top bolts of the skid plate connected. This issue only affected the skid plate.

2. I had to cut the bolts of my fairlead plate in order to get everything to fit. I have the Smittybilt XRC10 winch and the fairlead bolts were too long making the winch or bolts not fit. The winch plate area is about as narrow as you can get while still being able to fit a winch so there is little to no room for extra things to be sticking out somewhere!

Supposedly RR has addressed the corssmember issue as well but they are working through inventory before the new ones ship. I have zero skill with most things tool related but I was able to cut mine down with a 4 1/2" grinder in about 10 minutes or so. Wasn't hard.


Edit** Here is the link to RR website where you can view the install instructions. The last page has the extra info for cutting the bumper for the sway bar motor if you have an older one that already hasn't been cut.

http://www.ruggedridgeoffroad.com/je....php#blackbase

 

I have the exact same setup. I installed my winch afterwards because I had the bumper first.....was no big deal and installed easy enough, but like said, if you have the winch...install it first.

NOTE: IF YOU ARE USING THE WARN SELENOID MOUNT (the one that does NOT ship with the winch) ATTACH THE SELENOID GROUND CABLE TO THE WINCH FIRST!!!! The ground bolt is UNDERNEATH the winch when it is mounted, so if you do not install the ground cable from the selenoid pack first...it is a real bitch to get to later!

The only other problem I had was the M8000 selenoid mount and the RR tubular grill guard - I think you referred to this in your note. With the grill guard leaning/facing forward (the position I wanted it in), the controller connection was positioned so that the grill guard is in the way....i.e. you can't plug it in. To solve this, I took a 5 or 6 inch pieces of galvanized metal with pre-drilled holes - about 3/4in wide (hardware section of any hardware store), and "extended" the warn selenoid mount by bolting the piece of metal to it, and then bolting the solenoid to the extended bracket so the selenoid would sit a little further back - you only need about 1" towards the hood to make it work. I sprayed it with bed-liner first to protect and darken it as well to match a bit better.

Now, the controller sits far enough back to be protected by the grill guard as well.

Grant