I'm about to put my old Ramsey 9000 winch on my jk, I'm looking at bumpers that have a low winch mount, between frame horns, and still have mounting holes for the factory fog lights, I don't really care if it's full width, mid or stubby, but kinda thinking mid.
Not really looking for anything fancy, actually I'm on a budget, wanting to keep it below 500, but may not be able to do that and still have one that will hold up.
what are some brands to stay away from?

 

Not as popular as most, however, the Rugged Ridge XHD mounts the winch between the frame and keeps the radiator clear of obstruction. I'm still running my XHD and have had no problems with it. EDIT - I should have said I've been running this bumper for 8 years without issue.

 

I’ve had a metalcloak front bumper for about a year now and I really like it. The winch sits low and in between the frame. The bumper is about as low profile as you can get. I don’t remember the price off the top of my head but I think it may be a little above $500.

 

I've been running this bumper since early 2008 (with my 20 year old warn 9500lb winch). I like that it is modular and you have a choice of configuring it any way you want : stubby / mid-width / full-width / stinger / hoop. Looking at the website, it doesn't appear that there have been any big changes to it since I bought, but I haven't actually been following reviews on it.

 

I had the same XHD bumper and it's a little beast. I sold it to a guy who stuck a 12k lb winch in it. I don't know the prices, but genright may have one that fits your criteria. The fog lights are the one feature I wish I had retained when going to a newer bumper.

 

I'm using the RR XHD as well. Been ~10 years now, powder-coating still looks OK. Has fog lamp holes, and the winch fairlead sits slightly below the bottom of the grille.