My question is where would you put the winch plate on the frame if it was welded in? Should it be about 1.5 inches down on the frame? Does anyone have a picture of where they welded theirs in on a JK? My bumper will be very similar to the Shrockworks mid length only custom built. Should I just build the bumper first and this will tell me where I want the winch plate? Thanks for the input in advance.

 

Yeah -

Your best bet is to build the bumper knowing where the winch should go.



That way, you can make sure that after you build it, it will work well.

As a rule of thumb...figure you want the winch to be braced between the frame horns...and, the leverage applied to the mounting point should be minimized by lining the force vector expected to be applied and the mount point so as to brace the winch against the expected forces in 3 dimensions.

Boxing the section, bracing the winch feet against the bumper face, etc, are all common techniques.

Logic will lead you to realize that when the line is under tension....the winch will want to tip down...and, the higher you make the line's pull point relative to the bracing points, the more leverage/stress the winch will exert on the bracing points.

If its an off center pull, then the leverage will be in a horizontal rotational plane as well as a vertical plane, and the force vectors will be lobe shaped in the direction of stress, etc.

You might want to consider that the mere fact that you asked this question indicates that you may not have the engineering background to design a winch mount.

There are computer programs that can calculate the forces, and even describe appropriate brace designs, etc....but, you'd have to know the strength of your welds and shear mounts, etc.

Otherwise, you can end up with a bumper that is heavier than it needs to be, or too light to do the job, etc.

The welds can be perfect, but the bumper fail, if the design is flawed, etc...

Remember, the frame horns are designed to deform/crumple in an impact for example...and that's what you have to attach to.....you'll need to account for that, or your bumper might trigger the crumpling, etc, instead of bracing against impact, etc.

So - Plenty of people wing it, and plenty have their shit break, etc...it depends upon how much time you want to devote to the project.

I've been involved with fab work, welding, etc...and I buy Shrock's stuff, as he already invented the wheel for me.

Can you make your own for a fraction of what it costs to buy one? Hell yeah! Plus, its very satisfying.

Anyway - food for thought.

Take your time on the design end.

 

check out this thread. it's a great way to do it:

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...ighlight=winch