I posted about this a while ago but no one had heard of it. There's the Rough Country, Warn, and a few other winch plates for the stock JK bumper, but has anyone ever heard of the much cheaper Smittybilt one?

http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.aspx?partID=43139
(I think 4WD is a sponsor, if not I will make the link un-clickable)

I cannot find any reviews online, PDF instructions, anything. Anyone familiar with it? Check out the picture...I don't understand what the second larger piece is for. None of the other company's designs have a piece like that, just the other 5 pieces (main plate, brackets to replace tow hooks, and rear support brackets).

At $150 it's like half the price of the other ones. I'll contact Smittybilt and 4WD to see if they know anything about it (I would hope Smittybilt would...) and let you know what they say.

 

send Bustabizz a PM,

he's 4wd's rep on here

 

Done, thanks! Hopefully he will have a little more info.

 

To me, looks like the leading edge holes on the back piece match the trailing edge holes on the winch plate. Also looks like it mounts to the inside of the frame rails. I would guess it is a reinforcement of sorts, and if I had to guess, allows them to use thinner steel than the competition.

 

That's what I thought too, but it's 3/8" thick. Aren't most winch plates only 1/4"?

EDIT: The Warn kit actually does include a similar piece that looks like it goes between the frame rails. Also the Rough Country plate is $179, so it's priced similar. I thought it was more than that.

 

Sorry to semi-hijack, but if you're interested I have a brand new, never been out of the box Bulldog winch plate I'm trying to unload. Asking $150 shipped, just let me know.

 

I just installed the WARN one this past week, it's 100X better than the RC one. The old saying you get what you pay for comes to mind.

 

I'm not really looking to mount a winch, but thanks. Just saw the Smittybilt one and couldn't find any info on it.

The Warn one does look the best, but I don't think I'd spend ~$350, when you can get a Rugged Ridge winch bumper for $299.

The Bulldog one looks nice too, but does look like it requires you to cut some of the plastic bumper away. I really like how it keeps the stock tow hooks though.

 

The last time I checked, this wasn't shipping yet. Hit the Smittybilt website and ask them if it's really availalble.

 

You're right, Bustabizz says the Smittybilt plate is not actually released and shipping yet.

I think if it was to keep the stock tow hooks and sell for $150, it would be a popular item.