F250 winch bumper build

[scout man]

Yesterday afternoon I decided it was time to start on the winch bumper for my truck. I started out with two goals: 1) I didnt want it to stick out real far. All of the factory winch bumpers add like 2 feet to the length of the rig. Its already long enough. 2) I wanted to still be able to utilize the factory tow points. Why? Because I like them, and because they are already solid. This also allows me to make the actual bumper surface lighter duty. You can see in the pictures that the winch itself mounts directly to the frame, and not to the bumper.

In order to make this work, I needed to build significant brackets to mount the winch between the fram rail using existing holes. There is an angle bracket that goes over the frame and down the outside and bolts to some existing suspension mount bolts. The winch plate itself then bolts to that bracket, since it couldnt be made as all one piece. The winch plate also bolts to the vertical front service of the frame rail. When it was all said and done this ended up as a very solid mount. And yes, the winch is mounted upside down. That was the only way I could tuck in in the frame rail in a solid fashion. I actually really like it though, as it puts the cable pull directly between the frame rails, as well as gives me a way to reach the clutch lever, which otherwise would have been very challenging. (will suck to reach in deep mud or snow though, but this is just an emergency winch anyways, not every day.) My biggest concern with this winch is if the cable spools on one side during a pull. There is not a lot of room inside the drum, and I have seen winches break those cross bars by spooling up. The problem is, if that happens it will tear into my radiator. Trying to figure out how to rectify that problem.

(to be continued)

[scout man]

Next I started building the outer bumper. I am really liking how it is turning out, but the challenge will be the finish welding without warping things, as there is a lot of welding to be done. I got all of the top and middle layer done today, but the bottom is proving the be some very challenging angles. Decided to tackle that with a fresh mind on Sunday.

I definitely accomplished goal one. The winch and bumper take up the same space as the original bumper. In fact, with very slight modification to the stock bumper. I could mount it back on there with the winch inside. I also retained the stock tow points with plenty of room to still mount a shackle on it. (will still be cleaned up as I go along)

[4Runninfun]

Good idea. No sense adding any extra weight/length if you don't have to. What size plate are you using?

[glacierpaul]

Nice Steve!!

[scout man]

the winch mount itself is 1/4" and slightly thicker pieces. The winch mount surface itself is 1/4"+ diamond plate, since thats what I had around. The external bumper ranges from about 1/8" to 3/16 in places. It is thin and lightweight, but will be strongly reinforced.

[Hypoid]

http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=31067&stc=1&d=1363413957

Any plans for air flow? It looks like it might be worth adding a vertical plate betweem the frame rails, mounting the winch to that, and spooling off the top of the winch. Just a thought anyway...

EDIT: Maybe a frame of quarter inch wall, 2x2 square tube to flip the winch... :)

[scout man]

a vertical plate between the frame rails would block significantly more of the radiator. Almost the entire lower third. As it is its really just the winch itself in front of the radiator. The external bumper will have some expanded metal passthroughs for air. I also am not sure that I would want to trust the 16,000 pounds of a double line pull to just the bolt heads not pulling through the plate, basically.

[Brad]

Lookin great Steve! :thumb:

[88Toy]

I love this! So many bumpers for the newer trucks, as mentioned, stick out way too far. None are particularly good looking, until now! Got mass production in mind?

[Rob]

Looking good, Steve.

[Fordguy77]

Nice building Steve

[Patrolman]

Nice build Steve!

[scout man]

Got mass production in mind?

Ha, not particularly, but I am always willing to make another one. Best part of making a second one is 1) it goes faster (although this one has been pretty quick) and 2) I get to correct anything I didnt like on the first one!

The nice thing about this bumper is that the structural stuff was done right away, and now I really get to focus on the cosmetics, then add some additional structure back in later where its necessary.

[Cr33p3r]

Looking good Steve, that winch tucks right in there nicely

[scout man]

Thanks! I was pretty happy with how it tucked in. I just dont understand why no one else does this? Even the warn "hidden winch bumper" that uses the stock bumper makes you move the stock bumper 5 inches forward. I just dont understand why.

So, this bumper turned intricate on me today, which wasnt really my intention. You can see on the below picture that there is a lower bar visible on the drivers side. This bar posed a problem when I got down to that point, as it totally screwed up my angles, and my ability to keep the slant on the front that I wanted. Because of that I had to change the angle on the piece in front of the edge of it, and that made things complicated. anyways, this is where it sits right now. I think I like it. Going to be a lot of finish welding though! Bumper stops right behind the last piece that is currently on there, right at the start of the wheel well.

[The StRanger]

Thats got some Beef to it !!

[lateralj]

looks great.

you gonna cut a hole to run the winch line or do some fancy hidden door work?

[Patrolman]

Nice work and lots of welding! If you didn't have enough practice before, this will give you plenty of practice!

[scout man]

If you didn't have enough practice before, this will give you plenty of practice!
Very true. I was thinking that around hour 4 of welding today. Would have been a good job to let a welding newby do, as they would have been a pro by the end!! That said, my welder was giving me problems today, so I wasnt really looking like a pro either. Once my spool of wire ran out and I put a new one in things got a lot better. I guess it was just a bad spool of wire?


you gonna cut a hole to run the winch line or do some fancy hidden door work?
no hole, I am going to let it magically pass through the bumper :lmao: Actually, your pretty close with the "fancy hidden door work" I havent entirely figure it out yet, but its going to have a hawse fairlead covered with the license plate. Likely either a hinge up or to the side, or a slide up or to the side. Havent worked out that detail yet.

I got most of the welding done today, and figured out the mounts to bolt it to the frame. I think I am going to go back out and do a few hours of grinding tonight, as I have a ton of it to do. Still have a good handfull of details to figure out as well.

[scout man]

This bumper is turning into a heck of a lot of work!! Spent about 6 hours today grinding and sanding, and another 5 or so fabing. My hands hurt. I am really happy with how it is turning out though. Figured out my access door for the winch clutch lever, and did a lot of bracing and stuctural stuff. Tomorrow I need to run to HCP4x4 and hopefully pick up a steel hawse fairlead (which seems to be hard to find locally), and another product they have that caught my eye. Then another day or two of work and it is ready for paint.

[The StRanger]

When you hit HCP say goodby to Val
She's movin to Arazona..

[scout man]

they didnt have my fairlead I needed. Had to order one. Oh well.

Well, I dont really like to post pics at this stage of the project, as the reflections off the polished spots make lines look uneven and sloppy, but I am going to post some anyways. Let me explain some of the new holes in the bumper, as they currently probably dont make much sense. The top slot is for a Rigid Industries SR 10" LED, and the two square openings are for a Rigid Industries Dually LED. Obviously there still needs to be a opening made for the winch cable. I am waiting for my fairlead to show up tomorrow before I cut that, as I intend to set the hawse fairlead back in a bit and need to have the fairlead in hand before I cut the hole. The two bottom circles are mostly for air flow, as I am covering a significant amount of radiator. They are a little larger than you would expect, but that is because the passenger side needed to be big enough to get my hand in there to access the winch clutch lever. I had really intended to re-use the stock fog lights as well, since I use them on a daily basis and really like the look of them, but they simply werent going to look right on this bumper. Plus they take up a LOT of room. They are extremely deep and would have interefered with the winch mount. I guess I will have to live with just the LEDS. Not sure if I will be able to use them for daily driving or not though. My guess is not. I am going to wire the two small ones up on the stock fog light switch though, and make the 10" on a seperate switch. That way I can use just the two as fog lights if I desire.

I still need to do some finishing work on the back sides by the tires, but the overall lines are done. Just need to cap the back a bit. Other than that, mount the fairlead and do some finish polishing, then paint! Hopefully the finished product will be on and painted by friday night!

[88Toy]

I like it!

[Dirt Claude]

Well done Steve, it looks great!

[Rick]

Damn! That looks great!!!

[gm4x4lover]

Thanks! I was pretty happy with how it tucked in. I just dont understand why no one else does this? Even the warn "hidden winch bumper" that uses the stock bumper makes you move the stock bumper 5 inches forward. I just dont understand why.

So, this bumper turned intricate on me today, which wasnt really my intention. You can see on the below picture that there is a lower bar visible on the drivers side. This bar posed a problem when I got down to that point, as it totally screwed up my angles, and my ability to keep the slant on the front that I wanted. Because of that I had to change the angle on the piece in front of the edge of it, and that made things complicated. anyways, this is where it sits right now. I think I like it. Going to be a lot of finish welding though! Bumper stops right behind the last piece that is currently on there, right at the start of the wheel well.


Steve what is this bar for? My 2000 doesnt have it and neither do the 99's. What did ford change to need this on there. Those tow hooks a super strong. I was pulling a trailer (i was about 17k in total weight) in a blizzard about 3 weeks ago when the wind blew me down an 70 degree embankment. I was about 100' off the road. The tow trucks winched me up the slope with the trailer still attached. I was shocked at how strong those hooks were.

[scout man]

I really dont know. It doesnt physically support anything. All I can figure is it is there to add protection to the bottom of the radiators. I looked at a lot of pics to see how others accomodated this and only really found like one other truck that had it. I could have removed it, but ultimately I decided it provided good collision protection for things like short tree trunks and whatnot, and added additional support to the bottom of the bumper. Not really sure why they added it, or why it isnt on other years (this is a 2001). I have included some pics of it from different angles.

Yea, I love the tow hooks that ford uses, and I figure these are way tougher than anything I could design, as they are 1 inch diamete solid steel bent into shap, and bolted directly into the end of the frame. There really isnt a whole lot you can do to beat that.

I everything done today, primer done, and the first coat of paint on. Should have a finished product tomorrow!

[KnuckleHead]

Looks great Steve.....

[Patrolman]

That is great work! Can't wait to see the finished project.

[lateralj]

its a front splitter, give you some nice downforce at speed :p jk i dunno what that is but bumper is looking sweet !

[scout man]

the other thing I dont get is the stock bumper stopped above that bar, then they had one of those stupid soft rubber flanges for the last 3 inches or so. Why the heck do you need a soft bottom when you have a 1.25" thick piece of steel tubing behind it anyways??

[gm4x4lover]

I don't get it either, that bumper rocks, I really like the lines it has.

[Java]

^^X10!! Really nice design, looks almost factory! :thumb:

[scout man]

well, this freaking thing fought me every step of the way today. Of course, the wind and cold, and eventually snow didnt help the situation. The first hickup I encountered was when putting the bumper on, it suddenly would not push in all the way to where it belongs. I finally figured out it was the fog lights. I started shaving some of the heat fins off the back of the light, and realized it still was simply not going to work. I ended up removing the fog lights for now. I guess I will have to swap out for some of the surface mount ones, even though I dont think they look as cool. So, after removing the lights I tried to install it again. It went right into position, but I could not get the bolt holes to light up. I fought this damn thing for hours. Finally I opened up the holes in the truck fram a touch more and made it work. I think when I welded the fairlead on I let it get too hot and it warped the entire bumper ever so slightly. moved the bolt holes away from each other about 1/8". Anyways, at the end of the day I finally got the dang thing on there! I do like the look of it. still some little details to work out here and there, but its on there for now. The winch will hopefully not clip to the tow hook forever, as it crosses directly in front of the fog light. It is supposed to tuck fully behind the license plate, but I could get the hook to swivel on the cable tonight (and didnt feel like trying by this point.) Ideally the hook will lay flat across the front of the fairlead and the license plate will cover the hole thing. Anyways, here are some pic! Yes, that is a boot print on the front. This bumper wasnt my friend today.

I will get some better pics sometime when the weather isnt so crappy. And yes, one lower vent has silver screws and one side has been painted black. I ran out of black paint for the other side! :rolleyes: Also, on the black side those arent actually functional screws. They are just there to match the other side, so they were already there for the paint process.

[transplant87]

Look really good Steve

[Chris]

Good work Steve! When everything goes smooth is when you need to wonder!

[Rob]

Nice work, Steve. The bootprint looks good.

[gm4x4lover]

Makes me want to put a winch in mine. I love tow rigs with off road potential.

[glacierpaul]

I can relate to peices of work not being your friend Steve! Love the boot print adds character!!
Seriously, nice job !!

[xaza]

When a project gets done and looks as good as this makes all the headaches and busted knuckles all worth it. Nice work Steve. Was hoping you would paint it orange to match the scout when pulling it :lmao:

[88Toy]

Steve, you've got a winner here! Very inspirational. I hear my '06 calling...

[Rick]

When a project gets done and looks as good as this makes all the headaches and busted knuckles all worth itX2!!

[Cr33p3r]

Turned out great Steve! I like all those little angles you had to cut and weld in!

[scout man]

thanks!

[Brad]

Saw it first hand last night, once again pictures do not do this justice. Really nice work Steve! :thumb:

[scout man]

I revisited this project again. Decided to add some more on top! Here it is...

[sdhill]

That is BAD A$$. For the gear oil at china wall you can help me make that top piece... LOL :wrench:;)

[Cr33p3r]

Like the barbwire touch!

[CS79bronco]

Like the barbwire touch!
Yeah, you could sell those to barbwire collectors all over the world.

[Rick]

I revisited this project again. Decided to add some more on top! Here it is...Awesome..Nice to see something different

[The StRanger]

Like the barbwire touch!


Ah He!! ya ..

[ColoJeeper]

Very cool, I like that.

[Patrolman]

Nice touch!

[Popsgarage]

Did you manually make the barbed wire????????? That's awesome!!!

[glacierpaul]

Sweet Steve, You Need To Be At The Next Stock Show Selling That !!

[scout man]

Did you manually make the barbed wire????????? That's awesome!!!

I did! I even made it the old fashioned way, over an open fire pit. (mostly because I ran out of O2 for the oxy/acetelyne right at the start). Thanks for all the compliments!

[Popsgarage]

I did!

Awesome!