New Winch and Bumper...its getting there slowly
05-24-2010, 11:50 AM
#1
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: salem, ohio
Posts: 345
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
New Winch and Bumper...its getting there slowly
Well i convinced the wife to let me make a purchase. Well a couple purchase's. I got a Rugged Ridge XHD front bumper with end caps. I still need to get the hoop. It was out of stock. And i got a Smittybilt XRC8 winch. Got it installed on Saturday while we had some crappy weather. I do notice the front sagging a little but i have a RC budget boost to put on and i do have rims sitting in my basement. The next purchase will be tires. Then i MIGHT be done....
Looks great! 
05-24-2010, 12:25 PM
#3
JK Super Freak
Looks good man! I just got the same bumper and winch in the mail today, but w/o the caps..I am going to run the stinger eventually but I can't install it tonight because I have work all night! 
05-24-2010, 12:28 PM
#4
JK Enthusiast
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Clovis,NM
Posts: 245
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well i convinced the wife to let me make a purchase. Well a couple purchase's. I got a Rugged Ridge XHD front bumper with end caps. I still need to get the hoop. It was out of stock. And i got a Smittybilt XRC8 winch. Got it installed on Saturday while we had some crappy weather. I do notice the front sagging a little but i have a RC budget boost to put on and i do have rims sitting in my basement. The next purchase will be tires. Then i MIGHT be done....
05-24-2010, 03:37 PM
#6
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: salem, ohio
Posts: 345
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes it has bitten me again... When i bought it, i vowed to leave it stock, but even though its a jeep, it doesn't look like a jeep should. So the mod bug bit me and i have accepted the fact that i can't and won't leave it stock. I'm sure once the tires go on, i'll be doing gears and lockers. Then get some rock sliders and some skids and armor. I have yet to take it offroad but i'm getting that itch also. I just don't want to go alone. I need to know who is in north east ohio and when to go. I'm a newbie to offroading so i don't know much. I would need alot of coaching.
Thanks for the compliments. I was unsure about how the bumper would look sitting stock height and stock wheels and tires. But i'm pleased. I just need that hoop now.
I did the install myself and it took me about 5 hours. I installed the bumper and was nervous i would have to uninstall it to install the winch, but there was enough room to install the winch with the bumper installed. Some air tools would have cut down on the install time greatly.
Thanks for the compliments. I was unsure about how the bumper would look sitting stock height and stock wheels and tires. But i'm pleased. I just need that hoop now.
I did the install myself and it took me about 5 hours. I installed the bumper and was nervous i would have to uninstall it to install the winch, but there was enough room to install the winch with the bumper installed. Some air tools would have cut down on the install time greatly.
05-24-2010, 04:00 PM
#7
JK Super Freak
Yes it has bitten me again... When i bought it, i vowed to leave it stock, but even though its a jeep, it doesn't look like a jeep should. So the mod bug bit me and i have accepted the fact that i can't and won't leave it stock. I'm sure once the tires go on, i'll be doing gears and lockers. Then get some rock sliders and some skids and armor. I have yet to take it offroad but i'm getting that itch also. I just don't want to go alone. I need to know who is in north east ohio and when to go. I'm a newbie to offroading so i don't know much. I would need alot of coaching.
Thanks for the compliments. I was unsure about how the bumper would look sitting stock height and stock wheels and tires. But i'm pleased. I just need that hoop now.
I did the install myself and it took me about 5 hours. I installed the bumper and was nervous i would have to uninstall it to install the winch, but there was enough room to install the winch with the bumper installed. Some air tools would have cut down on the install time greatly.
Thanks for the compliments. I was unsure about how the bumper would look sitting stock height and stock wheels and tires. But i'm pleased. I just need that hoop now.
I did the install myself and it took me about 5 hours. I installed the bumper and was nervous i would have to uninstall it to install the winch, but there was enough room to install the winch with the bumper installed. Some air tools would have cut down on the install time greatly.
Trending Topics
05-24-2010, 05:06 PM
#8
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: salem, ohio
Posts: 345
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It would have been alot easier to install the winch with the bumper off the jeep but i don't think i would have been able to manhandle the bumper and winch at the same time. It would have been difficult. Plus one thing i noticed, if i installed the winch before hand and then installed the bumper and winch as one unit, the power cables for the winch could have binded on the grill. I had to take the winch off a few times and fine tune the cables to get them to not rub on the grill. It was a little difficult to get the winch cable thru the fairlead but i managed with some string to guide it. The only bolts that were hard to tighten were the front bolts on the winch. But by saying difficult, i couldn't use a socket to tighten them. I had to use a box wrench to get to them but there was plenty of room to get the wrench on and tighten them down securily.
Also some insite on the bumper. i was a little scared about the quality of the bumper being it was not that expensive. I must say this bumper seems to be pretty stout. It might not be as stout as an LoD, Shrockworks, AEV, ARB, ect... but for the money it is enough for me. I wouldn't put it through any competition rock crawling but for the average offroader looking for a heavy duty bumper that is winch ready, i feel it will handle some hard abuse. Plus being able to take off the end caps and have a stubby bumper makes it all more appealing for me. I like to have the ends for street use and maybe some light wheeling but for more hard core and rocks, its nice to be able to remove the end caps for better clearance.
Sorry for the long posts and the poser shots, but its all i can do right now. Hopefully this information is somewhat good for someone. And if i'm incorrect about anything let me know as i don't know it all, and want to learn more.
Also some insite on the bumper. i was a little scared about the quality of the bumper being it was not that expensive. I must say this bumper seems to be pretty stout. It might not be as stout as an LoD, Shrockworks, AEV, ARB, ect... but for the money it is enough for me. I wouldn't put it through any competition rock crawling but for the average offroader looking for a heavy duty bumper that is winch ready, i feel it will handle some hard abuse. Plus being able to take off the end caps and have a stubby bumper makes it all more appealing for me. I like to have the ends for street use and maybe some light wheeling but for more hard core and rocks, its nice to be able to remove the end caps for better clearance.
Sorry for the long posts and the poser shots, but its all i can do right now. Hopefully this information is somewhat good for someone. And if i'm incorrect about anything let me know as i don't know it all, and want to learn more.
