LOD signature bumper, install winch to plate before or after mounting bumper?

[diamondschwin]

Wonder if anyone’s done one of these and has some input. Seems I can lower winch onto the plate after attaching the bumper itself, but maybe it’s easier to attach winch to plate before the bumper? Anyone have some tips?
It’s my first time doing a Jeep bumper, I have done a lot more of this work on Land Cruisers and trucks.

Sponsored

 

[Jeepsk8]

It's way easier to tighten the bumper / frame bolts with the winch not in there. It can be tight getting the winch to slide in depending on which winch you have. I tried installing the winch first, but I couldn't get enough room to install the bolts so off came the winch.

 

[diamondschwin]

It's way easier to tighten the bumper / frame bolts with the winch not in there. It can be tight getting the winch to slide in depending on which winch you have. I tried installing the winch first, but I couldn't get enough room to install the bolts so off came the winch.

Thanks, that’s what I was thinking. I am putting in a Smittybilt x20 10k, which I think is a bit smaller than your Badlands but I doubt it’ll make that much room for accessing the inside bolts.

slick looking rig you have there.

 

[rkwfxd]

Older thread but FWIW I installed LOD bumper first then the winch. By far the hardest part was getting the nuts tight inside the bumper for the winch fairlead.
Were I to do it again I would have mounted tge fairlead to the bumper before I dropped the winch in and bolted it down.

Sponsored