H3 winch mounts for sale

[CrisB]

OK man, so you're saying it stressed out some while pulling, but you stopped before it bent? That's normal, but you said "and the front of my rig was bent" so I thought it did bend out on you.

Still, I've got those frame plates in the works & I'd be happy to send you a pair to weld on, if you want 'em. Along with the top supports I'm fabbing up for the grill cage, that should hold the pivot...will send those too, if you like.

Work-in-progress, it seems...

[hummer_metal]

Got your email, had a look at it, yup that's where I suspect the problem is too... Why did they make those brackets so thin? Engineers...

Nope, I am happy with the deck and am making the gussetts myself to support the front end brackets...

It should be good to go when I get time to weld the gussetts on.

[NEOCON1]

OBERON ale i'm enjoyin one right now

[Crash ?]

Originally Posted by hummer_metal

Why did they make those brackets so thin? Engineers...

No.. Not the Engineers.. It was the bean counters that knew by using a thinner metal they could save maybe $10 per truck.. That adds up and since the H3 is truely only a light duty truck, not a HEAVY DUTY rig, chances are there are only a very few folks such as the folks here that would EVER have problems with it..

It's the same reason they went with a 7.5 aluminum front diff rather than a 8 cast iron and only 26 (or is it 27) spline gears rather than 32's..

The cost savings vs the few problems (that someone else is fixing on their dime) is just to great to overlook..

They cut $10 here and $12 there and they can get the sticker price below the $30K mark ($29,999) the make more short cuts they take and thinner lighter materials they use the more profit they can get out of that same $29,999 sticker...

[SR1355]

It's all about the Benjamins....

[CrisB]

Originally Posted by NEOCON1

OBERON ale i'm enjoyin one right now

I gotta go get more of that, it's only made for a month or so....enjoy!!!

[CrisB]

OK, finished some mods...

Added 2 brackets to brush guard, they go back to a bolt on the steel radiator housing. Required drilling into center steel of brush guard, a nylon spacer helps keep it from tweaking. This oughta counteract the rotational force on the grill guard, but I still need the new-thicker-better mounting plates so I can weld 'em to the frame ends.

Anybody that's bought a mount, and has a brush guard, sound off if you'd like a pair, they're on me. Anybody still wants a mount can have a pair of these to bolt on with it.

[SR1355]

Looks good Cris, we'll have to see how they do on Drummond....

[CrisB]

We're gonna need that winch, good testing opportunity.

[CrisB]

OK, here's the bigger-better-stronger frame mounting plates I had laser cut, anybody wants a set let me know. I'll include plates & upper supports with any further winch mount requests.

Welding mine on tomorrow, will post some pics. 3/8" steel, hope the engineers are paying attention....no way these'll bend.

[RuggedH2]

Nice! Look good.

[SR1355]

Originally Posted by CrisB

OK, here's the bigger-better-stronger frame mounting plates I had laser cut, anybody wants a set let me know. I'll include plates & upper supports with any further winch mount requests.

Welding mine on tomorrow, will post some pics. 3/8" steel, hope the engineers are paying attention....no way these'll bend.

Those look impressive....

[NEOCON1]

Originally Posted by 03H3

Nice! Look good.

X2 i cant wait to test them out

[RuggedH2]

Damn Cris,

I already got the new supports. That was fast. They look strong! I'm going to get them on right away. Thank you, and I appreciate the video CD also!

Neo, I'm planning on being down there May 24, 25, and 26. We'll try not to use them on the G -Run at Neo's turn but if we do, we'll be all set.

[CrisB]

Cool! Glad they got there OK.

I purposely got my H3 stuck this weekend in a mudhole just to try out the new setup, worked like a charm. No bend, no stressing. It wasn't any cliff face boulder winching like Neo can get you into , but I'm convinced this was the fix.

When you weld on the new plates, pay attention that they're flush with the ends of the frame members, sit at 90 degrees to the ground, and lay a straight edge across them to be sure they're on the same plane.

[CrisB]

here's a pic

[NEOCON1]

those look really good

Originally Posted by CrisB

here's a pic

CrisB, Two questions, and just be aware I'm no Off-roader like you guys by any stretch of the imagination. So if I'm not grasping this too well please understand.

1) do you need to use these fabbed plates in order for the winch mount to work on any H3? Or only with H3's that have the Brush Guard?

2) Any thoughts of designing something similar to the Winch mount, but in a 2" receiver, to make use of the front end for different hitches? Similar to the H2 front receiver? It would lift the receiver up over the front plate a bit, but utilize the chasis/frame for mounting as the winch mount does where the Tow hooks are bolted on now.

As far as strength goes, well the rear receiver, is just a bumper with a receiver mount as part of it, and the bumper is bolted to the chasis; So I would assume that there would be no reason to think that the front would be any different.
However using your design, it probably would be stronger because instead of using the bumper, like the rear, we'd be mounting the piece directly to the frame through the tow hook attachments.
Now the tow rating would be based soley on the mount's steel strength, not the truck's stamped steel bumpers strength.

What are your thoughts? I've also sent you a PM about this.

[CrisB]

Fabbed plates are for extra strength at the D-ring mount, makes no difference if you've got the brush guard or not...winch plate will fit with or without brush guard.

No plans for front receiver mounts, barely even a market for the winch plates! Shouldn't be hard though, just take your idea to a local fab shop & see what they think.

[06-H3]

Are these winch mounts still available for purchase? If so, I'd be interested in obtaining one. Quick question, I can't quite tell how they mount to the vehicle. Is it mounted at the same location as the two front D-rings?