H3 Hidden Winch Bumper Build...

[REDLYNER]

I posted this on Pirate4x4, but thought I would share with the Hummer boads.

So here is what I started with-








I'm about 75% complete, and just started taking pictures. Sorry about that.

First I made a mold out of cardboard.. kind of hard to work with, so I went to Home Depot and purchased some aluminum plating to make a better mold.

Got the mold measured and all cut-



Everything fit nice and snug.

Next up was cutting the metal. Went to K&K and picked up around 40lbs of 1/4" and 3/16" plate and started grinding away. Got all of the cutting done last night!

Some of the pieces-



I jacked up the winch between the frame rails then drilled the mounting holes to the front of the bumper. The top piece slid right in and then I bolted up the front for a test fit-




Mmmmm... nice and tight. It actually is a tighter fit than the stock piece-



Then I drilled the remaining front holes and bolted it up. I am losing 1" of approach angle.. not too bad of a sacrifice for a winch. Plus this thing should be solid enough for me to slam down on it if I slide off of a rock.. couldn't do that to the stock piece.

[REDLYNER]

Next was getting the wires hooked up-


The box is mounted out of view once the stock upper bumper goes back on. I pulled the plug for the remote from the solenoid box and will be mounting that in the new front plate.




So after getting all of the cutting finished, I went over to my buddy EROCK's house for some late night welding. It took about two hours to prep and grind (oops) and then when we were ready to lay down some beads, the welder wouldn't work!

So I went back Saturday morning and helped with some of his killer YJ projects while he welded up my seams.

The welds looked great, just needed a little grinding to make them smooth. Now all sides are completely flush and smooth as glass.




Next up was measuring and cutting the slot for the winch line.




Slid the winch in for a quick test fit.




Then I cut the hole for the solenoid plug and wires. Then notched the top of the bumper for the line engagement knob.

Next up was a bolt in test fit. Everything fit perfectly!




So now I am priming and painting. Just shot the first coat of primer. I'll probably throw on two coats of primer and two coats of paint.

The only issue I have run into is the primer is the perfect color that I was going for, and the paint is a little light. My only real options are stick with the lighter (dark) grey, or go with a semi gloss black or something.

[REDLYNER]

Ok, took everything off and started priming-




Got it painted up and started the wiring-




All bolted in.. perfect fit!








That is one of the new 35"s on the roof rack, the rest were in the back. I got back from the tire shop like an hour ago, so no pics with the 35"s yet. I'll throw some up on the board tomorrow.

This was a fun build and did not take very long at all.

[wpage]

Nice project and documentation. What is the load rating on the winch?

[ChiHummer3]

Nice set up!

[Agriv8r]

looks great....how much time.....

[Big Dad]

That does look good!

[REDLYNER]

It is an 8000lb winch- XRC8 to be exact.

The project time wasn't too bad at all. This being my first bumper, I went through a couple of designs before deciding on the one I built. The project went from idea to completion on 6 days. It would have been faster, but I had to wait two days before my buddy could help me weld.

Assuming I had direct access to the welder, It could probably be built in around three days (including getting the metal, cutting, welding, and grinding).

Total welding time was about an hour.

The only negative is that I didn't lengthen the winch power cables, so it is a really tight fit. I put the winch on jack stands inbetween the frame while I wired it. I jacked the bumper up in front of the winch, then slid the winch into the bumper only inches away from where it would be mounted.

I went to the gas station yesterday and the tire shop and was receiving all kinds of questions and positive feedback about it!

Thanks for the compliments guys!

Couple more shots now that the 35"s are mounted-

[tomp]

Very Nice! All you need now is a license plate bracket with Mag-Light flashlight clips on the back to make a quick disconnecting plate holder

[06-H3]

Looks great. If you ever decide to go and mass produce that bumper, put me on the top of your customer list.

[timgco]

NICE JOB!!!!!

[fourfourto]

Looks GR8
Hows the skid plate line up

[CO Hummer]

Nice work on the Bumper!

I can't tell from the pics how you get access to the winch to plug in the controller. Do you have it on remote control?

I might be a little concerned with those d-ring mounts. I looks like only two bolts with fairly small heads. I hope they are grade 8. Alternatively, you might consider welding the mounts directly to the bumper. Along those lines - I also be a bit concerned about bending that 1/4 face plate if you're really tugging on it and the mounts hold. You can always fix that by welding in some gussets on the inside (or maybe you've done that already).

I'm not trying to pick it apart because I think you did a nice job. Just some suggestions from a bird's eye view of the pics.

[3Hummer]

Originally Posted by tomp

Very Nice! All you need now is a license plate bracket with Mag-Light flashlight clips on the back to make a quick disconnecting plate holder

Unless you live in Florida where you dont need a front plate!

[DRTYFN]

Meh...
How is someone supposed to see their cable/synthetic line?

[RazM]

[quote=CO Hummer]
I might be a little concerned with those d-ring mounts. I looks like only two bolts with fairly small heads. I hope they are grade 8. Alternatively, you might consider welding the mounts directly to the bumper. Along those lines - I also be a bit concerned about bending that 1/4 face plate if you're really tugging on it and the mounts hold. You can always fix that by welding in some gussets on the inside (or maybe you've done that already).[quote]

He's using the stock shackles and mounts from the H3, which are directly bolted to the frame. According to HUMMER, a single shackle/mount can hold the whole weight of the vehicle, so he's got nothing to worry about in the strength department.

[06-H3]

Originally Posted by RazM

He's using the stock shackles and mounts from the H3, which are directly bolted to the frame. According to HUMMER, a single shackle/mount can hold the whole weight of the vehicle, so he's got nothing to worry about in the strength department.

You sure about that? From an earlier post on H3 winch bumpers, this was the result of the stock mounting plates behind the bumper:



Despite what GM says about holding the weight of the vehicle, they are bending depending on the angle of the pull.

[REDLYNER]

I don't expect for everyone to like the bumper, as a matter of fact, that is why I built mine- I didn't like the other choices.

Two things I want to be clear on:

1. You can see the cable just fine. I have winched in 3 times now and it still lines up like it did from the factory- including a 75' pull.

Here is a pic of the line after 3 pulls-






2. The winch sits perfectly flush between the two frame rails. I have not seen a single pic posted on the web of bent frame mounts from a flush mounted winch. All of the bent mounts came from winches mounted above the frame, not inbetween them.

This is the best shot I have showing the winch location-





I took all of this into consideration before building mine. I spent several hours looking at every single winch mount offered for the H3 before building this one.


Hope that helps!

[06-H3]

I still think it is one of the best winch mounts for the 3 I have ever seen, and when you make a couple more, I'm ready to make a purchase.

[RazM]

Originally Posted by 06-H3

You sure about that? From an earlier post on H3 winch bumpers, this was the result of the stock mounting plates behind the bumper:

[image]

Despite what GM says about holding the weight of the vehicle, they are bending depending on the angle of the pull.

Two completely different designs, and it's NOT an issue with the mounting plates, like that thread seems to say it is. The mounting plates had to be changed because of the design of the winch mount, not because the plates weren't strong enough for their intended purpose.

The winch in question is a supported 7 shape, where the winch sits much higher than the stock mounting plates and sits BETWEEN the mount front plate and steel bumper. Since the winch sits higher and mounting points are lower, any force applied will ALWAYS apply pressure downwards on the lower parts of the mounting brackets. In the case of that picture you posted, the force was multiplied even more since the pull was from a lower level.

The brackets were designed to support the weight from directly in front of the mounting plates, which would be the shackles. Even if you pulled from a high position or low position, the forces would be applied to the shackles and then distributed to the center of the brackets, not just the lower portion.

REDLYNER's design works with this method, since the winch sits between the frame rails/mounting plates, any force applied is evenly distributed between the two mounting point and there's no chance of anything bending.