Project VXOverLand

[ipd]

looks like a lot of crash bars that I've seen. If mine ever gives out, I'd really like to do something like Jo has & just mount a rock bumper to the stock crashbar location in lieu of a front bumper.

[Thelgord]

If I can find a good deal on some plate steel I will keep welding

[89Vette]

Or....Look here if you want another idea.

[Thelgord]

To mount the winch plate I needed a length of 2x2x1/4” tubing. I really only needed a bit less than 5 feet worth. However, all the steel suppliers only sold it in 20 foot lengths. Now I have four, 5 foot length of steel tube. I am sure I can find a use for the rest, but still.

If I save the other 3 pieces for other projects (I already have some ideas) then the single piece was just over $25. Not to bad of a deal to make a winch mount. Not counting replacing my drill, I am so far around $75 into this mount. Or $150 if you count the total price of the steel plus winch plate. Either way not a bad deal. Now to go see if I can finish the frame mounts before the sun goes down.

Why does shopping taking so much time? LOL!

[89Vette]

Next time you need a shorter length of pipe, try a local welding shop. Mine will sell by the foot -- if they have it. FWIW, there's a place in Kansas City called "Metal by the foot" that also sells by the foot. (This is where I went when the local metal yard also wanted to sell a 20ft piece of plate steel for my hitch project.)

[Thelgord]

Thanks! On the plus side, I can use the remaining three pieces for a rock slider project.

The good news the new drill worked great! Got the frame attachments bolted up just as it was getting dark. Now all I need to do is mark for cuts on one of the pieces of tubing and get that welded up so I can mount the winch plate. Then put it all back together.

I suppose I should find a way to reattach the “wing” tubes to the new mounts to cover the tires. Or not ...

[Thelgord]

Been a busy couple of days to close out the new year. First I completed fabrication of the winch mount:



Then I had to put all back together. Much cutting of the cladding ensued...





I still need to find a place to put the control box and get everything wired up. There is also no fair lead installed yet because I have synthetic line and a hawse fair lead arriving Tuesday to replace the steel cable.

The real down side (but maybe not) was buying 20 feet 2x2x1/4 steel tube to make the winch mount. I only ended up using around 20 inches, but the steel suppliers here make you buy 20 feet at a time. Of course now I have steel for rock sliders or some other project I may yet get into.

This entire project should be called “built by Harbor Freight”. Badlands (ie: Harbor Freight) 12,000 pound winch. BadLands universal winch plate. Chicago Electric (also Harbor Freight) 170 Amp mig welder to stick everything together. Drill Master (also Harbor Freight) 4 1/2 inch angle grinder with cutting cutting disks. Even the ratchet, breaker bar, and sockets used came from from Harbor Freight.

So what did all of this cost?

Angle grinder: $10 with coupon.
Welder: $150 with coupon.
Hand Tools: Around $60 for everything.
Winch Plate: $50 (I didn’t have a coupon)
Winch: $200 (open box special)
Synthetic Line and Fair Lead: $130
Steel Tube: $110 for 20 feet, but since I used then than 2 feet you could say closer to $11 as I intend to use the rest for other projects anyway.

So total spent: $650 (or $551 depending how you want to calculate the steel cost).

Not a terrible price for a 12,000 pound winch and mount. Of course this doesn’t count the man hours spend fabricating all of this. I am very happy with it so far. However, there is one rather glaring issue I didn’t count on, the winch’s clutch lever is behind the cladding. I may be able to squeeze my hand through the opening, but I would like easier access. This also why I didn’t put “wings” on the winch plate to go over the wheels the way the crash bumper did. I havn’t decided yet if I am just going to buy a sheet of plate steel and build this out to a full bumper. It is likely that I will. I had so much fun building this winch mount that I was actually sad when it was time to put the welder away.

Anyway, that was how I spent the last two days.

I hope everyone has a happy new year!

[Thelgord]

Got the winch wired up and pulled the steel cable to be ready when my synthetic line arrives.

[eternal21]

Looking good! From your pics, I can't really tell where you welded, but I put 2 upside down L brackets under the winch plate and welded them to the either end of the end of the frame, and then to the bottom of the winch plate. In your picture, where the 2 little circles are located at the end of the square frame tubing in your pic below.

Additionally, for the rusty bolts, I'd highly recommend https://www.amazon.com/Boeshield-Rus...dp/B000FVWA66/ and
https://www.amazon.com/BOESHIELD-Cor...dp/B0002Q9F26/ They both come in a variety of sizes.

[Thelgord]

I made frame mounts from c-channel, then welded 2x2x1/4 tube to the mounts offset and notched to raise them 3/4” above the mounts I made. Very very tight fit.

[Thelgord]

It’s been damn cold here, but I finally got my fair lead and synthetic line installed on the winch! Yay!





This project is going great!

[ipd]

You're doing all this in a carport? Yikes. Georgia feels like Indiana this week.

[Thelgord]

Well, yeah, and my back yard. The welder is in the back yard, so all fab work gets done there. Work that just uses hand tools I just do in the car port. But yeah, it’s all outside. When I installed the solenoid and synthetic rope I would work for 30 minutes, then go inside for 10 minutes. It was around 20-25 all day. This weekend I hoping to get my Curt Hitch installed, and yes, it will probably be done in the driveway.

[ipd]

Well if you want to do it in a "slightly" warmer place, I can offer my garage. It's not heated...but we could always toss a space heater in there--and it cuts down on the wind chill.

I refuse to live in a house without a garage. #first_world_problems

[Thelgord]

Hahaha

I wanted a garage. The wife wanted a pool. She won this round. Next house I am definitely getting a garage.