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I am trying to decide between all the winch mounting options out there. The two sources seem to be Lucky 8 who I think does a better job presenting videos and instructions pre purchase vs New Defender Mods who have a lot of product but not much information.
I like the sort of half look as in the Animal Off-road with the push bar, but a full hooped option is interesting as well.
The only one that seems to have access to the winch on top for untangling a rope seems to be the Stealth with the removable mesh. For those of you with other options how do you get to the top of the winch for the rope and plugging in the wired remote if you have that one?
Is the Terra Firma a good winch? WARN is a lot more expensive but is that what I need for the very occasional use?
I was watching the Animal Off-road installation the other day and was amazed at how man pieces it comes in and having to use cage nuts. Have used a lot of these in my past with server racks.
So I did get a response from Offroad Animal and you do have to remove the bash plate and the mesh to get to the winch so not really easy but possible in the field with tools and time. The Stealth mount seems the easiest to get to the spool. Have not really seen another winch mount with good access except for Sarek who has exposed winch, which is a great option for a lot more money.
Not quite answering your question directly, but here is my experience. And some install pics that show things that aren’t readily obvious.
My winch is pretty much fully hidden - JLR Aussie bull bar and a warn winch up in there with the JLR winch tray that fits that bulbar.
Winch box is up under the hood (did a relocation kit from Vice Design - which is awesome and puts the control pack under the hood). It also puts the wireless sender under the hood which ... idk... makes me feel nice inside but probably has no benefit. My remote is wireless. Works every single time unlike the JLR kit. I change the batteries every 3-6 months as safety and I have two spare WIRED warn winch controllers as well in the car. To plug either of the wired remotes in, I open the hood. I’d recommend this relocation - control box up high always.
Also below is a pic of the car before the front end is back on - JLR winch tray for hidden winch.
It’s worked great. I use it 1x a month I’d say for something - either recovery on trails (ie when @GavinC gets cold feet on the off cambers... ) , screwing around, or some project at home. Very happy with it.
Final setup
The big downside to this JLR setup I have is - the lower bumpers aren’t protected, and hte lower radiators on each side aren’t protected. Strike 1 for the JLR bulbar. When I bought this there were no aftermarket metal bumpers (or even winch trays?) for L663 so you have more options. I like Expedition One the best, btw. My friend has their bumper with winch and -- it’s cracking awesome. Very useful too. No issues we’ve run into on trails. In fact funny I just realized, this is his car on their product page. I might have even snapped this picture -- NDM
That said. I drive the snot out of mine and have only lightly scuffed those “vulnerable” bumper corners. The bulbar takes the brunt down low. The issues with clearance I have offroad are **never if rarely ever ** front bumper approach angle so -- I don’t think it’s a major iissue that I do not have a big hunk of metal on each corner at this point. Those with 35” tires tend to disagree and have problems because the mounts are all cut away and zip ties don’t last ... etc etc.
SO -- it is possible to have a winch and keep the stock from bumper is my point, you can still be hard core. I have not seen the ORD or Ruel hidden winch mounts ever in person on an L663 (?) -- those are the ones that keep the stock bumper and they sell at NDM. I have seen the hidden Proud Rhino mount from L8 and I thought it works well, and I believe it does actually give you some clearance to mess with the rope on the top of the winch. But they also make a “Proud Rhino Stealth Pack Kit” from L8 and it is a hidden winch with a grille over the hole. Check them all out.
I have no stress about mine being hidden now but I did when I started the project. No real need to deal with the rope. If so - relatively easy to pop off the the bulbar and grille and replace the rope every 5 years or so.
Not quite answering your question directly, but here is my experience. And some install pics that show things that aren’t readily obvious.
My winch is pretty much fully hidden - JLR Aussie bull bar and a warn winch up in there with the JLR winch tray that fits that bulbar.
Winch box is up under the hood (did a relocation kit from Vice Design - which is awesome and puts the control pack under the hood). It also puts the wireless sender under the hood which ... idk... makes me feel nice inside but probably has no benefit. My remote is wireless. Works every single time unlike the JLR kit. I change the batteries every 3-6 months as safety and I have two spare WIRED warn winch controllers as well in the car. To plug either of the wired remotes in, I open the hood. I’d recommend this relocation - control box up high always.
Also below is a pic of the car before the front end is back on - JLR winch tray for hidden winch.
It’s worked great. I use it 1x a month I’d say for something - either recovery on trails (ie when @GavinC gets cold feet on the off cambers... ) , screwing around, or some project at home. Very happy with it.
Final setup
The big downside to this JLR setup I have is - the lower bumpers aren’t protected, and hte lower radiators on each side aren’t protected. Strike 1 for the JLR bulbar. When I bought this there were no aftermarket metal bumpers (or even winch trays?) for L663 so you have more options. I like Expedition One the best, btw. My friend has their bumper with winch and -- it’s cracking awesome. Very useful too. No issues we’ve run into on trails. In fact funny I just realized, this is his car on their product page. I might have even snapped this picture -- NDM
That said. I drive the snot out of mine and have only lightly scuffed those “vulnerable” bumper corners. The bulbar takes the brunt down low. The issues with clearance I have offroad are **never if rarely ever ** front bumper approach angle so -- I don’t think it’s a major iissue that I do not have a big hunk of metal on each corner at this point. Those with 35” tires tend to disagree and have problems because the mounts are all cut away and zip ties don’t last ... etc etc.
SO -- it is possible to have a winch and keep the stock from bumper is my point, you can still be hard core. I have not seen the ORD or Ruel hidden winch mounts ever in person on an L663 (?) -- those are the ones that keep the stock bumper and they sell at NDM. I have seen the hidden Proud Rhino mount from L8 and I thought it works well, and I believe it does actually give you some clearance to mess with the rope on the top of the winch. But they also make a “Proud Rhino Stealth Pack Kit” from L8 and it is a hidden winch with a grille over the hole. Check them all out.
I have no stress about mine being hidden now but I did when I started the project. No real need to deal with the rope. If so - relatively easy to pop off the the bulbar and grille and replace the rope every 5 years or so.
Love the winch and bar. I was quite glad to be on the receiving end of it that day.
a little winch out before the final bit of ***** to the wall screwing around to the top.
Mates with winches are a very handy bit of recovery gear to bring with you.
Our bumper places the winch in the best spot for full access. No need to crawl on your knees to get to it. Not hidden. Also, our new grille prevents the need to cut your original grille and completely opens the winch tray around the back. (See rendering in last photo)
I will fully align with @nashvegas and say "back in the good 'ole days" there weren't as many options as there are today. The sad fact is that the AU bullbars I have on my Defender are likely higher on style points than they are on actual defending the Defender. If you want to get ANYTHING that has been thru the off-roading meatgrinder of real life use: follow @sarek 's lead. I've seen his creations first hand and they have real life experience. I realized at SCARR that the difference between me and Sarek is that he drives the Defender like he doesn't need a ride to get home! BTW - those pics are mighty impressive. Just don't get him started on the springs vs. air bags conversation..... /jk
Last edited by GrouseK9; Mar 17, 2025 at 07:32 AM.
I will fully align with @nashvegas and say "back in the good 'ole days" there weren't as many options as there are today. The sad fact is that the AU bullbars I have on my Defender are likely higher on style points than they are on actual defending the Defender. If you want to get ANYTHING that has been thru the off-roading meatgrinder of real life use: follow @sarek 's lead. I've seen his creations first hand and they have real life experience. I realized at SCARR that the difference between me and Sarek is that he drives the Defender like he doesn't need a ride to get home! BTW - those pics are mighty impressive. Just don't get him started on the springs vs. air bags conversation..... /jk
Lol. I will not torture everyone with the air vs coil debate again. I think I have beat that horse to death 😂 . Thank you for the kind words.
We installed our winch when we purchased the truck in 2020. At the time, the factory winch bumper was the only option. I have learned that before going anywhere, I might need the winch to disconnect its power at the fusible link, count to 30, reconnect it, and pair the wireless remote. Afterward, it will work flawlessly for several days. Having real access to the winch would be so helpful. I've considered cutting the mesh but have become accustomed to my process.
Access to winch with bull bar or bumper
-- NDM
