Just ordered a 12k HF badlands winch to put on the disco, and am trying to figure out the best/safest way to mount it. I have a GDE winch bumper from a 91 RRC, but it is missing the winch tray which I believe it had at one point in time. Being that this bumper is aluminum, is it better to just try to fab up a bracket to mount directly to the frame? Or is an aluminum bumper like mine generally strong enough to anchor a winch to? I've always had hitch mounted winches before so this is new to me. Thanks for any info or opinions you can offer

 

Hf has a universal tray for winches. It is a badlands product and is about 40 bucks. I used one to make my rear mount. Might be a option to mount inside the shell/bumper and mount to frame. Just a thought

 

Yeah that's a good idea. I just ran to HF and picked one up. A lot easier to fab a couple adapter brackets than a whole plate.

 

Here's a thread on a D1 build where he used that plate between the frame: https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...-disco1-57534/

 

Honestly why not just drill the holes and mount the winch to the front face like the ARBs are set up?

 

Whoa, I didn't look at the thumbnail. Just do this: Great Divide Expedition Winch Bumper for Range Rover Classic GDE RRC - Defender Source
Just found this one too. This setup looks pretty cool! http://www.discoweb.org/forums/showthread.php?t=86367

 

I'm still considering that as an option, but since the bumper is aluminum instead of steel I wasn't sure if a direct bumper mount was recommended.

 

yikes...it's aluminum?? That is nuts, I would use a real winch bumper....

 

The down side is that it's not as strong as steel, but the upside is it's 1/3 the weight so adding an 80lb winch won't affect the ride or ground clearance much.

 

Still a huge improvement over the stock soup can with plastic veneer .
Steel tray from frame will get you there. And syn rope will get your weight way back down again