How To Install 2010 Ram 1500 hidden winch

Knighthawk said:

Well just got home with the 1/4" angle iron and some 1/4" flat iron for bracing and I am starting the fitting. Wish me luck.

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So it is looking good. Fabricated the bracket. I am cutting the tray down to fit now. Going to have the tray bolt under the spacers. Should add strength to the tray. Used up my last grinding wheel. Will have to pick up some after work tonight. Hope to have it all cut down today and test fit.

That is badass, Great writeup

Well back from vacation and again working on the mount. All welded up and ready for painting. I still have to work out the roller mount for the cable.

Well it is bolted in. Just need to work out the roller issue and we are done. Thanks for the ideas. This worked perfectly. It will work on a 13 sport. If anyone wants any tips or pics I will upload.

All done.

Look great, how does it work?
have you hooked up to anything to try it out? Any flexing in the mounting plate or roll lead?
I have been looking at similar idea but think im going to try to install a hidden 2" receiver hitch up front then I can mount winch on a carrier and use it front or rear and also put a hitch hauler up front when towing the boat with the truck camper in the bed for some added storage.

I have a wireless remote for it. I tested it out with a basic load. Nothing too heavy-duty. It work
ed great. I did not see any signs of flexing. The mounting plate is a very heavy-duty design, made from a single sheet of steel that was dent over in the front to make the mount for the fairlead and again behind the winch for extra structural support in every direction. The angle iron was welded the entire length front. And back of winch mount plate and every hole in the middle. The weakest point I can see are the 4 bolts. Since they are stronger than the stock bolts designed to mount the tow hooks. I think they are fine too. The fairlead is from Warn and clamp to be good to use with cable. It is a very heavy steel also. Probably 2x or more than the aluminum one I saw that was only good for the synthetic cable.

I tried the rear mount hitch first. I was thinking about a front mount hitch after that. But the rear hitch was very heavy to be pulling on and off and I did not like having it stored in the bed. It was hard to keep it from moving around and then it took up space. I have a short bed. I started looking at the front hitch mount since it was already on a hitch mount. The length of the arm was going to be long.....that was a lot of weight to just ride around with on the end like that. Was not sure it it would hold up like that. And I loved the idea of hiding it. It just looks way bettee. And nothing to hall around in the bed or leave at home.

Great job Knighthawk! I'm really happy I was able to inspire you to make your winch bracket. my website went down a while ago, so I have moved all the images in my original post over to a dropbox account and relinked them.

I recently got my truck stuck in the mud while pulling a 22' camp trailer across the back of my property. hooked up the winch to a tree and it had no problem pulling me and my load out without any noticeable flex or damage to the mount. if I had gone with a lower front receiver mounted winch it would have required a LOT of digging to be able to get the winch mounted. having it higher up in the bumper, and readily available saved me hours of trying to get un-stuck.

Anyone ever tried the Westin winch mounts. They state for use with our trucks.
2014 Ram Truck 1500 Westin MAX Winch Mount - Get Your MAX Winch Tray Here At RealTruck

hidden winch mount

Dang ,these look great guys !! Makes me have some motivation to build me one instead of waiting for a manufacturer to start producing them.
Thanks

Got up under the Dodge yesterday and started some fabrication. Got the mount finished today. Waiting on my Hawse fair lead and synthetic cable to come in before I mount it up. Can't wait.

Trying to figure out how to add pictures.

I've been following this thread for some time now and using it for inspiration to complete my own hidden winch install and I'm happy to say, "I got it done". I finally had an epiphany that the secret is a feet forward design. The winch is a Warn M8000, mounted feet forward and upside down on a custom built winch tray bolted to the end of my frame rails. The upside down mounting allows the winch line to come through higher on the bumper, where the license plate is normally located. Due to the upside down mounting, I needed to seal the two vent holes on the winch's motor drum support. (thats information I got from a friend of mine that is a technician at Warn).
Here's a few pics. I'm happy to post more details if anyone is interested in doing their own.
UPDATE: My winch is not mounted upside down

Looks good !! I have to add 2 more braces to mine before I can use it but mine is mounted. Just can't figure out how to post pictures.

bottoms ram said:

Looks good !! I have to add 2 more braces to mine before I can use it but mine is mounted. Just can't figure out how to post pictures.

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When posting a reply, scroll down and you will see "Additional Options". That is where you can chose to attach files.

Thanks , I will look at that.

Pic

Pic

Very nice. I am glad to see more people doing this. Just a like welding, some time and a hole lot of measuring... But really looking back on my install, it was not really that hard. I would love to see more people do it. It is such a clean look and still functions great. I have mine on a wireless remote that makes it even easier to operate.

Love to see more photos from behind the bumpers to see how you guys mounted yours.

I will have to get some of the way I mounted mine. Started out with an old Rough Country hidden winch mount off of a 2012 Chevy that I had. Mounted it on a piece of 3/16" -2.5"x 2.5" angle iron. Welded the mount to the angle and then bolted it to the 4 tow hook bolts. Going to build 2 more brackets to go from the rear tow hook bolts to the mount just for a little more support when winching. Hardest part was getting all that weight up to the bolts. Used a transmission jack to do that. Also had a 9500 lb. Rough Country winch from a previous truck so all in all I only have about $150 in this one. I will post pics of my install when I get my truck back. Son has it at college right now while I'm putting a winch on his Ranch Hand brush guard.

Knighthawk said:

Very nice. I am glad to see more people doing this. Just a like welding, some time and a hole lot of measuring... But really looking back on my install, it was not really that hard. I would love to see more people do it. It is such a clean look and still functions great. I have mine on a wireless remote that makes it even easier to operate.

Love to see more photos from behind the bumpers to see how you guys mounted yours.

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I considered getting a wireless remote, but found the perfect storage location for my controller in the engine bay. On top of the passenger fender well is a small pocket that the controller fits in nicely. It's easy access and allows me to keep the controller connected.
More pictures of my mounting set up attached. Custom winch tray made from 1/4" steel.