Anybody able to tell me if the mounting plate that says “fits various vehicles” works on a ‘98 TJ ? The reviews seem pretty good for casual use, but would prefer not to fabricate their plate!
Thanks
Thanks
Badlands winch fitment on TJ?
- Thread starter Steve Hofbauer
- Start date
Looking at their product manual, doesn't give any bolt hole dimensions, no way of telling that you wouldn't have to drill new holes to make it work. Personally, I wouldn't buy it. I would get this if mounting over stock bumper.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=360785394359
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=360785394359
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I had to drill additional holes and I couldn't fit their winch with my sway bar. The plate did work and I just cut some extra off. I have used it with my warn M8000 winch and the 12k Badlands winch.
There a two wrangler winch plates for sale on craigslist in your area right now if you are in Palmdale/Lancaster CA. They would be a much better choice. You don't want that HF swiss cheese plate. Personally I'd look for the warn/mopar or the regular raised warn plate used. They come up for sale cheap all the time and are so much better. Remember no matter how good your winch is if the plate flexes the winch breaks. Not a good area to worry about $20, obviously just my opinion.
You're better off finding a used Warn winch and mounting plate. You can paint or rebuild it over buying anything winch related from China.
There is a difference and it's not worth any supposed savings when your life or property could be at stake.....
There is a difference and it's not worth any supposed savings when your life or property could be at stake.....
Not to redirect the threads but are Warn winches still US made? I was thinking maybe VR series weren't and often times the US made can be a low bar just cuz a couple US parts were added at the very end of production.
Just as a note and to be a bit of a contrarian, my Badlands winch has been fine for occasional use, but my M8000 is nicer. I have not put either through the wringer and I try to use it as little as possible because I'm lazy. I use mine mostly for easy tasks like moving equipment, removing stumps or logs and sometimes some recovery.
I carry a couple other pieces of gear for backup, but they feel so much more dangerous than any vehicle type winch I've ever used including the Badlands. After having both winches, I'd rather retire the Badlands to "gardening" duty, but that's not an easy decision for the wallet because ultimately I'd like to have 3 of my vehicles equipped with winches.
Before we venture into "which winch is best?"....the OP is asking about winch plates.
HAHA. Sorry about that.
The HF plate works, but you'll be modifying it and it does have extra bolt holes for other winches which will weaken it. I had to shim the plate some as well to level the plate out.
There are bolt holes so close to where you need to mount, that your drill will want to walk, but they walk forward, which hurts some of your clamping strength, but is ok for the bolt shear. The bolts are a non-issue in reality, because your weak point is going to be plate thickness and the bends in the front and back of the plate. I had to modify the plate in the back for wiring and stuff to pass, but it's there you just can't see it.
No worries--there were just a couple posts mentioning winches
To your question though, from my understanding the VR series are built in China but based on specs/design coming from Oregon. All other warn winches are built in OR.
All but Warn's VR series are US made in Oregon. At least with Warn's winch line including the VR series you are guaranteed replacement parts will be available for many years. Not so with the cheap-end Chinese import winches like are imported by HFT and Smittybilt.