DIY hidden winch gmc yukonxl

[Dich Rixon]

Hey ya’ll. I’ve been planning a 3 night trip to Vermont with my family. Because we are rolling solo and I am unsure of the terrain, I panicked and bought a winch. In order of modification, traditionally the winch comes later in the build but being that this is our first trip as a family I didn’t want to risk leaving a sour taste in the my wife and young kids mouths if we end up barely stranded somewhere.


The winch I purchased is a cheap “xbull” from amazon. It’s a 13k line pull with wireless remote and 85 ft of synthetic winch line. The reviews were pretty good. Slow compared to Warn and potentially shorter service life if used regularly.


Because my truck does t have a lift I wanted it mounted as high as possible. Because budget was a concern a winch bumper was off the table.


I decided to hide it behind the factory bumper this required an in godly amount of mock and test fitting. Bumper on bumper off bumper on bumper off.


I used a universal winch plate and cut welded and bolted it together in the best position possible. It came together quite well.


Because the control box can be remote mounted I was able to get it tucked up pretty well. I wish I took more pics of the process but you get the idea.


A review will follow. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Or if you want to see pictures of anything in particular.

 

[DRLExpress]

That looks awesome. I take it you reach down between the grill and radiator to engage the gear lever. Did you have to make an access door for that in the plastic horizontal piece from the top of the radiator to the top of the grill.
Great job.

 

[Dich Rixon]

That looks awesome. I take it you reach down between the grill and radiator to engage the gear lever. Did you have to make an access door for that in the plastic horizontal piece from the top of the radiator to the top of the grill.
Great job.

I actually cut a window on the lower portion of the grill that is pretty inconspicuous. I thought about going down through that plastic piece your talking about but the window I cut in doesn’t look terrible and it was more convenient than having to open and close the hood. It was something I milked over for a while though. I’ll post a pic of the grill when I get back to my truck.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[Passe-Partout]

Hey ya’ll. I’ve been planning a 3 night trip to Vermont with my family. Because we are rolling solo and I am unsure of the terrain, I panicked and bought a winch. In order of modification, traditionally the winch comes later in the build but being that this is our first trip as a family I didn’t want to risk leaving a sour taste in the my wife and young kids mouths if we end up barely stranded somewhere.


The winch I purchased is a cheap “xbull” from amazon. It’s a 13k line pull with wireless remote and 85 ft of synthetic winch line. The reviews were pretty good. Slow compared to Warn and potentially shorter service life if used regularly.


Because my truck does t have a lift I wanted it mounted as high as possible. Because budget was a concern a winch bumper was off the table.


I decided to hide it behind the factory bumper this required an in godly amount of mock and test fitting. Bumper on bumper off bumper on bumper off.


I used a universal winch plate and cut welded and bolted it together in the best position possible. It came together quite well.


Because the control box can be remote mounted I was able to get it tucked up pretty well. I wish I took more pics of the process but you get the idea.


A review will follow. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Or if you want to see pictures of anything in particular.

Well done! Virtually undetectable yet functional when needed.

 

[JohnC]

Thats a great way to get a winch on the truck without having to chop up too much of the oem bumper. I had the warn hidden winch plate on my yukonxl for a while. To run the plate i had i was able to clock the handle end of the winch back and down so I could turn it from under the right side of the bumper.