I wanted to mount a winch on the front of my 1998 LX470 but I didn’t want to go the full bumper route. I spent some time looking at different behind the stock bumper mounts and decided to go with Trail Tailor’s hidden winch mount. I chose Jason’s design because of his great reputation for quality products, simplicity of the design and cost.
When I first looked at Jason’s design I noticed it would not fit the LX as designed. The LX comes with a larger A/C condenser to accommodate the increased capacity for the rear A/C. Notice the A/C line running below the front cross member. This required changes to the right and left mounting areas of Jason’s original design. After emailing Jason he agreed to modify his design if I would send him a template.
After receiving my template Jason quickly converted it into a cad drawing and then a prototype. In short order I had the redesigned hidden winch mount at my door. I elected to have mine shipped in bare metal.
Being a prototype, I expected to have to make some small tweaks to the mount to get it to fit correctly, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it fix perfectly with no adjustments needed to the mount.
The install process does require the front bumper reinforcement to be cut on the right and left just inside where it mounts to the frame. This is the only modification I had to make to the truck. The mounting bracket that attaches to the bottom of the bumper reinforcement does not need to be cut and reinstalls with no modification required.
As part of my order I also purchased Jason’s tow points. This required me to procure new mounting bolts to replace those used for the factory mounts. Technically I was able to get the winch mount and tow points secured using the stock bolts but I didn’t like that the bolt didn’t go all the way thru the captured nut. These bolts are not something that can be purchased at the local hardware store. I found the correct size and length, M14-1.50x55mm, at a fastener warehouse in Nashville, Capital City Bolt & Screw.
Jason doesn’t guarantee his mount to work with any winch except for the brand he sells because he hadn’t test fit any others. However, he did provide dimensions that I was able to compare with my Warn winch which made me comfortable there would be no installation issues. If you have a Warn XD9000 it will fit with room to spare. I moved the solenoid to be above the winch motor and secured it to the motor using worm clamps. In this position I’m able to attach the control cable from under the hood and if I need to I can route the control cable thru the Lexus emblem so I can close the hood without fear of cutting the cable.
The next step is cutting the bumper for the fairlead. After installing the winch mount and the right and left ends of the bumper reinforcement I put the bumper back on without the winch being installed. This gave me access to the back of the bumper so I could trace the fairlead mount on the winch plate to the back of the bumper. Then I removed the bumper, placed my fairlead on the back side and lined up the traced bolt holes with those of the fairlead, I traced the outside of the fairlead on the back side of the bumper and then I cut the hole using my jigsaw. I still have to spool my rope on the winch.
When I first looked at Jason’s design I noticed it would not fit the LX as designed. The LX comes with a larger A/C condenser to accommodate the increased capacity for the rear A/C. Notice the A/C line running below the front cross member. This required changes to the right and left mounting areas of Jason’s original design. After emailing Jason he agreed to modify his design if I would send him a template.
After receiving my template Jason quickly converted it into a cad drawing and then a prototype. In short order I had the redesigned hidden winch mount at my door. I elected to have mine shipped in bare metal.
Being a prototype, I expected to have to make some small tweaks to the mount to get it to fit correctly, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it fix perfectly with no adjustments needed to the mount.
The install process does require the front bumper reinforcement to be cut on the right and left just inside where it mounts to the frame. This is the only modification I had to make to the truck. The mounting bracket that attaches to the bottom of the bumper reinforcement does not need to be cut and reinstalls with no modification required.
As part of my order I also purchased Jason’s tow points. This required me to procure new mounting bolts to replace those used for the factory mounts. Technically I was able to get the winch mount and tow points secured using the stock bolts but I didn’t like that the bolt didn’t go all the way thru the captured nut. These bolts are not something that can be purchased at the local hardware store. I found the correct size and length, M14-1.50x55mm, at a fastener warehouse in Nashville, Capital City Bolt & Screw.
Jason doesn’t guarantee his mount to work with any winch except for the brand he sells because he hadn’t test fit any others. However, he did provide dimensions that I was able to compare with my Warn winch which made me comfortable there would be no installation issues. If you have a Warn XD9000 it will fit with room to spare. I moved the solenoid to be above the winch motor and secured it to the motor using worm clamps. In this position I’m able to attach the control cable from under the hood and if I need to I can route the control cable thru the Lexus emblem so I can close the hood without fear of cutting the cable.
The next step is cutting the bumper for the fairlead. After installing the winch mount and the right and left ends of the bumper reinforcement I put the bumper back on without the winch being installed. This gave me access to the back of the bumper so I could trace the fairlead mount on the winch plate to the back of the bumper. Then I removed the bumper, placed my fairlead on the back side and lined up the traced bolt holes with those of the fairlead, I traced the outside of the fairlead on the back side of the bumper and then I cut the hole using my jigsaw. I still have to spool my rope on the winch.
