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10-23-2019, 04:52 PM
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#1
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Burney
Posts: 107
M.O.C. #11789
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Adding a Winch with Accompanying Headaches
After getting my 2015 Chevy 3500 LB 4WD stuck in the snow in my own drive way, I decided a change was needed.
First, I got rid of the worthless highway tires for some snow tires and then, just in case, I decided to add a winch. After some research, I decided on a Westin HDX grille guard with winch tray and a Warn Zeon 12S winch.
Installing the grille guard was not the simple "bolt on" as the instructions indicated. It required some modifications and the re drilling of several pre drilled holes. After ten hours I finally had it on and it looked awesome.
Two weeks later the winch arrived and I found it would not just slip down inside the winch tray. The winch tray had to be uninstalled first. Fine. Once the tray was laying on my work bench I found the pre drilled winch mounting holes would not line up with the Warn winch, because the winch was slightly too wide. So, after re drilling the mounting holes the winch was finally ready to install back onto the truck. After obtaining a hernia moving it to the truck, and creating a new set of swear words, it was finally bolted on and ready to hook up the electrical.
The winch battery cables would not attach to the battery terminal, plus the neg cable was too short. A trip to NAPA solved the problems.
All that was left was to install the synthetic cable onto the winch drum. Warn doesn't do that for you, they give you the joy of doing that yourself. They give you a piece of wire to try to pull the cable through this tiny, itsy bitsy hole in the drum. Even the Hulk could not pull the cable through the tiny slot.
So after an hour of grunting, swearing and pulling, I finally hooked a long wire to the cable and then hooked the wire to my ATV and pulled it through w/o much effort. Eventually the cable was wound onto the drum and the winch was ready for final testing and cable stretching. That was done w/o incident.
The last item was to install the Westin tow hooks, since they factory tow hooks cannot be reinstalled. However, with the Warn winch being too long, the tow hooks would not fit. After some pondering, I found they would fit upside down if new holes were drilled and longer grade 8 bolts were obtained, which was done.
Finally all was done and the grille guard and winch make the truck one bad-ass looking rig. Total install time was 2 days totaling 14 hours.
Maybe my story will help you should you try a similar truck upgrade.
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10-23-2019, 05:33 PM
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#2
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Montana Master
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Catoosa
Posts: 780
M.O.C. #18384
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They do it in 30 minutes on TV
__________________
2015 3100RL legacy...2005 Ford F-250 CC SB. Tows like a charm! 4/19 Updated to 2017 Chevy 3500 CC SB SRW -hope it tows as well as my F 250 did!
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10-23-2019, 06:52 PM
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#3
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Burney
Posts: 107
M.O.C. #11789
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Theunz
They do it in 30 minutes on TV
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it takes me 30 minutes to find my tools
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10-23-2019, 07:23 PM
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#4
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Rockford
Posts: 92
M.O.C. #23236
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Pictures would be great
__________________
Northern Illinois
2018 Ford F350 6.7l diesel dually.
2019 3790RD with Legacy package.
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10-23-2019, 09:22 PM
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#5
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Burney
Posts: 107
M.O.C. #11789
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JPDoege
Pictures would be great
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not sure how to send photos
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10-23-2019, 08:20 PM
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#6
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Charleston
Posts: 454
M.O.C. #23094
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Pics or it didn't happen.
__________________
2019 Montana HC 310RE
2010 Wildcat 29RLBS
2014 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7
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10-23-2019, 09:52 PM
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#7
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Rockford
Posts: 92
M.O.C. #23236
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In the quick reply look at the 6th icon from the left above
__________________
Northern Illinois
2018 Ford F350 6.7l diesel dually.
2019 3790RD with Legacy package.
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10-24-2019, 06:33 AM
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#8
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Montana Master
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Posts: 2,707
M.O.C. #7992
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WOW! Couple that with global warming and it insures no snow fall in the coming years.
__________________
2006 3000RK
2009 Ram 2500
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10-24-2019, 08:49 AM
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#9
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Montana Fan
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Livermore
Posts: 492
M.O.C. #17391
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oh the joy of the DYI'er. These days you have to have mad skills to do what you did. Success is sweet don't you think.
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10-24-2019, 09:09 AM
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#10
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: muskegon
Posts: 91
M.O.C. #25138
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Combo brush guard winch mount I made for my truck. The winch mount plugs into the receiver and the wiring runs through the grille when I'm using it.
__________________
07 GMC CC LB dually LBZ, Idaho Rob EFI, DeeZee boards, 50 gal TransferFlow inbed tank
05 Mountaineer 298-RLS,
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10-24-2019, 09:41 PM
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#11
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Montana Master
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Catoosa
Posts: 780
M.O.C. #18384
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hornet28
Combo brush guard winch mount I made for my truck. The winch mount plugs into the receiver and the wiring runs through the grille when I'm using it.
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http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...1&d=1571929787
That is a very nice guard. I like the clean modern square tube look. May not offer the protection of the OP's but definitely a new take on a stale design.
Kudos to both of you.
__________________
2015 3100RL legacy...2005 Ford F-250 CC SB. Tows like a charm! 4/19 Updated to 2017 Chevy 3500 CC SB SRW -hope it tows as well as my F 250 did!
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10-24-2019, 10:19 PM
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#12
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Site Team
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Colorado Rockies
Posts: 1,921
M.O.C. #19755
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Nice job, looks great! I have had winches on all my trucks since mid 70's, but not the last two. I usually have a plow truck or something else around to pull things out. In my younger years, I got into a lot of trouble that I needed a winch; not so much any more. I've had a new Ramsey hydraulic winch in my shop for several years, not sure I'll ever use it.
Another issue with the new trucks is the sensors on the front; cameras, radar antennas (adaptive cruise, collision alert) etc. I put a deer catcher (no winch) on mine. It was designed for the camera, but the other sensors were kind of a gray area. I had to buy and install it before I knew it would work; all is well.
__________________
Scott & Alta
2017 Montana 3160RL, Legacy, Onan 5.5Kw, Solar
2022 F-450 Lariat Ultimate
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10-25-2019, 06:19 AM
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#13
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: muskegon
Posts: 91
M.O.C. #25138
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Theunz
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Thanks. I have a pair of lights mounted on the middle crossbar. I tried a stainless guard but felt it was to flimsy, so I made this. Here's a pic of one I built for my brothers truck when he was hauling RV's around the country. One thing to keep in mind is not getting to much in the way of the air flow to radiator and trans cooler
__________________
07 GMC CC LB dually LBZ, Idaho Rob EFI, DeeZee boards, 50 gal TransferFlow inbed tank
05 Mountaineer 298-RLS,
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10-24-2019, 10:40 AM
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#14
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Burney
Posts: 107
M.O.C. #11789
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Photos
Quote:
Originally Posted by denandannie
After getting my 2015 Chevy 3500 LB 4WD stuck in the snow in my own drive way, I decided a change was needed.
First, I got rid of the worthless highway tires for some snow tires and then, just in case, I decided to add a winch. After some research, I decided on a Westin HDX grille guard with winch tray and a Warn Zeon 12S winch.
Installing the grille guard was not the simple "bolt on" as the instructions indicated. It required some modifications and the re drilling of several pre drilled holes. After ten hours I finally had it on and it looked awesome.
Two weeks later the winch arrived and I found it would not just slip down inside the winch tray. The winch tray had to be uninstalled first. Fine. Once the tray was laying on my work bench I found the pre drilled winch mounting holes would not line up with the Warn winch, because the winch was slightly too wide. So, after re drilling the mounting holes the winch was finally ready to install back onto the truck. After obtaining a hernia moving it to the truck, and creating a new set of swear words, it was finally bolted on and ready to hook up the electrical.
The winch battery cables would not attach to the battery terminal, plus the neg cable was too short. A trip to NAPA solved the problems.
All that was left was to install the synthetic cable onto the winch drum. Warn doesn't do that for you, they give you the joy of doing that yourself. They give you a piece of wire to try to pull the cable through this tiny, itsy bitsy hole in the drum. Even the Hulk could not pull the cable through the tiny slot.
So after an hour of grunting, swearing and pulling, I finally hooked a long wire to the cable and then hooked the wire to my ATV and pulled it through w/o much effort. Eventually the cable was wound onto the drum and the winch was ready for final testing and cable stretching. That was done w/o incident.
The last item was to install the Westin tow hooks, since they factory tow hooks cannot be reinstalled. However, with the Warn winch being too long, the tow hooks would not fit. After some pondering, I found they would fit upside down if new holes were drilled and longer grade 8 bolts were obtained, which was done.
Finally all was done and the grille guard and winch make the truck one bad-ass looking rig. Total install time was 2 days totaling 14 hours.
Maybe my story will help you should you try a similar truck upgrade.
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Photos attached
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10-30-2019, 06:49 PM
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#15
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Georgetown
Posts: 305
M.O.C. #18751
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Looks good. How much weight did this add on?
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10-30-2019, 09:31 PM
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#16
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Land O Lakes
Posts: 2,751
M.O.C. #7753
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winch issues
When I had my 06 Chevy Duramax I bought a front mount hitch bracked at the 2010 rally. That gave me two spots to hang a warn 8k unit and keep it ocked in the bed when not needed. In most cases when I needed a winch I needed it to pull my ass back out the way came so I would just hang it on the back hitch. The odd times that I either backed into trouble or had to drag some other poor soul out of a muddy or wet hell I hung it to the front, Perm mount in the front but requires a very large fairlead to get the cable out the backI just found the lighter winch and the two mounts made more scents..
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10-31-2019, 09:08 AM
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#17
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New Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Cabot
Posts: 6
M.O.C. #19221
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Nice. Is that just a Hook cover???
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10-31-2019, 06:06 PM
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#18
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: New Port Richey
Posts: 438
M.O.C. #14092
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Loadone
Nice. Is that just a Hook cover???
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Hook Cover??? Are you talking about the tow hooks? They are real tow hooks. They are optional. Since I had to removed my factory tow hooks to mount the grill guards I bought them just in case I ever need front tow hooks. They sit in the winch tray and bolt through the winch tray into the winch tray mount brackets.
__________________
2012 Silverado 3500HD|4x4|Crew Cab|long bed|Dually
2012 Montana 3750FL
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10-24-2019, 06:19 PM
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#19
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Rockford
Posts: 92
M.O.C. #23236
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Very cool, thanks for the pics!
__________________
Northern Illinois
2018 Ford F350 6.7l diesel dually.
2019 3790RD with Legacy package.
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10-26-2019, 03:12 PM
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#20
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Boone
Posts: 311
M.O.C. #21011
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Denandannie ... Nice looking truck front end. Love the winch, and would like to upgrade ours. Have you towed much since you installed the winch? Maybe some long steep uphill grades? Since the air has been blocked from the transmission cooler, I have been curious about the effects. Living in the mountains, I’m afraid to mount anything in that area, but most of Warn mounts and others line up pretty close to the same affect. What do you think?
__________________
2018 Montana HC 362RD
2016 Chevrolet 3500 Duramax HD SRW
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