anyone know of a good spot to mount a winch( without getting a new bumper)? right now i just have a 6000lbs in the back of the bed. was looking at picking up a 12000 warn.

 

how about fabbing somethin up between the radiator and the front bumper. kind of hidden but its doable.

 

Well you could buy a brush guard and mount one to that.
Only other thing would be to custom build some brackets.
Look up ideas under front hitch winch

 

kurt fab a front receiver for a hitch...with a bodylift it would hang too low.

 

I was at fleet farm yesterday and actually found an awesome spot to mount a winch if you can sacrafice the space. They had it right in the back of the bed of their display truck. In all seriousness, this is a great spot if its going to be a light use thing and you dont have a spot on the front of your truck. It looked like they cut through the bed and mounted it to the frame but I didnt look that close at it.

 

I know Warn sells a hidden winch mount for Rams. It installs behind the bumper in that void where cheeseburger suggested putting it, so only the fairlead is exposed. The exact same mount that the Power Wagon ships with. Dunno if they make it for a Dak.

Other viable cherces are a front receiver and portable mount. I did this on my Jeep and it works quite well. Also gives you the ability to basically have anything on the front that you can weld a 2" square pipe to. I have already made a custom light bar for use when the winch is not on and have begun picking up parts to weld up a fishing rod holder for surf/bank fishing. I view receiver hitches as a "swiss army knife" in that you can swap out all kinds of accessories by just pulling the pin and sliding different things on/off.





100_0147.jpg

Also, the good old, traditional brush guard/mount like I have on my truck always works...

 

Thanks Eric. I HATE that gray, cheap plastic cladding with a passion. At least companies are finally starting to improve on that pale gray, fades in the sun, waste a case of Armor All on it every month cladding...

 

find a hold paint heater/scrapper. or get a blow dryer and go over if couple times. ive done it before it brings it right back. for awhile then the sun works its magic again.

 

The plasti-dip seems to be the thing. It's thicker than paint, but not as thick as bedliner spray. Pretty durable and it has UV inhibitors and it needs no other prep other than just cleaning the surface with soap and water. So far, so good...