This is for the Harbor Freight Badlands APEX 12K winch.
1): If this winch is being installed and planned to be used on a regular basis, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND relocating the control box from the top of the winch to somewhere in the engine compartment. The clearance and limited access to the remote plug-in and the Wi-Fi control switch is ULTRA and SUPERTIGHT! Small user hands are beneficial if the control is left in the OEM location.
If relocating, DO NOT be tempted to just move the control box above the winch and in front of the radiator on your FJ – the box is too large and will greatly limit needed air flow to the radiator cooling fins. (Personally, I don’t plan on using my winch for more than flipping a Jeep back onto its wheels, or only in a dire self-recovery situation).
2): If you are going to leave the control box in the OEM location, it MUST be removed from the winch to place the winch body into the mounting tub, and ONLY AFTER trimming the center bracket that sticks out above center of the winch (as seen in my photos [and highlighted with circles and arrows in yellow]). After the winch body is mounted, the control box can carefully be wiggled under the newly trimmed center bracket to be re-installed.
3): The A/C line not only needs to be CAREFULLY and slightly bent/repositioned, but it will need a spacer placed between the mounting
bracket and plastic keeper that your instructions suggest and the A/C line (I deleted the plastic keeper and used a stainless steel strap bracket).
The A/C line also needs to be slightly elevated over the winch and behind the control box, and under the newly trimmed center bracket; it’s a bit ofa tight squeeze, but it can be done.
I finished my US Off Road mount (after sanding it with 600 grit and wiping it down several times with lacquer thinner) with 3 coats of Rust-Oleum Rusty Metal Primer (but I had no rust…..), followed by 3 coats of Rust-Oleum Custom Premium Lacquer Paint (Silver Gray color).
Fitment of your product was awesome; I really appreciated the improvements you have made to the original design (after watching some installation videos and seeing a couple of older US Off Road tubs in person).
Packaging for shipment was excellent. Even though the box had a large gash in the top, the tub was unharmed. I’m not sure how FedEx managed to make the shipping label bar code unreadable, but glad they finally caught it, fixed it, and got it delivered with only minimal delay.
Again, I suggest and HIGHLY RECOMMEND that if someone is planning to use this APEX winch allot, it is worth the time to relocate the control box.
Vehicle: 2012 FJ, 3” Old Man Emu lift, 285/70-17 tires, Ricochet Offroad skid plates (complete undercarriage armor), Tandem Offroad rock slides, Badlands APEX 12K winch… and of course a U.S. Off Road Winch Mount.
Also notice how well our mount works with the Ricochet skid plate.
And of course, when you are ready to purchase a winch mount for your FJ or Tacoma, go here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/winchmounts/
Very nice!
Get yours here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/winchmounts/fj-cruiser/toyota-fj-winch-mount-bumper/
Derek, a customer from Arizona, sends is these photos of his 2009 Toyota Tacoma with our 2005-2011 Tacoma Winch Mount installed along with a Warn VR10S.
“I just wanted to say that your bumper and winch combo was the nicest part I have ever bought and installed on any 4×4 I’ve owned. Top notch! Thank you. Here are some pics of the final install. Super clean! Thank you.
I love your bumper because it’s not adding all the weight out front. I’m already loaded to the max with my AT habitat and trying to save weight anywhere possible.”
Get your 2005-2011 Tacoma Winch Mount and Warn VR Winch combination package here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/bumpers/winch-mounts/tacoma-2005-2011/2005-2011-tacoma-winch-mount-bumper-warn-vr-evo-series-winch-shackle-combo/
Harold from Cali sends us photos of his 2014 FJ Cruiser along with one of our winch mounts along with a Warn VR EVO winch and Van Beest shackles. Turned out great!
“Thank you very much for your work, this is exactly what I needed. I’m very happy with your product. Merry Christmas from California. Here’s a few photos from my installation.”
Bill from Ohio sends us photos of his FJ Cruiser with our winch mount along with a Mean Mother 9500 lb winch, a couple of Van Beest shackles and Sirius Pro LED driving lights. We powder coated the winch and shackles black for him as well. Bill says “Love the winch. It looks awesome.” and we agree!
Buy yours here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/bumpers/winch-mounts/fj-cruiser/fj-bumper-mean-mother-light-combo/
Mark from California is another happy customer and sends us some pics of his 2014 T/X Baja. Mark purchased our popular winch mount (black powder coated) for his Tacoma along with a Warn VR8S winch. He notes that the winch controller did not need to be relocated over the winch spool…which is typical with this setup.
He also goes on to say “Thank you for a quality product..” . Thank YOU for your business!
Buy yours here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/bumpers/winch-mounts/tacoma-2012-2015/2012-15-tacoma-bumper-warn-vr-evo-winch-shackle-combo/
The new Warn VR EVO series recovery winches are out and available for purchase in our store! Several improvements including a dual use wired/wireless control!
Oh and the prices went …down.
The VR EVO recovery winches feature IP68-rated waterproof construction, an ultra-reliable Albright® contactor inside a relocatable control pack, and a state-of-the-art, two-in-one remote for added ease of use and versatility. With it’s fast line-speed and lower amp draw, the VR EVO series of winches are the hardest-working standard-duty winches we’ve ever made, with tactical styling that looks great up front and at a price that won’t pull you out of your budget.
You can shop our winch mount, VR EVO combination packages here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/winch-mounts/
or if you are just looking for a winch then you can buy yours here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/winches/vehicle-winches/warn/warn-vr-recovery-winches/
Dan writes: “Thanks for the product and excellent service. I got the bumper and winch installed today. It went together very easily and I love the look.”
Mark from Georgia sends sends us photos of his FJ Cruiser with our winch mount and Warn VR recovery winch.
“VERY happy with the outcome! … I’ve been modding cars and SUV’s for about 20 years. Probably one of the easiest installs out of anything I’ve ever done. It fit PERFECT, out of the box!”
Buy yours here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/bumpers/winch-mounts/fj-cruiser/fj-cruiser-warn-vr-winch-combo/
Michael from Washington sends us photos of his FJ TTUE with our black powder coated FJ Cruiser Winch Mount and a Smittybilt X2O 10k winch. Very nice!
Buy yours here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/bumpers/winch-mounts/fj-cruiser/
The Singh brothers from Cali sends us a few pics of his new Tacoma with our winch mount for the 2016+ models. Along with the Smittybilt winch they also installed a Rough Country skid that matched up perfectly with our skid! Turned out great! Get yours here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/winchmounts/toyota-tacoma-2016-2020-winch-mount/
Stephen from here in Texas sends us a few photos of his 2018 Toyota Tacoma with our winch mount installed along with our license plate bracket. He went with a Warrior Samurai 9500 short drum winch along with a Custom Splice double thick rock crawler hawse. Turned out great! US Off Road Warrior Winches and Hoists Custom Splice
As always, you can buy yours here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/bumpers/winch-mounts/tacoma-2016/toyota-tacoma-2016-2018-winch-mount/
Just released from Warn today! Warn Epic Sidewinder – Winch Rigging System
To go with the new Warn Sidewinder is the Hyperlink, Warn’s reimagined version of the shackle. Warn Epic Hyperlink
March 5, 2019
This is the busy time of year and we often struggle to keep up with demand. This year we started off with a larger inventory than normal to limit any shortages. So far so good overall. We have run out of FJ Camera Armor but should have another batch ready sometime around the 12th of March. We ran out of our 2012-2015 Tacoma winch mounts for a few days but 25 more just rolled off of the welding tables.
The 2016 Tacoma winch mounts have really taken off with consistent sales and looking forward to scheduling another run very soon to keep up with demand. 2005-2011 Tacoma winch mounts sales have been steady as of course have the FJ mounts as usual.
Be sure to check out our winch mount/recovery winch packages for each model!
We are cutting a couple of product prototype winch mounts for the 2014+ 4Runner for a final fitment then off to production before Spring.
We are also working on getting our longstanding FJ40 bumper in to production at this time as well.
Corey from Louisiana sends us some photos of his FJ Cruiser with one of our winch mounts. Corey won this winch mount for his FJ at our Poker Run at the 2015 Jamboree with a killer hand of aces and 10s.. He added a Smittybilt 9500 winch with synthetic rope and a Factor55 Splicer from Steve Springs. He added some lights and grille from Ridgid to top it all off.
Be sure to buy yours here: https://www.usoffroad.us/store/bumpers/winch-mounts/fj-cruiser/
In celebration of Warn’s 70th Anniversary, we are releasing a limited-edition version of our iconic M8274 winch. The M8274-70 features customer-driven enhancements over the standard M8274-50, including faster line speed, 10,000 lb capacity, retro-inspired styling, and enhanced durability under competition recovery conditions. Limited to 999 units worldwide.
FEATURES AND BENEFITS:
U.S. Off Road is proud and humbled to be the Event Sponsor for the 2018 Field of Flags here in Granbury, Texas. Put on by the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) they do a fantastic job of supporting America’s Veterans. This is our small way of attempting to give back to those who have ensured our way of life. Be sure to visit the Field of Flags on 377 and if you can, donate to a great organization. If you aren’t local please visit http://granburyfieldofflags.com for more information and/or to donate.
As a side note, we are often asked about sales specials during various holidays. We hope you understand that we simply will not attempt to profit from holidays such as Memorial or Veterans Day as we prefer to celebrate them and honor those who served our great country instead.