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| New bumper brackets and fasteners are supplied with the Fab Fours winch front bumper kit. |
There is an old saying in the off road community that having four-wheel drive is good for an additional 50-feet. The meaning: an aggressive driver will get stuck just 50 feet further down the trail than the driver of a two-wheel drive rig. Why? Because the notion of four-wheel drive tends to make some drivers think they can go anywhere. Unless a 4x4 is outfitted with traction adding differentials, it will most likely at some point get stuck in a difficult off-road situation. A two-wheel drive vehicle without a traction adding differential is really only a one-wheel drive vehicle and a so-called 4x4 with two "open" differentials is really only a two-wheel drive vehicle. The reason is that an "open" differential is designed to send the most torque to the wheel with the least traction.
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| When removing the stock bumper, it is important to have help, to relieve the pressure when the retaining fasteners are removed. |
This system works well for allowing turns on smooth pavement but if the most torque is sent to the high-centered wheel (the one with the least traction) - the rig is stuck.
Another saying is that no matter how well you drive or even if you have traction adding differentials, if you really drive off-road at some point you will get stuck and need to winch your way to freedom. Warn is one of the best-known brands of winches. They have been building and selling winches for many years. Given all the company"s experience with winches they want to be certain that winch operators, both new and experienced, follow safety instructions to use the winch safely.
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| Before the bumper is mounted in place. It"s time to get the new Warn 16.5 ti winch ready to mount onto the new Fab Fours bumper. |
These procedures are designed to save you and the environment for more off-road adventures. One add-on we recommend is a nylon strap "tree saver" which allows you to anchor the winch"s wire rope to a sturdy trail-side tree without causing damage.
It is important to match the winch size and capacity to that of the vehicle or vehicles it will be asked to move. With that size in mind, the huge, heavy duty Warn 16.5 ti (16,500 lb.) was selected for installation on the big Ford F-350 Super Duty diesel truck.
With the proper winch selected, it was time to select the proper mounting. Fab Fours offers well-built, easy-to-install sets of matching front and rear bumpers for most popular rigs, including the F-350. The one selected for this installation was model A1950-A1951 winch mount bumper.
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| Placing the bumper on a soft suface for installation of the winch, protects it from scratches. |
Along with holding the winch securely, it offers mounting for the turn indicators and fog lamps, built in (welded, actually) tow hooks and for a set of Warn driving/spot beam lamps. It also provides top access to the winch controls and a plug-in for the remote actuator.
We followed along as Jon Schneider at 4 Wheel Parts in Redondo Beach, California did the install. Schneider did not follow the exact order of the instructions that came with the Fab Fours front bumper. The instructions said to mount the new extended bumper brackets onto the bumper first and then lift the bumper up into place and secure the bolts.
Based on his experience (and thfact he had some helping muscles available), Schneider chose to install the bumper brackets onto the truck first and then have the bumper (with the winch mounted and wired) lifted into place.
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| Pre-wiring and fitting the new turn indicators and fog lamps helped make this an easy installation. |
This worked out well because he found the bolts in the kit were too short. Fortunately he was able to raid the 4 Wheel Parts bolt bin for the correct length fastener before he tried to attach the bumper. "That would have been a terrible thing to learn while you were trying to install that heavy bumper with the winch onto the truck," he said.
"Overall, it was easy-to-install," he said. "The winch fit well in the bumper and I didn"t have to use any shims as I sometimes do with other bumpers," he added. Another thing he liked involved the Warn winch"s fairlead. "The side rollers of the fairlead can be removed (they are held in place with circlips) so you can install the bolts that hold the fairlead in place. When the bolts are tight, you can reinstall the side rollers and secure them in place with the circlips. All you need to do that job correctly is a pair of two-pin circlip pliers," Schneider explained.
Mounting the matching rear bumper was also easy. The stock license plate lights and other features including back up sensors slip right into place on the new replacement rear bumper
