When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Not rushing to replace my front bumper, but, looking at American Trucks catalog I didn't see a bumper with a winch mount for an ecoboost....
I would guess it blocks the wind from cooling the oil radiator?
Or, does someone make one for Ecoboost F150s?
When I do pull the trigger, I'll want a winch if at all possible.
Well, that is a good idea, but, I don't have a metal break, arc welder etc. LOL. I can customize AR15s as I am a dealer, but, building a bumper, might be tougher than being a gunsmith. So, am I right that no one makes a bumper with a winch for Ecoboost F150s?
The winch mount, or lack there of, for our Ecoboost is the one thing that makes me wish I got the 5.0 instead! I have found Fab Four makes one, they say will fit, and has some airflow holes in it to keep the air flow working. This is what I am considering for my next purchase, and a Warn winch probably.
I didn't when I built my first & 2nd bumpers (both of which I designed on paper). I paid various fab shops to do the steps I couldn't. Now, I have a welding machine that I used for my 3rd, which is what's shown in that pic & album above. It took some effort, but I found a local fabrication shop with a CNC plasma table - I bet you can find one, too, if you want.
There are a couple of them out there, at least for 2015-17 trucks. I'm not sure about fitment of any of them on 2018+ trucks.
I went with the HNC Duty bumper, largely because it was the lightest option that didn't require removing crash bars (I do also like the aesthetics).
Other bumpers I looked at that, at least at the time, claimed Eco compatibility or looked like they had substantial venting:
Hammerhead Prerunner
Iron Cross HD
Buckstop HD
Go Rhino BR5
Fab Fours FF15-H3252-1
LOD
Bodyguard A2
A lot of them are quite heavy, though, and as I found out, hanging 60+ pounds of winch plus 160ish pounds of bumper off the front end can bring the front axle pretty damn close to max. I wish I'd gotten a before weight to compare to, but FWIW the stock bumper assembly is in the 45-pound neighborhood.
I'd get the full race intercooler, which relocates it higher up. Then you can pretty much get whatever winch bumper you want. Other than that, don't block air to the intercooler. Regardless of the factory front plate doing it. The factory core is crap getting full flow to it, let alone blocked flow.
There are winch bumpers that work with an eco boost (see above, I think I also posted a few in a similar thread I started a while ago). Another option, which I ended up going with, is to get a winch compatible grille guard (I got a Westin). I'm happy with the functionality (especially after I sawed off the downward facing "horns" to recover most of the lost approach angle), but it does add a lot of weight to the front.
I've been researching this extensively for the last few weeks. You have 2 choices for winch mounting. You can buy a complete replacement bumper, which mounts the winch up and out front. Or you can get a "hidden hitch" which uses a plate to mount the winch behind the removeable center portion of the bumper (this is the style I want). The only problem is that NONE of the hidden winch mounts work with the ecoboost motors because that is where the factory intercooler sits. The options for that is to buy an aftermarket performance intercooler that sits up in front of the radiator and frees up the lower space. This is where I'm stuck because I have not found any pics of a hidden hitch mount below an aftermarket IC. I question whether or not the winch (especially the free-spool handle) would still be accessible or not.
I'm not sure how many aftermarket bumpers still work with the factory IC airflow, since that hasn't been my focus.
I’ve been looking at the $200-ish Curt front mount receiver. It hides below your factory bumper and allows you to mount a winch, or any kind of hitch or step and seems very versatile. You can even mount a mini Plow apparently.
i have the harbor freight 9000 lb winch and mounted to the receiver plate, I can use the winch on the rear or move to the front. I like the temporary and also the versatility of it.
06-20-2019, 03:49 PM
Bumper with Winch mount for Ecoboost?
