Hidden winch + skid plate Limited build

We wanted to install skid plates on our Limited and looked at various options. The limited lacks the front cross member used by the OEM skid plate, though many folks have installed the OEM unit without this and it still appears pretty solid. None-the-less, looking at various options the Rough Country hidden winch mount included 2 skid plates which was pretty appealing. So, I ordered this up with a winch and did the install.

Installation was fairly straighforward and took about 6 hours total. Removing the front bumper is the biggest part of this. Instructions from Rough Country were included and did a decent job describing the various steps. This YouTube video was most-helpful, as it also covered the G4 Taco bumper removal.



The other element of the install that was a bit nerve wracking was cutting the opening for the fairlead in the lower bumper cover. I wasn't too picky about this, and the final result looks great. We put the winch control plugin under the hood, see pics.

Overall, a fun project. The winch fits great, no interference with any of the stock Tacoma bits in the front. Pretty amazing they can fit a full-sized winch in the space between the bumper and radiator. Here's a few pics from the install. Did this myself, no helpers. The jack was essential to raise the bumper/winch to the mounts. I'd say that component weighs at least 100 pounds.

Thanks for the review. This product caught my eye too as it's cheaper and cleaner-looking than a new winch-mount bumper...

Nice to see Limited's getting some love. Love the clean install.

that looks nice

Very nice!

Stupid question: is this incompatible with the front license plate? Only because I don't want to get pulled over for no front plate and then have to remove my window tint...

Follow-up question: how do you access the clutch for the winch?

Bluznvice said:

Very nice!

Stupid question: is this incompatible with the front license plate? Only because I don't want to get pulled over for no front plate and then have to remove my window tint...

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Don't have front license plates in my state. Pretty sure this would interfere with a center-mount. Probably have to mount a front plate on one side or the other.

Duck Amuck said:

Follow-up question: how do you access the clutch for the winch?

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You don't. Just leave the clutch engaged. It's rotation is constrained by one of the bumper brackets. You could file down the handle or try to mount the handle in a different position. For now, it's power the line out, power the line in.

diablo2112 said:

You don't. Just leave the clutch engaged. It's rotation is constrained by one of the bumper brackets. You could file down the handle or try to mount the handle in a different position. For now, it's power the line out, power the line in.

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Gotcha. Not the end of the world.

I read through the instructions and for those of us with Off-Road trims, installing this requires cutting out the factory crossmember. I'm not about to do that, so for me the search continues for a reasonable winch solution.