macgyver35

Since I worked Saturday, I decided to take today off and install some goodies I got last week.

Said goodies being:
Or-Fab HD Winch Bumper with Hoop
Smittybilt XRC8 Competition winch with synthetic line
Cree-powered LED lights

I wanted to get this up because I've seen several questions about the Or-Fab bumper. I'll post more details later. Right now it's time for a well-deserved shower.

RubberSideUp

Looks great! Very clean look. The lights look good too. Very good choice.

macgyver35

Okay... Here are a few more pics. Let's start off with the most elusive of winch bumper pics. The Side Profile.

(For size/scale reference, my Jeep has a 2" OME lift and 235/75-15 Firestone Destination ATs on factory Jeep Ravine wheels.



Next we have the straight-on view.



Close-up of hoop and relay box. More on this later...



Full side profile.



3/4 view.

macgyver35

Overall, I really like the bumper! The build quality and finish are excellent. Although the wrinkle black finish doesn't like anything sharp or scratchy. Not that a smoother finish would, but don't be confused into thinking that the wrinkle finish will somehow be more durable.

I chose this bumper for two main reasons:

First, it was a "low-profile" bumper. The problem I have with many winch bumpers, and I'm sure others with smaller rigs will agree, is that they stick out way too far and look out of proportion on XJs with less than 3 inches of lift and at least 31 inch tires, if not taller and bigger. I don't want to look like I have a diving platform bolted to the front. If you have a milder build XJ like I do, this size and scale of this bumper will work well. It would be great for Overland style rigs that try to stay close to stock in the interest of parts availability when on long excursions. That being said, it will also look great on larger builds with higher lifts and much bigger tires. The Or-Fab literature states it is designed for 37" tire clearance.

Reason two is the hoop. The tubing diameter is a nice beefy size, and works well with the proportions of the rest of the bumper. I also liked that the hoop does a good job of emulating the trapezoidal shape of the fender flares. I don't know whether this was an intentional design decision, but the end result looks great! The hoop has two light-mount tabs at the top.

If there were one thing I would change, it would be to have a bit of a return on the ends of the bumper to better meet up with the leading edge of the fender flares. That may just be my personal taste, but I think having this would make for a more cohesive and better overall "package" look. Perhaps some bumper "tails" could be fabbed up and installed with bolts (in a modular look) to facilitate that. It might be a nice "adder" for Or-Fa to produce.

Installation was fairly straight forward. Per instructions, I mounted my winch first, then installed the bumper. A floor jack with a high lift is a major help here, especially if you're installing the whole assembly by yourself, like I was. Place an old towel on the lift pad of the jack to protect the bumper's finish and help minimize sliding around. There are 5 bolts per side, and a steering box reinforcing plate as well, with new bolts. They are even thoughtful enough to include Loc-tite! There are also parts to relocate the vacuum canister, and instructions to modify and relocate the horns. I have to say they left no stones unturned!!

While it technically would have fit without me doing so, I opted to cut a pretty wide arc in the stock panel under the radiator for winch clearance. Two minutes with a sawzall and I was good to go. Nothing too big that would compromise its ability to hold up, but it did allow easier access for the wiring of the winch. I also had to clock the clutch on my XRC8 winch 36 degrees clockwise for clearance of the clutch lever. I did not clock the motor, but in hindsight I wish I had. I made the dumb mistake of thinking that all the wire studs would be readily accessible once the bumper was mounted. And they were. Almost...

In my defense, the winch had three long studs that stood out nice a shiny against the black of the motor housing. They were also clearly labeled with stickers, and even had a touch of color-coded paint on the tips to help identify them. What I failed to notice was the hookup for the main ground, which was about 120 degrees around the other side of the motor. Rather than a wire stud, this was just a bolt, and it was painted black. I incorrectly assumed it was just used for assembly. Nope! So I had to take the whole winch loose inside the bumper, rotate it inside the bumper, hook up that last dang wire, spin it all back around, and re-bolt it to the bumper. Not fun.

One problem I ran into was mounting of the solenoid box. With the winch mounted bottom out, and on an angle, there was no way to mount the box on the normal rails. The box is not waterproof, and it says numerous times in the manual that it MUST be installed horizontally. Many of the hookup wires are only about 14" long as well. Given this, and the fact that I had no welder or time to improvise a better mount, I modified the factory mounting bars, drilled and tapped a couple of small holes in the top of the bumper, and shoe-horned the thing in there. I also had to trim the mounting tabs on the back of the solenoid box so that it would slide forward enough on the mounting rails so that the remote hook-up port would clear the bumper hoop. I don't like this set-up for several reasons, so I'll probably relocate everything later. Ideally, I want this up under the hood somewhere, but that will require new longer wires, or a high quality terminal block and some extensions. I don't fault Or-Fab for this. They created a low-profile winch bumper, and there are some compromises/considerations that come with that.

I ran out of daylight, and my 40s back and knees were starting to get to me, so I called it a day. I still have to go back and finish the final main wire hook-up at the battery (waiting for new battery cables and ends to come in), install the synthetic line, and solder on the Weatherpac connectors on the LED lights and plug them in behind the grill.

JWheeler

Looks pretty good. I have an orfab tube winch bumper that is getting pretty beat up. I have been thinking about getting the same one. I like it. Thanks for the review.

XJmike0122

I like that it does not stick out that far but I would like it more if it wrapped around the side. Thanks for the best side pic of this bumper I have seen.

turtletrax

I just put mine on too. It's awesome how sleek and "unlike" a winch bumper it is. I love it. I mounted my box under hood. I'll add a few pics of mine later tonight

Tony_SS

Looks good. I agree on the sides of the bumper. How much would you say the bumper itself weighs?

macgyver35

If I had to guess, I'd say the bumper weighs about 50-55 pounds.

RRXJeeper71

great looking bumper!!

Legato1982

Hi! I have the same bumper and finally gonna get my winch. Did you have to do anything special to install the winch? Some mechanic looked at it and said I need a mounting plate but the instructions say it doesn't. It's just an odd install but I can't find any specifics on installation. Any tips? I really don't want to pay 150-300$ to install this thing. Thanks in advance!

macgyver35

Nope, nothing special. It mounted right to the front wall of the bumper using the standard mounting holes. Because of my thicker aluminum Hawse fairlead, I did have to use a couple of different bolts than what came with it. I needed slightly longer ones because they pass through the lead, through the bumper, and then into the bottom of the winch. I can't see any reason why any winch that uses the standard mount spacing would need anything other than maybe some different bolts. Even if your winch's mount bolts are spaced differently, so long as the winch's bottom can sit fully against the front wall of the bumper, you could just drill new holes. Your guy may just be confused because your winch will likely require "clocking" to get it to fit in there and clear the clutch lever. If you read the other posts I made, I talk about having to clock my winch.

k4ylr

From the profile pic it doesn't look like it ties in at all to the frame like most of the other aftermarket bumpers do. If you plan on yanking on it with any reasonable amount of force you might want to consider some reinforcement plates to beefen up the overall structure.

Vonguido

I'm stuck between this bumper and the JCR prerunner winch bumper. The JCR comes w/ the tie in brackets for the frame, whereas the Orfab doesn't. I was always wondering what this looked like from the side as well as how many bolts it used to secure it to the frame.

SteveMongr

The lack of 'wings' or side wrap of this bumper is likely so that it will fit on stock 1996 and earlier. The fender panels reach further down and further forward.