I've looked around a bit and saw that (it think) Warn used to offer a winch mount plate that tucked in below the radiator across the front of the XJ and hid the winch behind/below the front bumper.
Does anyone know the one I'm talking about?

Or, do you know of or have any suggestions how to get the winch behind the bumper where it's more or less hidden away from thieves and/or road/trail debris?

I will add pics if I can find the ones I was looking at.

 

Jeep used to offer a Hidden winch system for the XJ. Behind the bumper Not seen one in years.

 

You have a few options you can go with. You could get a front bumper that has an integrated reciver , And get a cradle for the winch. If you go that route you can have the ability to have the winch in the front or rear. When your not using it you can keep it at home or in the Jeep.

Rigidco has some nice stuff I just picked up sliders from him the other day and his work is top notch. I am also adding a link to his Flickr Page since it has better pics of his Work and his website has not been updated a years.
http://www.rigidco.com/products.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rigid/collections


Or if your set on having a winch bumper look into Tuffy winch bolt locks :
http://www.tuffyproducts.com/p-161-1...her-bolts.aspx

I had a tuffy lock on my TJ people tried to steal my winch several times in baltimore an no one ever got it off thanks to the lock.

A simple winch cover will keep it out of the elements .

 

I want the winch permanently mounted. The winch cradles look
It's not really a security issue as much as me wanting to keep things stock looking yet functional.

I've looked at all sorts of aftermarket winch bumpers, but really want to keep the stock bumper with the hidden accessories. I looked at Detour's backbone (which I really like) but it puts the winch up high and out front. If I could mount it upside down and have the winch down low and behind the bumper, I'd be all about it.

This is kind of what I'm looking for and after talking to RalkXJ on 4wd, I think I'll do something similar. Get tow hook brackets and mount a winch plate to that, hidden back under the bumper with a fairlead coming out the front. (though I won't use a roller fairlead to keep it more subtle.

http://jeep-forums.4wd.com/showthrea...unting-Bracket

 

That may be your only option, But I wouldnt trust just the tow hook brackets to winch with. I would look for something that will allow you to tie the whole frame in with the brackets not just 3 bolts.

 

Warn made the mount you're refering to. Good luck finding one tho. The first one I have ever seen sold on NAXJA for 200 bucks a month ago.

I don't know of any other brackets made to keep the stock bumper.

You could go along with the tow hook idea but incorporate the steering box bolts and sway bar bracket bolts into the brackets that hold the plate under the front of the frame rails. The only problem I'd see is being able to reach the lever to engage and disengage the line.

It can be done...

 

Here, I drew this up a while back.

You could do something like this but you'd have to make it slightly smaller in some demensions for the factory bumper to fit back over top.

Ignore the mess on the right side of the screen.