GEN 2 Front bumper with good view of winch drum?

Hey everyone,

I'm loving all the aftermarket bumpers I'm seeing. One thing that's really hard to tell from the pictures, through, is how good a view they offer of the winch drum. I need to be able to clearly see it so that I can lay the line on correctly. Some of the bumpers seem to tuck the winch so far away that you can't see anything but the line coming out of the fairlead.

Does anyone have recommendations for bumpers that provide a clear view of the drum? Thanks!

When you say "lay the line on correctly" what is correct?

When I reel a winch in, I push the retract button & it spools up the line. Are you worried about it getting all knotted up?

You need to lay the line evenly across the drum without gaps or overlaps until you get to the end and start your next layer. This prevents to line from diving into the layer below, which can damage the line, or bunching up. If you can't see the drum you can't see how the line is laying on it.

sobiloff said:

You need to lay the line evenly across the drum without gaps or overlaps until you get to the end and start your next layer. This prevents to line from diving into the layer below, which can damage the line, or bunching up. If you can't see the drum you can't see how the line is laying on it.

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I've never had to do that & have been using winches for years without 1 broken line. That sounds like it would take a long time to reel in the winch using that method. Hopefully other members will chime in & give their opinions on this as well.

Addictive Desert Designs said:

I've never had to do that & have been using winches for years without 1 broken line. That sounds like it would take a long time to reel in the winch using that method. Hopefully other members will chime in & give their opinions on this as well.

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To be clear, laying the line nicely on the drum doesn't typically happen when you're winching your vehicle, but you should do it once you're done so you reset the winch for its next use. This is what the former Camel Trophy drivers teach, and is part of the winching curriculum from 7p.io and discoveroffroading.com.

During a recovery I'd let the winch do it's thing. Then afterwards let it all out and spool it properly. Regardless of what you go with once you pop the hood you'll have full access to the winch. They're all like that.

I know with winching quads that is an issue that definitely ends up destroying a cable pretty quickly. Typically we have gone to the replacement Warn synthetic rope. Durable and nicer on hands.

https://www.warn.com/blog/2011/11/18/synthetic_rope_vs_steel_rope_which_one_is_best.shtml

Addictive Desert Designs said:

I've never had to do that & have been using winches for years without 1 broken line. That sounds like it would take a long time to reel in the winch using that method. Hopefully other members will chime in & give their opinions on this as well.

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If you watch any kind of off-roading videos with the "professionals" they will always take the time layer the cable evenly back on the drum. It keeps the pressure even on the drum, is better for the cable and It looks a lot better. Not to mention the fact that if you just let the cable do whatever it wants you can very easily end up with too many layers on top of one another in one spot and bind the winch up when the cable starts hitting the frame of the winch. Considering how often you're going to use a winch taking the 2 minutes to wrap the cable back up nicely isn't that big of a deal.

NE Ford said:

Regardless of what you go with once you pop the hood you'll have full access to the winch. They're all like that.

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if that's true, then that's good news and really makes most winch-capable front bumpers viable for my purposes.

@Addictive Desert Designs: Can I see the winch drum with your bumpers if I pop the hood open?

sobiloff said:

if that's true, then that's good news and really makes most winch-capable front bumpers viable for my purposes.

@Addictive Desert Designs: Can I see the winch drum with your bumpers if I pop the hood open?

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Yes, full access if you have a 1st gen Raptor because the grill lifts up with the hood. On the 2nd gen, its harder to access.