Nevermiss you will never know how much trouble you saved me...man this what these forums for and of course some good wholesome friendly argueing...hehehe
Sportsman005 what do you mean the dealer had to cut a hole to access the cable slip...man this doesn't sound right at all. I really don't have any trouble accessing the large **** that controls the free pull of the cable, I hope they didn't butcher up your bike or the bumper did they???

 

Has anyone done anything to beef up the bumper mount? I have the winch kit that mounts to the bumper. Everything is installed and looking/working great, but I'm a little worried about the strength of the mount. The four bolts and six screws just don't seem like enough to winch heavy loads. I was thinking of at least swapping them for #8 hardware.

 

Y2K, I don't think you need to be concerned. At least if you're using the 2000 Warn. I can stall mine much easier than I expected. As a matter of fact, if the quad is on a good high traction surface, it will stall before it will drag the quad. I'd would highly recommend a ****** block for the heavy stuff.

 

ATVING,

NO HE DIDN'T BUTCHER THE INSTALL. I TOO WAS SKEPTIACL ABOUT THE HOLE BUT THEY HAD A UNIT IN THE SHOP TO SHOW ME HOW THE INSTALL WAS DONE.
THEY DO ALL THE SPORTSMANS WITH THE TUBE BUMPERS LIKE THAT . I HAVE BIG HANDS AND ITS AWKWARD TO REACH FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE BUMPER, ESPECIALLY IF YOU CAN'T SEE THE BUMPER CAUSE IT'S SUNK TO THE FRONT RACK IN MUD!!!!!!!! THEY DID A SUPER JOB RUNNING ALL OF THE WIRES IN LOOMS AND ZIP TIEING EVERYTHING TO THE FRAME. NO STRUCTURAL ??LOSE?? TO THE BUMPER THAT I CAN TELL. WORKS GREAT ,USE A ****** BLOCK EVERY TIME IT REALLY HELPS.


SPORTSMAN005

 

I ran into the same problem with the u bolts, I took a chain saw file to the plastic a little and they slid right on, I also installed the relay in the cubby hole where the tools are kept, this keeps it dry, don't forget the toggle to shut the whole thing off!, it will run the battery more than you need to, and any future work on it can be de-energized first! Love that Quad! Ross

 

Here's a link to picturs of my winch install and close treee encounter on my 1999 xplorer 400

http://www.home-fires.com/bluemarble/PAGES/ATV/atv.html