"I wish I had gone with a smaller winch"
                                              -Nobody


That is all looking good!  I figure if you are going with a "economy" winch, may as well go larger and improve the chances of it having a long working life.
Are you going to go back with the factory turn signals, or go with an aftermarket option?

I don't know if that's a realistic position ...

Several years ago, just after I'd bought my GV I was chatting with the guy who owned the local Suzuki dealership, and the discussion got around to winches & winch bumpers, he warned me about the effects of adding weight out in front of the vehicle - he had a winch & bumper fitted on his truck, had the suspension tweaked to compensate for the weight, and then removed the winch & bumper and put it back to stock - he did not like the way the truck handled with the additional weight.

"Economy" does not necessarily translate into smaller, less powerful - on the other hand, larger does translate to heavier, and the more weight out on the nose of the vehicle, the more it affects handling.  There has been a proliferation of "cheap, Chinese" winches of questionable quality, generally rated for a 12,000 lb pull (I suspect optimistically), personally I'd prefer to pay more for a smaller, lighter winch from a reputable manufacturer.  A GV doesn't need more than a 8000 lb winch, on a Samurai you probably don't need more than a 6500.

"I wish I had gone with a smaller winch"
                                              -Nobody


That is all looking good!  I figure if you are going with a "economy" winch, may as well go larger and improve the chances of it having a long working life.
Are you going to go back with the factory turn signals, or go with an aftermarket option?

actually I had someone reply on a FB post "I only put an ATV winch on mine and haven't even used it, but you do you" LOL

I will go with aftermarket something or others, have not decided what or where yet.

I don't know if that's a realistic position ...

Several years ago, just after I'd bought my GV I was chatting with the guy who owned the local Suzuki dealership, and the discussion got around to winches & winch bumpers, he warned me about the effects of adding weight out in front of the vehicle - he had a winch & bumper fitted on his truck, had the suspension tweaked to compensate for the weight, and then removed the winch & bumper and put it back to stock - he did not like the way the truck handled with the additional weight.

"Economy" does not necessarily translate into smaller, less powerful - on the other hand, larger does translate to heavier, and the more weight out on the nose of the vehicle, the more it affects handling.  There has been a proliferation of "cheap, Chinese" winches of questionable quality, generally rated for a 12,000 lb pull (I suspect optimistically), personally I'd prefer to pay more for a smaller, lighter winch from a reputable manufacturer.  A GV doesn't need more than a 8000 lb winch, on a Samurai you probably don't need more than a 6500.

The placement of most of the prebuilt winch bumpers is the main reason I am building my own, most hang the weight in front and up high compared to the frame/axle placement. Mine is tucked in as close as i can get it and i had no issues cutting the grill to do it.  Weight is another reason my winches have synthetic rope, no it wont hold up to dragging it across a rock like steel cable, but the benefits out weigh the negatives for me.

The placement of most of the prebuilt winch bumpers is the main reason I am building my own, most hang the weight in front and up high compared to the frame/axle placement. Mine is tucked in as close as i can get it and i had no issues cutting the grill to do it.  Weight is another reason my winches have synthetic rope, no it wont hold up to dragging it across a rock like steel cable, but the benefits out weigh the negatives for me.

I hear you, and you'll get no argument from me - just make sure that your winch isn't using a cone brake inside the drum (which many of the 'economy' winches do), before you swap the wire for synthetic.

I have seriously considered just using a 6k ATV/UTV winch for my 'Kick.  At the 150% weight rule, a 5k would probably do, a 6K for sure.  I agree with tucking the winch as tight and close to the body.  I like my Suzuki because it is small, nimble, and fits into all kinds of places.  I don't need a bumper hanging a foot off the front messing with that!

I have seriously considered just using a 6k ATV/UTV winch for my 'Kick.  At the 150% weight rule, a 5k would probably do, a 6K for sure.  I agree with tucking the winch as tight and close to the body.  I like my Suzuki because it is small, nimble, and fits into all kinds of places.  I don't need a bumper hanging a foot off the front messing with that!

I'm currently running winch-less and I considered a ATV/UTV winch because it's smaller and lighter and I really don't think I would need it much. It would probably work just fine unless I was axle deep in mud.

its not finished but its closer, I still need to drill the mounting holes for the winch, build the fairlead mount, cap off the ends of the tube, and paint.

Got the bumper mounted, winch on and wired, grill back in, i just need to decided what I am going to do for turn signals.

Tip for anyone who needs it, when trying to transfer hole locations to a template, I use soda boxes and a ballpeen hammer, tap where the hole is and it cuts it clean.



back to the bumper, I pulled the sammi out of the shed to get some better light and better pictures.









The turn signals were mounted behind the grill but after trimming the grill to fit the winch, there's not enough room. I could put them back behind the grill at angles but not sure I want to. I know there's lots of options for replacements, I just need to decide.

I forgot to mention, the original bumper on this weighed 80 pounds by itself, this one weighs 35 pounds and the winch is 40 pounds. So overall its 5 pounds lighter and has a winch now.

Tip for anyone who needs it, when trying to transfer hole locations to a template, I use soda boxes and a ballpeen hammer, tap where the hole is and it cuts it clean.

One of the basic "shop skills" - cutting gaskets from gasket sheeting with nothing more than a smear of grease and a ball peen hammer - I suspect this is a lost art

I pulled the Sammi out of the shed so I had more room on the passenger side, drilled out the spot welds on the trim bracket. Looks about like the driver side, no through rust but the surface rust has weakened the structural integrity of the rockers. I had originally planned to cut the homebrew nerf bars off and build new rocker guard/sliders that bolted on, now though I am thinking about cutting the rockers out and welding in some better steel... maybe a mini boatside to it.



I had not planned on keeping the original shocks, but I definitely need new ones lol


I have the week after Thanksgiving off and am hoping to spend most of it working on the sammi, plan is to rebuild the transfer case and axles. I already have chromoly shafts for the front and will be ordering chromoly rear shafts tomorrow.

Is that shock mount cracked, or is it just an optical illusion?  I have cut the rocker out on 1 side of my 'Kick and replaced with 2x4 rec tubing.  I did it a few years ago.  I just have never gotten to doing the passenger side.  I guess it moved up the priority because I crushed it on a rock in the pasture the other day.  I am not sure how easy it is to do on a Sami, but it was not bad on the 'Kick.  I also attached a "step" to the tubing when I built it, so a double function mod!

Is that shock mount cracked, or is it just an optical illusion?  I have cut the rocker out on 1 side of my 'Kick and replaced with 2x4 rec tubing.  I did it a few years ago.  I just have never gotten to doing the passenger side.  I guess it moved up the priority because I crushed it on a rock in the pasture the other day.  I am not sure how easy it is to do on a Sami, but it was not bad on the 'Kick.  I also attached a "step" to the tubing when I built it, so a double function mod!

I did not notice the "crack" when I took the photo but noticed it when I was uploading the photo. I will have to take a look tonight when I get home.

Looking again, I vote casting line.  Appears to be another on the other side of the shock bolt, that one is just right to have a shadow really accent it