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ARB Front Bumper and Warn Winch Installed

Posted by on November 30, 2015

And let the fun begin. Our 2013 Toyota Tacoma has begun the transformation with the first major improvements. The ARB bumper and Warn M-8000 winch have been installed and put to use.

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Why ARB Bumper

arb amazon
Get Your ARB front bumper from Amazon

When I began to research a front bumper for the 2013 Toyota Tacoma, the path always seemed to end at the same place. The ARB bumper is the standard that all other bumpers were compared against. I kept thinking, why get a bumper that claims to be as good as an ARB ? Why not just get the ARB bumper. Other bumpers may cost less, but the ARB has the best fit and finish and is airbag compatible. The final decision was made when I found one for sale locally on Craig’s list.

 

Why a Warn M-8000 Winch

warn winch

Get your Warn winch from Amazon

A few years ago, my truck teetered on a mountain top road ledge deep in the Alaskan forest. The winch on the truck saved the day. But in doing so, it was then I realized a winch is not one of the items to go cheap. When you need it, you have to be able to rely on its dependability. I often travel alone and when the time comes when I need to use the winch, I really need it. The Warn M-8000 is the workhorse of the Warn winch line up. For myself, I don’t need upgraded options like faster line draw, or other options, I just need it to work when I ask it to. I guess I’m a little old school and choose to stick with the standard wire cable. From my experience, if you take proper care of the winch cable it will last a lifetime, and it will even handle a little abuse from time to time, I’m not so sure I trust rope to to the same.

 

The Install

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Besides having to clock the winch 90 degrees, the install of the front bumper and winch is pretty straight forward. However, add cold windy weather and working by yourself and it can take a little longer than anticipated.

Little protection tape was laid down to keep from scratching the body of the truck

Little protection tape was laid down to keep from scratching the body of the truck.

Help was recruited to lift the bumper onto the truck. Of course my helper had just finished working the overnight shift and was not so happy with my request for help before heading off to bed.

Help was recruited to lift the bumper onto the truck. Of course my helper had just finished working the overnight shift and was not so happy with my request for help before heading off to bed.

The winch was wired up and the cable respooled. But the project is not totally complete. I still need to install and wire the driving lights and cut the original bumper for the spacer between the new bumper and the truck body, but that didn’t stop me from hitting the trails and testing it out.

Last week was opening day of Maryland’s firearms deer season. Within the first hour of the season, I had a buck on the ground. The problem came when a 20′ shear drop was between the deer and my truck. Not a big deal for the new Warn winch. I just ran the cable down to the deer and pushed the button on the controller. Easy work.

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What’s next for the Tacoma

The build is not going to be over the top crazy, just the basic things that will improve the off-road ability of the Toyota. Things like rock sliders, full set of skid plates, new suspension and a new set of tires are in line for the first stage of the build.

See the 2013 Tacoma full story