Winch install

[Lrjet55]

Hey all,

About to hit send on the swarfworks but wanted to clarify whether the additional weight would require a suspension adjustment. Coming from a 4Runner to this.

 

[eferg]

Yes, regardless of the vehicle, adding a heavy winch, bumper, battery, compressor, etc... is all adding weight. A winch for this vehicle likely weighs 100lbs or more and is one of the heaviest accessories you can add, not even counting the additional bracket or bumper swap, all at the very extreme end of the truck. Like a 4Runner, the F150 uses a similar front suspension riding on struts. The front end is already soft, I would recommend upgrading your front suspension if you're going to hang a boat anchor out front.

 

[Lrjet55]

Much appreciated sir.

 

[eferg]

The only real issue is that is gets expensive fast, especially if trying to change the ride height. I'm leaving mine alone until there are better Tremor specific coil-over options regarding spring selection and a setup that doesn't reduce travel. I'm coming from Land Cruisers and 4Runners myself, and adding a winch to my vehicle was what really started making me dislike driving it on the road. I went about 50% overland on a GX460 with a winch, bumper, 2" lift, etc. The Dobinson's IMS suspension alone was awesome, but adding the bumper, winch, AGM battery, and compressor turned it into a pig. My Tremor is staying OEM+ and I'll probably add a compressor in the bed.

Even adding just BudBuilt DOM Steel sliders to my LC200 made a noticeable dent on handling, and they were 77lbs a piece, low on the body and spread out evenly front to rear.

 

[crookedtreedriver]

I'm also thinking of the swarfworks hidden winch and will be interested in hearing all the modifications you make. Do you have the 6 or 8 cylinder engine?

 

[Lrjet55]

The only real issue is that is gets expensive fast, especially if trying to change the ride height. I'm leaving mine alone until there are better Tremor specific coil-over options regarding spring selection and a setup that doesn't reduce travel. I'm coming from Land Cruisers and 4Runners myself, and adding a winch to my vehicle was what really started making me dislike driving it on the road. I went about 50% overland on a GX460 with a winch, bumper, 2" lift, etc. The Dobinson's IMS suspension alone was awesome, but adding the bumper, winch, AGM battery, and compressor turned it into a pig. My Tremor is staying OEM+ and I'll probably add a compressor in the bed.

Even adding just BudBuilt DOM Steel sliders to my LC200 made a noticeable dent on handling, and they were 77lbs a piece, low on the body and spread out evenly front to rear.

Thanks for the input and I agree. What inhaled most on the 4Runner what the nose dive after all the weight. Hoping to avoid that this time around.

 

[scottj272]

I'm also thinking of the swarfworks hidden winch and will be interested in hearing all the modifications you make. Do you have the 6 or 8 cylinder engine?

I did the hidden winch on my 2022 Tremor last year. I used the Swarfworks mount. They had to make a different plate for it to work with the Tremor, but they got it to me quickly. You might want to double-check that when you order. I had to also do an intercooler relocation/replacement because I have the Ecoboost. I used the Full Race motorsports intercooler powder-coated black, and a turbo smart BOV. I also elected to use a Warn Zeon 10-S Platinum winch. I could not find a Warn Zeon 12-S Platinum anywhere and they were all on backorder with no ETA when I was looking. I decided to go ahead and pay the premium price for the Warn Zeon Platinum because of the wireless remote that also controls the clutch. It does not have the regular manual clutch. I think it would be a bit more challenging using other winches in the hidden mount. So it was quite an expensive endeavor because of the intercooler relocation and also going with a top-end winch. I have been very happy with the final outcome. There is an old thread about winches somewhere were I posted some before. But here are a couple of pics.

 

[rinkratrob]

I did the hidden winch on my 2022 Tremor last year. I used the Swarfworks mount. They had to make a different plate for it to work with the Tremor, but they got it to me quickly. You might want to double-check that when you order. I had to also do an intercooler relocation/replacement because I have the Ecoboost. I used the Full Race motorsports intercooler powder-coated black, and a turbo smart BOV. I also elected to use a Warn Zeon 10-S Platinum winch. I could not find a Warn Zeon 12-S Platinum anywhere and they were all on backorder with no ETA when I was looking. I decided to go ahead and pay the premium price for the Warn Zeon Platinum because of the wireless remote that also controls the clutch. It does not have the regular manual clutch. I think it would be a bit more challenging using other winches in the hidden mount. So it was quite an expensive endeavor because of the intercooler relocation and also going with a top-end winch. I have been very happy with the final outcome. There is an old thread about winches somewhere were I posted some before. But here are a couple of pics.

Love those extra fog lights you have there. Mind if I ask about the mounting brackets and brand of lights? Thank you. - Rob

 

[scottj272]

The lights by the winch are Diode Dynamics Stage Series 3" SAE/DOT White Pro LED Pod fog lights. They are mounted to the winch plate cover that came with the Swarfworks winch mount and the regular hardware for the lights. I did have to turn the lights 90 degrees from the way they are intended to be mounted. Because of that, I had to also flip the lenses 90 degrees back to a horizontal plane. This meant I needed to trim a small ridge on the lens which is intended to make sure the lens is installed correctly, but they are symmetrical otherwise in shape, so once I removed the little ridge I could move the lens back to horizontal.

 

[texasrenegade]

I did the hidden winch on my 2022 Tremor last year. I used the Swarfworks mount. They had to make a different plate for it to work with the Tremor, but they got it to me quickly. You might want to double-check that when you order. I had to also do an intercooler relocation/replacement because I have the Ecoboost. I used the Full Race motorsports intercooler powder-coated black, and a turbo smart BOV. I also elected to use a Warn Zeon 10-S Platinum winch. I could not find a Warn Zeon 12-S Platinum anywhere and they were all on backorder with no ETA when I was looking. I decided to go ahead and pay the premium price for the Warn Zeon Platinum because of the wireless remote that also controls the clutch. It does not have the regular manual clutch. I think it would be a bit more challenging using other winches in the hidden mount. So it was quite an expensive endeavor because of the intercooler relocation and also going with a top-end winch. I have been very happy with the final outcome. There is an old thread about winches somewhere were I posted some before. But here are a couple of pics

 

[texasrenegade]

I too did the Swarfworks winch mount. I did the Cobb intercooler. I used the Warn Zeon 10-S Platinum winch. I am happy with the whole setup.

 

[Lrjet55]

I too did the Swarfworks winch mount. I did the Cobb intercooler. I used the Warn Zeon 10-S Platinum winch. I am happy with the whole setup.
View attachment 19852

Did you do anything suspension wise?

 

[texasrenegade]

Did you do anything suspension wise?

Yes, I installed the Rough Country 2.5 inch leveling kit.

​

 

[Bowhunting Tremor]

Anyone add a hidden winch kit to a Tremor with 5.0?

 

[mdax]

I hadn't considered upgrading the front suspension after a winch and bumper, interested to see what others are finding works best.

 

[scottj272]

Did you do anything suspension wise?

I had my suspension upgraded to the HaloLifts Boss Aluma Mountain Package before I added the winch to mine. I was in on the first group buy from HaloLift that we did in this forum.

 

[Lrjet55]

Those of you who added the winch and replaced the suspension does the vehicle still drive the same as it did before the winch install?

I’ve watched a few videos on the install itself and it looks pretty straightforward. Was it?

Lastly, the suspension you added has it been adequate or would you do it differently if given the opportunity.

 

[black_tremor_23]

Hey all,

About to hit send on the swarfworks but wanted to clarify whether the additional weight would require a suspension adjustment. Coming from a 4Runner to this.

I installed the SwarfWorks on my 5.0 f150 tremor, their winch mount is great, very well built and they are also very responsive if you have questions and so.
In my case I did the warn Zeon 12s platinum, with weights around 80 pounds, the winch mount weights around 60 pounds, totaling 140 pounds, not sure if the tremor suspension has anything special in it but seemed to handled the weight addition really well, I'm still on the lookout for any weird behavior, if anything points me to the need of a new suspension will certainly consider it, still, keep 2 things in mind, some factory made suspensions are very well made and might be better than the replacement, soil you are replacing make sure your replacement is actually better than your current one, the other thing is, suspension needs to be replaced on these trucks at 50k-100k miles so doing some research and having the best replacement in mind will be useful on the long run, I personally like Fox suspensions but Halo lifts seems to have good quality as well.

 

[CAMDENN]

I installed the SwarfWorks on my 5.0 f150 tremor, their winch mount is great, very well built and they are also very responsive if you have questions and so.
In my case I did the warn Zeon 12s platinum, with weights around 80 pounds, the winch mount weights around 60 pounds, totaling 140 pounds, not sure if the tremor suspension has anything special in it but seemed to handled the weight addition really well, I'm still on the lookout for any weird behavior, if anything points me to the need of a new suspension will certainly consider it, still, keep 2 things in mind, some factory made suspensions are very well made and might be better than the replacement, soil you are replacing make sure your replacement is actually better than your current one, the other thing is, suspension needs to be replaced on these trucks at 50k-100k miles so doing some research and having the best replacement in mind will be useful on the long run, I personally like Fox suspensions but Halo lifts seems to have good quality as well.

The suspension needs to be replaced on these trucks at 50K-100K?
I’ve never heard of this before on any F150 trim.

 

[black_tremor_23]

The suspension needs to be replaced on these trucks at 50K-100K?
I’ve never heard of this before on any F150 trim.

Is something I read here:

Ford F-150 Suspension Shock or Strut Replacement Cost Estimate

A Ford F-150 Suspension Shock or Strut Replacement costs between $886 and $1,124 on average. Get a free detailed estimate for a repair in your area.

repairpal.com