Warn's Trans4mer winch mount is a modular combination of a grill guard and brushguards. My setup includes frame mounting brackets which install in the same manner as the Mopar tow hooks, two grill guard uprights, two grill guard tubes (one large diameter, one small), the brush guards, two support brackets, winch tray, and all necessary hardware. Installation was relatively easy. I removed the old brush guard, lights, and Mopar tow hook brackets and installed the new setup in less than two hours.

It's a pretty sturdy setup, but I'm unimpressed with the black painted-on finish. It's pretty easy to scratch and flake. They would've been better off powder-coating everything.

The frame mounting brackets are already drilled for Mopar tow hooks. Unfortunately, they are drilled for the older Mopar tow hooks which only have two holes in each hook. The newer tow hooks each have four holes in order to allow for mounting them in a forward position or more of a rearward position. No problem, I'll just drill the second hole in each bracket myself. Click here for more info on the Mopar tow hooks.

The HS9500i winch is rated for 9500lbs. When you break down the model designation, the "HS" stands for "High Speed," and the "i" stands for "integrated," referring to the winch's integrated solinoid.

Included with the winch is 125 feet of 5/16" aircraft cable, hook, roller fairlead, remote control, and all necessary mounting hardware.

Installation was easy, BUT the positive (red) power cable didn't reach all the way to the positive terminal of my battery when I tried running it through the bumper slot. I ended up running the cable over the bumper and under the grill, and even then, it barely reached the battery. This is where a dual battery setup would come in handy. There is no fancy wiring involved. Just bolt down the winch, run the negative and positive cables to the battery, and hook them up directly to the battery.

Once the winch and roller fairlead are in place, run the cable (wire rope) through the slot in the front of the winch tray and out through the fairlead, and install the hook at the end of the cable.

Now that everything was installed, it was time to go "stretch" the cable.

I drove out to the driveway, pulled out the cable, and hooked it up to a tow strap I looped around a telephone pole. A word of caution: The instructions tell you to leave at least five (5) wraps of cable on the drum. If you don't do this, you will pull the cable right out of the drum once you engage the winch with any resistance, and it's a pain in the butt to get it hooked back up. Don't ask me how I know this...

Once everything was hooked up, I released the parking brake on my truck and slowly began winching up the driveway (uphill) while ensuring that the cable was wrapping nice and evenly on the drum. If I started getting gaps in the cable, I'd just back it out a bit, turn the steering wheel a little bit, and go again. Once I got to the last 20 or so feet of cable, I just let it winch on in.