5th Gen Hidden Winch

[MiiisterAnderson]

Arrived yesterday as expected. I pulled the control box, swapped in the VICE harness onto the winch and bolted the mount up this morning. I'll trim out the bumper support today. Based on some of the photos, I really like the idea of opening up the stock mesh grill and reusing it.

 

[RebelWraith]

Vice control box relocation kit came in today with some goodies from Factor 55. Looks like I'll be doing some changes to my remote winch setup this weekend. If anyone is interested the "red" that Factor 55 sells is an almost exact match to the Rebel interior painted parts. It looks to be a clear red powder coat over the textured aluminum finish. Gives almost a metallic paint look.

 

[MiiisterAnderson]

The install is 95% complete. I ran into issues trying to mount the fairlead. The bolt and nuts Warn supplied aren't quite long enough for me to successfully start the threads. I'm open to tricks if anyone has them. I'm unable to get my arm into the area behind the bumper because of the airdam, and I've tried the old tape-the-nut-to-the-box-end-wrench trick.

Ill be swapping the flashy chrome hook for a shackle mount and sending the handle to the local powdercoater to be blacked out.

The VICE kit is well put together, I opted to go with a cut grill to maintain a more factory like appearance. Based on the photos in the thread it looks possible with some modification to have a shorter fairlead mount and sink everything behind the grill which is really slick, but I have no complaints about the kit.

Directions were good and the videos helped immensely, so thanks to @VICE design for a solid quality product.

 

[dabankr]

Lookin' good MiiisterAnderson.

How long was your install time (before the fairlead frustrations)? Did you have a helper for the bumper removal/ attachment? Thinking of trying this on my own with a jack and am not sure if I'll regret it.

Also, how are you attaching the old grill to the fascia Vice provides?

Wish I had a great recommendation for the fairlead problem. I hope I don't encounter the same thing this weekend if I get the time, but I'll let you know my outcome if I do!

 

[MiiisterAnderson]

Lookin' good MiiisterAnderson.

How long was your install time (before the fairlead frustrations)? Did you have a helper for the bumper removal/ attachment? Thinking of trying this on my own with a jack and am not sure if I'll regret it.

Also, how are you attaching the old grill to the fascia Vice provides?

Wish I had a great recommendation for the fairlead problem. I hope I don't encounter the same thing this weekend if I get the time, but I'll let you know my outcome if I do!

Thanks! Install was solo and while a second hand would certainly help, it can be done by yourself. I used a floor jack and 2x4 to inch the mount into position. The bumper is bulky, but not heavy (for me, YMMV and take all safety precautions, I have never been the example to follow!).

I did the install in sections over the course of 3 nights and a day as I had time. I 'd break it down like this (roughly +/-, YMMV):

1 hr to clock and mount the winch and install the clutch relo kit
1 hr to prep the mount for install
1 hr to pull the bumper, panels, and tow hooks
1 hr to mod the bumper support and repaint
1 hr to cut the grill to fit and test fit the cuts. BTW, the grill uses two bolts w/ retainers on the top and two snap clips on each side. It's very secure and I don't expect an issue.
1 hr to rewire and install the control box using the VICE Designs relo kit
1.5 hr to put the bumper back in place, add fairlead, check torque on all hardware and mark bolts
0.5 hr to take photos and post to 5thGenrams.com.

The solution to the fairlead install takes 13 years of planning. You have to go back in time and make sure you have a skinny 13 year old kid who can snake their arm up behind the bumper and hold the wrench while you torque the nut from the front. I also hit the hardware store tonight and picked up 40mm long M12 flanged bolts which ended up being the perfect length. I have the Warn Evo 10S, so your winch hardware might be different. With the right hardware the fairlead install took all of 5 minutes.

 

[AnthonyD1978]

Did my control box relocation on my X20 the other day. The build is high quality (as I now expect from Vice), but the sheathing is almost too tight. It made it difficult to adjust the length and of the cables and the orientation of the connectors on the winch end. I almost cut the sheathing tape off to get the tension off the cables. I might go back and still do this to make my OCD happy. I also had to bend the bracket in my vice (no pun intended) a little to get it to fit without the control box rubbing anything.

I did the project with the winch still mounted to the VICE hidden mount on the truck. If I were to do it over again I probably would have just dropped the winch since it's so easy to do do with my front bumper setup. I also did transfer the rubber connector covers from the X20 to the Vice cables.

All in all, I'm happy with the product. I've used my winch twice now to recover two vehicles (not my truck). This will make it much more convenient and even safer depending on the situation.

This is what my control box looked like when I opened it. Glad I moved it up under the hood!


This is the area the control box will sit under the hood. It's a tight fit. Be careful not to push down too much on those cables the box sits over. I had to bend the bracket to get it to fit how I wanted.


Finished. Now to spray down my engine bay.

 

[wangstarr03]

Sooo this might be a dumb question but I’ve seen this kit mounted on a few Limiteds and might as well ask: is this compatible with trucks that have adaptive cruise/forward collision warning, etc? Crossing my fingers that the answer doesn’t burst my bubble...thanks!

 

[GRAYMAN]

Just finished my VICE Design Hidden Winch Install on 2020 Rebel using Warn Zeon 12-S.
I wanted to mimic the Power Wagon setup

 

[kliffy77]

Just finished my VICE Design Hidden Winch Install on 2020 Rebel using Warn Zeon 12-S.
I wanted to mimic the Power Wagon setup

Exceptionally clean Install congratulations! Just wondering where is remote control connection connector? Or is it wireless?

 

[MiiisterAnderson]

I recently revised mine to a closed loop system, wrapped the chrome RAM emblem, and painted the clutch handle and paint the hook mount hardware to clean up the front end.

https://imgur.com/a/DNoWGRn

 

[GRAYMAN]

Exceptionally clean Install congratulations! Just wondering where is remote control connection connector? Or is it wireless?

I ordered a Square control box enclosure and extended the cables. On the right side of engine compartment just behind the airbox is an area you can bolt the box, no drilling/ modification needed to mount the box. The clutch control is just below bumper passenger side parking sensor under the front bumper. if you are bottomed out you can run the winch out with electric. And/or still reach the clutch from the Front passenger wheel well. I also ordered the factory fairlead that comes stock on the 2019-2020 power wagons.

 

[kliffy77]

Thanks GRAYMAN! I contacted Vice few days back but still no reply

 

[Tex_Ram]

Try him on Facebook, he's normally pretty responsive on there

 

[kliffy77]

Try him on Facebook, he's normally pretty responsive on there

Thanks Tex_Ram! Already did and got a quick positive response from him.

 

[Tex_Ram]

Thanks Tex_Ram! Already did and got a quick positive response from him.

Awesome! I almost always try to reach out to companies via Facebook first now as I like the instant responses plus it feels more like you're actually talking to a real person!

 

[kliffy77]

Awesome! I almost always try to reach out to companies via Facebook first now as I like the instant responses plus it feels more like you're actually talking to a real person!

Indeed an excellent tip! Thanks

 

[AnthonyD1978]

What is the actual difference between the Rebel hidden winch mount and the non-Rebel one?

I'm curious because if RAM releases a TRX "lite" version with either the 5.7L or the SRT 6.4L I bet the Rebel hidden mount will fit, but it would be great if my non-rebel mount would work too.

The mounts may work with the Hellcat engine too, depending on how RAM routes the extra cooling needed for that engine.

 

[VICE design]

Thanks GRAYMAN! I contacted Vice few days back but still no reply

Sorry about that! Did you get a response yet?

We've been busy at the shop and have many many more messages than normal - definitely not trying to ignore any messages. Email - [email protected] and facebook messenger (www.facebook.com/vicedf are usually the best way to get ahold of me

Popping in to say Whats up! How are you all doin! Lets see some more pics installed! I need to share some more on our instagram (https://www.instagram.com/vice.design/)

What is the actual difference between the Rebel hidden winch mount and the non-Rebel one?

I'm curious because if RAM releases a TRX "lite" version with either the 5.7L or the SRT 6.4L I bet the Rebel hidden mount will fit, but it would be great if my non-rebel mount would work too.

The mounts may work with the Hellcat engine too, depending on how RAM routes the extra cooling needed for that engine.

It will likely work! The mounting is the same between the kits. The bumper grill insert is difference between the two.

 

[DRebel]

Does this kit work with the 2020 Rebel ecodesiel?

 

[Aseras]

Does this kit work with the 2020 Rebel ecodesiel?

The intercooler is in the way. Need to relocate it.