Installing Warn VR EVO-12S on ARB Summit bumper

My `21 Double Cab has an ARB Summit front bumper, for which I purchased a Warn 103255 VR EVO 12-S winch. On a recommendation, I purchased the Warn 106011 winch control pack relocation long kit and I have also, on a whim, purchased the Warn 97890 Adapter Plate Control Pack Kit. My understanding is that these two things will allow me to relocate the control box on the winch to the top of the bumper, making access easier (note: the winch has a wireless remote controller).

Two questions for the community:

#1. I am concerned that relocating the control box to the top of the bumper will interfere with the radar, which is located low on the grille just above the top of the bumper. (see photo) Does anyone have experience with this and/or advice?


#2. Is this something an amateur like me can install, or should it be left to a professional?

 

So installation of the Warn VR EVO-12S into the ARB Summit Bumper did not require removing the bumper from the vehicle; in fact, it can be done more quickly and easily by just removing the three lower/underside panels that come with the bumper. Although I read online that it would take us an entire weekend, it only took us 5.5 hours on a Sunday evening. The following steps are in the order anyone else should do them and not the order we did them, which meant redoing some things - which will save a smarty pants some time.

Step 1: Based on advice from Peter Aylestock at Aylestock Automotive, I purchased a Warn 106011 Control Box Relocation Long Kit, which gives you the flexibility of more wiring in relocating the control box. You might be able to do it without the relocation kit, but the wires are pretty darn short, so we didn't risk it. We first had to disconnect the control box from the winch and then remove the OEM wires. We installed the longer wires into the control box (Pic 1) before relocating the control box onto the base plate that comes built into the bumper (Pic 2). No further additions or spacers were needed, including the above-mentioned adapter plate or any that came with the bumper's winch kit.


Step 2: Remove the clutch and clock the gearbox into position where the clutch would be on the top (winch is installed "feet first" = with the bottom facing forward). The gearbox requires clocking only a one-quarter turn in an anticlockwise direction. A video from Vice Design helped us with the clutch removal, clocking the gearbox, though we did not replace the clutch with a relocation kit. The Summit bumper has small windows on the driver and passenger side, which allows one to reach the clutch and to connect the controller into the control box.

To get the winch into proper position, we first unspooled the line into order to reduce the weight and run it through the hawse fairlead. One of us then got under the vehicle and bench-pressed the winch up into position - a tight fit, but it worked! With one of us holding it aloft and in proper position, the other added the necessary hardware (including the fairlead) and bolted it into position.

We did this first - and that meant having to remove the winch in order to install the control box...

Step 3: Connect the wires to the winch (there's enough room under the vehicle/inside the bumper), using the OEM boots to protect the leads. We ran the power cable and ground across the front of the radiator and zipped tied it out of the way, running through a hole in the plastic on the driver's side to the battery; we connected the ground to a ground on the side of the engine bay and not the negative terminal on the battery.

Step 4: Once it's wired up, power it on - the truck will take a second to reset the electronics, but it will fire up. Spool in your line and you're all set! This particular model comes with a wireless controller than can be connected via a wire. We then replaced the bumper's lower panels and the winch cover plate, which completely hides the winch from sight; it sits flush with the top of the bumper, which keeps it out of the way of the radar camera.

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We went further and added a Blue Sea Systems 90033 e-Series On/Off Battery Switch between the winch and battery. Placing the switch was tough, but we found an opportune flange inside the front of the engine bay, just forward of the battery. We did have to remove the battery to access it, since it requires some drilling; the green hole is from the factory, while the red one we drilled (Pic 1). This gave us a mounting surface for the switch (Pic 2).


The power cable from the winch went to the winch, and then we reused the OEM "blue cable" from the winch as a power cable from the switch to the battery (we wrapped it in red electrical tape to help keep it distinctly as power).

In all, this added perhaps another 2-2.5 hours of work beyond the winch.

I hope that this helps anyone else who finds themselves undertaking this project in the future.

 

Looks good man, appreciate the tips. Do you have any problems now with the radar? Arb list the summit bumper to fit 07-18 model years bc of the Toyota safety sense, you might have to move it higher? And get it recalibrated from a dealer or someone with a Toyota techstream

 

It looks like the bumper has tons of empty space inside. Why would you need to relocate the box to the top? Are you sure the winch does not fit in as is? My semi-hidden WARN bumper is more compact, yet the same winch like yours fits without problems.

Always use wire loom. If it touches something all the time, use two layers. Especially important for the red wire.

Worst thing is you would need to replace grill to non-TRD PRO. It has radar in the center.

 

Actually, I had zero issues. There's a plate that comes with the bumper that covers the place where the winch goes. The winch sits low enough that you can actually replace the plate - and unless you knew to look for it, you wouldn't know the winch is there! The picture in the first post is from before the winch install and it looks exactly the same now with the winch inside. The plate sits flush with the top of the bumper. I'll try to get a photo tomorrow and post it.

Take a look at this photo. You can see the unspooled roller behind a plate. That plate is built into the bumper and is designed to take the control box. If I did not relocate it, it would end up under that plate, making it inaccessible - and I am not even sure that it would fit under that plate.

Thank you, I did not know to do that. I will get some immediately!

 

A minor follow (please excuse the double post), here is a photo from off-roading on Thanksgiving Day. You can just see the winch line and the hawse fairlead below the (bent) license plate (red circle). Otherwise, no indication there is a winch in there. You can see very clearly that there is not interference with the radar (green circle).


Cheers

 

Good to know that the Toyota safety sensor still works with that bumper. The arb website only list the bumper for 2007-2018. You can officially get paid for your “research”.

 

REALLY? How?

 

Looks great, wondering how the finish will hold up to VA winters.

 

How do you mean? The finish...?

 

I was joking, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask ARB.

 

He means powder coated paint typically chips off. I sprayed my powder coated WARN bumper with Raptor, it takes forest abuse decently. No nothing yet.

 

I have now had two ARB front bumpers that came powder coated and through numerous winters have had no issues. They certainly can get scratched up when you're bashing into trees or running over brush, but I have yet to see any rust develop. I will keep an eye out, though, and report back if I see anything.

 

Thanks for the write up. Did you end up with a lot of extra wire with the LONG relocate kit?

Also, what hardware did you use to attach the control pack to the bumper plate? (reference the pic I quoted in this post)

 

You are most welcome. There was plenty of extra wiring, enough that I would be curious to see someone do it with the shorter kit. That said, I did not connect the winch directly to the battery, which might make a difference, since I have that BlueSeas switch in between winch and battery.

Nothing. The bumper comes with a built-in plate, and that is all you need. I did purchase an extra plate thinking I would need it, but anything that elevates the control box above the level of the bumper will interfere with the radar, which will then require relocating/recalibrating it. ARB did a bang-up job.

 

Thank you. I have the Summit bumper and ill be installing a Warn with the short kit soon. I'll post here when I'm complete. What exactly is the benefit of the Blue Sea switch?

 

Please do, and let us know!

It gives you a manual power switch for the winch, interrupting power flow. With something that big and with only one battery, I prefer to have a manual power switch in case something weird happens or I forget to switch off the winch - so it doesn't zap my battery. It was something suggested to be when I was building an overland rig out of a Cherokee XJ. I'm not sure that it's actually necessary, but it gives me peace of mind.