2022 Limited Hidden Winch - Photos and Proof (Budbuilt)

2022 4Runner Limited in Nautical Blue

I met Bud from the website below and he's currently installing a hidden winch in my truck. I had a hard time finding someone who knew what they were doing and would agree to work on a limited with the chrome and camera in the way.

https://budbuilt.com/-Hidden-Winch-Mount-2010-2013-4Runner_p_547.html

I'll post photos as I can and definitely post plenty of pictures of the finished product.

Bud and Kevin are super nice dudes and it was worth the 6 hour drive to meet them.

This is the before photo.

 

Interested to see the results. I have a somewhat custom slimline bumper on my wife’s 2017 Limited. I want to steal it for my 2021 Limited but this was the other option I was considering

 

Don't want to sound like a J*** A**, But the Limited bumper, parking sensors, radar sensor, front camera may not help you doing it. (IMO)

I so want to change it to TRD style bumper. But that too requires some work, lot of additional parts, drilling for parking sensors. If you go that route it has potential for a hidden winch bumper.

Either way keep us posted what you do / give me ideas how can I drain my back account..

 

Welcome input on where to put the camera and any technical information on it (is the camera part of the lane keep alerts).

Progress photos.

 

Seriously great team here. Today is my first time meeting anyone at the shop and these guys all top notch.

They just finished putting skids on a 2022 tundra and are loving playing with my 2022 4Runner.

 

It’s not part of lane departure alert. I don’t have that camera on my ‘21 and it has lane departure alert. Could they fab up a custom L bracket/plate that moved the camera just below the fairlead? Thinking it could sandwich between the fairlead and the hidden winch plate

 

As far as I know NO. Toyota Safety sense P use the camera near the rear view camera not the one on bumper. The camera on the bumper is just used for viewing purpose. Not a Toyota tech, its just a guess.

 

Really wish you changed the bumper first. As seen on the pic my Limited bumper sits low even after 2.5 lift + 285/70R17 tires compared to my stock TRD with stock 265/70R17 size tires. When you add the winch it will drop even lower.

 

Looks like when Toyota made these they thought about putting a camera right at this spot in the plastic

 

I thought long and hard about it, but this fits my needs at the moment.

There's a slimline winch mount that'll work on a limited (with plenty of cutting, praying, and overlooking mistakes) but it is too low to be useful.

If I wanted to prioritize off roading I would opt to spend more and start with a trd pro, but I like the creature comforts of the cream puff trim. To each his own.

 

Progress update.

 

Impromptu waiting area.

We're going with what appears to be the original factory camera spot and a tiny hole in the chrome plastic.

 

Minor adjustments to the power steering hose because I choose a huge 12,000 lbs

 

The control unit for the harbor freight 12,000 winch doesn't have to be relocated, which is nice.

 

The front crash bar on the 2022 is a millimeter thicker than 2019.

A camera relocation to the emblem is possible, but would require an offset non symmetrical look due to it's size. Another non-oem camera is usable, maybe? But would require running wires and potentially two wire harnesses which wouldn't be fun.

For anyone who cares, don't get a genisis dual battery kit - not knocking them, just wish I'd learned ahead of time that smaller batteries means smaller pixies. No worries, just putting a third battery in the spot where a third battery ought to go.

 

All that work to put in a Harbor Freight winch?

The project looks good though.

 

Ha! Bud had to bite his tongue because I think he was thinking the same thing.

 

Looks very well done!

 

Turn your hook down so the opening faces ground, it's bothering me!

 

Now that’s something you don’t see every day…what did the shop think of the final result?

 

Final result: It was worth it. Excellent product. Excellent install. Excellent OEM look.

Bud did it himself (like an engineer does, with helpers doing the heavy lifting and him doing the design and thinking) and he's ready to do as many as people want.

 

I like it. I’d prefer to have recovery points too though like the LFD version

 

I've read many reviews on the HF Badlands winches all very good, like the Daytona floor jacks.
BTW I have a Promark 2500 Synthetic Cable on my Sportsman HO500. I mainly use it to lift plow when plowing snow. Have ripped out some scrubs. The swedge came loose W/plow, I did the splice but didn't hold up I just tie a double 1/2 hitch around the hook pin works great.

 

The badlands synthetic is the best bang for the buck. The warn is probably better, but after reading a ton and watching countless hours of YouTube I am happy with the badlands. I tested it today and it works.

 

I’ve had a 3500 HF on my 2003 ATV through snow, heavy dust and mud for 15yrs and zero issues.

 

beautiful, clean install. nice work.

 

Seems like these are working well for a couple of the guys with recovery channels. If they're using them on pretty much a daily basis professionally, I'm sure it'll hold up great for an enthusiast that's going to use it a couple times a year if that.

Good to know the 12K version fits too. I was actually looking at these not too long ago, I was hoping for 9,500 lb version with a synthetic rope, but I didn't see it available. I like the bud built winch plate for my 2013 Trail edition too, because from what I see I wouldn't need to do any cutting at all of the front bumper in order to fit the fairlead or anything.

 

There are quite a few YouTube channels featuring off road recovery, and these professionals appear to be highly confident relying on HF winches for extreme remote recovery ops.

 

I did the BB hidden winch project last year. Installed it myself. Didn't have the know-how to fit the large winch without relocating the solenoid. Because of the vertical support piece. Id love to see how Bud relocated the bottom mount of that support. For that type of mount, the power steering line needs carefully repositioned, by twisting toward the radiator. But a year later I noticed that because of twist in the hoses, they cracked, and needed replacing. Luckily discovered the cracks before they leaked.

 

What caused the hose to crack? Bending? I'm wondering because mine had 8k miles on it when the winch was installed, so maybe the hoses were newer. Also, I think Bud put in a new hose, but that was likely during the brief period of time when I was sleeping in a hammock.

He checked and rechecked the power steering fluid level several times before letting me leave. He was very thorough.

The vertical support hood latch was removed temporarily and the clearance was close, but it fit.