Rough CountryWinch Mounting Plate for 1987-2006 Jeep Wrangler TJ/YJ - 1189, Front, Black

Let me start by saying this is specific to a 1989 Jeep YJ Wrangler, stock bumper, installing a HF Apex 12K winch.The plate seems very sturdy. It came with 4, Grade 5, silver 12-13 bolts (1 1/2"). Since I hoped to secure it with tow hooks I purchased 4 black flange head, Grade 8 bolts from Tractor Supply. The hooks were black Smittybilt tow hooks. I was pleased to find the hooks came with four black bolts, two 12-13, Grade 8, and two 1/2-20 Grade 5 black bolts. I was going to be using the two 12-3 bolts.First thing was to remove the plastic "Jeep" cover between the grill and rear edge of the bumper. Just two screws on either side of cover (vertical outside surface of the frame.Then the top 2 bumper T-55 bolts were removed. The lower T-55 bumper bolts were loosened. At some point in the past the front bumper had gotten torqued out of perfect shape. It looked like someone had wrapped a chain around the driver's side end of the bumper at some point.Removing the plastic "Jeep" cover revealed the threaded holes on the top of both sides of the frame, behind the bumper.The provided 12/13 bolts fit the threaded T-55 bumper bolt holes. But I could not for the life of me get the 12-13 bolts to thread through the frame holes. None of my SAE or Metric thread gauges would thread into the frame holes. The internet search insisted for the most part that the bolts/nuts were in fact 12-13. I even emailed Rough Country and asked what size bolt hole that frame hole was. I must have gotten just a "front desk" person who replied they didn't have that specification and I should contact a Jeep dealer. That was a silly response since the plate/bolts were supposedly made for my Jeep.Finally my brain decided to run a 12-13 thread chaser through the frame bolt holes. Very slowly, back and forth, without oil (not wanting to throw off the torque spec) I chased the frame hole threads. And voila. Although the threads looked relatively clean and by and large rust free, there was just enough rust to keep the supplied 12-13 bolts from threading into the bolt holes. After chasing both, they worked just fine with the 12-13 bolts supplied with both the Rough Country plate and the Smittybilt hooks. Now the hardware would fit.I attached the HF Apex fairlead first. Then I mounted the winch to the plate (off the bumper). Although the Rough Country plate had oblong winch mounting holes, I couldn't move the winch as forward as I wanted to (just an 1/8th") because of the fairlead nuts inside the plate. The Apex winch was as far forward, on the plate, as the nuts allowed.Test fitting the plate/winch onto the bumper I found the front plate/winch bolt heads were ever so slightly pressing against the top corner of the bumper. Just a smidgeon. The rear plate/winch bolt heads were easily cleared in the void further back behind the bumper.But those front bolt heads made lining up the hooks/plate/bumper/frame holes a challenge. All the planets needed to be in alignment to line up the those holes. Patience and minute adjustments finally worked and I was able to get all the bolts to thread without cross threading them. Then just torqued them to the specified 75 ft/lbs.Then it was just a matter of wiring up the winch to the battery (I did use the disconnect provided with the Apex). The only snafu here was that it wasn't until this point that I realized the 6' long negative cable hadn't been in the Apex box. A trip to HF. Kudos to them. They opened another Apex box and gave me that negative cable without blinking an eye.Lastly, although the winch was now successfully installed and wired, There was still a space between the grill and Rough Country winch plate. The plate only covered maybe 2/3's of the void left after removing the plastic "Jeep" cover. That exposed a void and a metal crossmember in front of the grill.When I had "test" fitted the winch I scribed a line, across the plastic "Jeep" cover, using the mounting plate as a straight edge. On the sides of the plastic cover I scribed a 45 degree line so both original side holes were still usable. I used a jigsaw with a metal blade and cut up the sides of the cover and across the scribed line between the frames. I sanded down the edges. So the original "Jeep" cover now covered that portion between the grill and the winch plate. Looked much better.Maybe it's my tendency to be OCD. But I find it mildly annoying that most of the time when I researching purchases the hardware specs aren't listed. Just a photo, if that. That sort of interferes with my being prepared when something arrives. In case I have to make a run to the hardware store and have everything ready and waiting for the install. And reading reviews where someone isn't specific about vehicle info. It didn't fit? It didn't what vehicle? How did it not fit? That information could be helpful to someone else down the road. But I digress. Sorry.Bottom line? This Rough Country winch plate (#1189) did in fact fit both my 1989 Jeep YJ Wrangler stock bumper and the HF Apex 12K winch.

YJ owner. I opened the package and was surprised by how stout this mount is!!! 1/4 inch steel instead of the light weight material the others use. Definitely heavy duty!! I have already checked and is a perfect fit!!

Easy install, very good product for the money. All hardware included, the mount itself has a good finish on it as well. Would definitely buy again.

Easy to install and looks great

It was a little heavier made than what I expected, perfect fit for my 2005 TJ

Installed on my Jeep TJ. Works well with the OEM front bumper. Seems to be made of heavy duty metal, it’s quite heavy! Only complaint is that the bolt holes can be tough to align. Cheap option to run a winch on a factory bumper. Would recommend.

I would strongly suggest adding at least 5 good layers of brush on truck bed (or something better, personally I think it stays better and is thicker than spray on) on the bottom of the plate, or if time permits do all of it. It can be bought for under $20 for a can. I live in a MN, and the roads are salted and rust takes a toll on many vehicles, my father has had a winch on his Wrangler for a few years and the winch plate is rusting slightly (he put no extra coatings on) so I'm hoping the extra paint will do me some good with my wrangler.The winch plate fit perfect, instructions were fine, but I had to makeshift using thicker washers for the bolts that bolt on to the frame behind the bumper as the plate would have been offset slightly, however maybe it was unnecessary.Came will all hardware. If using Tow Hooks i would recommend getting longer bolts. My stock bolts actually bent when I was Unbolting them due to some corrosion around the threads. Replaced them with some Grade 8 zinc coated bolts (grade 5 were included) the length of the stock bolts. Some think the grade 5 is better than grade 8, but I don't feel the same. Both will work quite well. Loktite and grease the threads. Maybe overkill but I am very anti rust.

This mount fits the stock bumper on my 2002 TJ Sport perfectly. I didn't use the hardware that came with it, because the bolts were short and my current bolts with my recovery hooks were still in great shape. As you can see from the picture it fit my Badlands Apex 12000 winch perfectly. No modifications needed.