FINALLY - A winch mount brush guard!!!

John Harden · 06-28-2006, 02:44 PM

Mile Marker finally came out with one!!! I've been looking for one of these for over a year. I spoke with Warn about 9 months ago and they were toying with making one, but ultimately decided against it.

I'm familiar with the replacement bumper winch solutions out there such as the Calmini, Kennesaw, ARB, etc, but don't want to remove my front fascia or bumper on the truck. Frankly, I just don't care much for the look of them. That's not a slam against them as they are made extremely well. It's just not the solution I'm looking for, that's all.

The Mile Marker version is an honest to god brush guard that requires no modifcations to the truck. It even works with the factory tow hooks and skid plate.

It has been out for about a month but just hit their online catalogue in the past week or two. They're making it in two finish options. The powder coated black one is available now and is Mile Marker Part number 50-50064. List is $797, though I'm sure you can get it cheaper from your favorite offroad accessories store.

The polished stainless version is not out yet. I spoke with Mile Marker again today asking about availability and they say at least 6 more weeks if not longer. I was waiting for the stainless one, but changed my mind and bought the black one as it will better match some of my other accessories.

Both versions are designed to work with a winch up to 12,000 lbs.

I first heard about it from a Mile Marker rep at the Ontario, California offroad expo about a month ago. He had the stainless version on his Ford out in the parking lot and said the Titan one looks exactly the same. I bought a 12K winch from them at the show and have been hankering to get the darn thing mounted.

This design has a tapered look to it, flaring out at the top which will look cool on the Titan as it mimics the outward flare of the grill. Mile Marker's online catalogue doesn't have a pic, but does show the part number if you want to look it up.

None of the distributors I contacted had it in their system, but just ask them to call Mile Marker to confirm part number and price, then have them give you a quote. They'll just have Mile Marker drop ship it for them.

I got mine for $495 from 4X4 Parts.com in Florida at 954-971-3510. I like these folks as they specialize in Nissan offroad parts.

Mine should be here in about a week or so and after I install it, I'll post some pics.

Regards,

John

John Harden · 07-10-2006, 08:04 PM

Well, it arrived today. Very nice unit and I like the design and how beefy it is. Must weight about 80 lbs. without the attachment hardware. It will look really good on the truck. You can see what it looks like if you go down to the 4X4 parts sponsor section and click on the thread Jane just posted. They show it as a new part.

That's the good news. The bad news is that it got damaged in shipping. I didn't think that 3/8" plate steel with a box beam construction could get damaged during shipping from Florida to California, but our friends at UPS some how found a way to do just that.

The thick steel plate on the right side at the bottom got bent inward pretty badly. It must have gotten dropped from a significant height to do that amount of damage. They also dented the very stout horizontal steel bar at the top. Not sure how they did this as there's nothing either in the box or in that area that could cause that dent. They must have put other, very heavy stuff on top of it, or more likely threw it on top of it.

I filed a claim with UPS and alerted 4X4 Parts. Now I just have to wait to see how long it takes them to work through it with UPS.

Oh well. It'll probably take at least another 2-3 weeks to get the replacement one here. I'll resurrect this thread and post pics one it is finally installed.

Regards,

John

DRTYAZN · 07-11-2006, 12:05 AM

Post pics please... I'm a visual learner..lol

grunge311 · 07-11-2006, 06:50 AM

yes I demand pics

jaho1979 · 07-11-2006, 07:06 AM

$495 is a great price!!! Please post some pictures ASAP! Is there a link you can post?

John Harden · 07-11-2006, 02:14 PM

I'm a visual learner too so I know what you mean.

I tried to upload some photos, but nothing I do works. The board here tells me that my file sizes are too large. I decreased image quality quite a lot and it is still too large a file.

Anyone know any secrets to actually posting good quality pics that are larger than 492kb or whatever the threshhold is? 734 is the smallest I can make them.

Regards,

John

John Harden · 07-11-2006, 02:45 PM

Okay, I think I figured it out. Pics are low res, but the good looking guy holding up the winch mount guard so you can see what it would look like on the truck is me.

Basically, it attaches at two points. The primary point is where the tow hooks go. They supply heavy duty brackets that bolt to the frame. The second point is about 12" higher and they use a clever design of two, heavy steel bars that bolt to the frame cross member.

Good news is you keep your factory tow hooks and skid plate with this setup.

Regards,

John

John Harden · 07-11-2006, 03:03 PM

Okay, couple more pics. As you can see the tray for the winch projects out a fair amount in front of the side plates but this is necessary so there is adequate room for a 12,000 lb. winch. The only other option is to increase the width of the side plates to where they become pretty wide and ugly. Personally, I like this design.

The guard has a couple nice design features. Notice the two, pointy "sweeps" in the side plates and their overall shape. These mold up nicely to the shape of the bumper on the Titan.

My original post where I mentioned it was a V shaped unit was incorrect. This is what the Mile Marker rep told me and also what the one on his Ford looked like. As you can see, on this one, the two side plates are parallel. I actually like this a bit better.

Also, in the first post where I uploaded pics you can see the damage to the unit caused by UPS. They must have dropped this sucker from a pretty good height to bend 3/8" plate steel.

I sent photos of the damage 4X4 Parts who indicated they'
ll not wait for the UPS claim, but instead will ship me a replacement unit ASAP. Nice service on their part.

Regards,

John

DRTYAZN · 07-13-2006, 12:30 AM

oooooooooooo... me likeeeee!!!

Gonna havta really contemplate now....

with that hooked up, I can see putting lights on it as well.... drool...

Vegas04 · 07-13-2006, 06:27 AM

so ummm... you wanna' sell me the damaged one?

**konigfritz** · 07-13-2006, 07:35 AM

NICE!! I want one!

John Harden · 07-13-2006, 08:37 AM

Sorry Vegas, you know how it works though. UPS takes the damaged one and if they pay off on the claim, they keep it. If they don't pay off, I think they return it to the sender. In any event, it's gone and I'll never see it again, otherwise I'd be happy sell it.

Regards,

John

PossumValleyTitan · 07-13-2006, 01:49 PM

Looks good -- I like it better than others I have seen.

Thanks for the pics -- keep 'em coming! Maybe a few when you install it (for us visual learners, as mentioned before).

WallyBFTW · 07-13-2006, 02:04 PM

Please let me know how you like putting the drivers side front bolt back in!!! Oh joy!!!

John Harden · 07-13-2006, 08:22 PM

"Drivers side front bolt".

Which one you referring to? Maybe the ones on the tow hooks? I've removed them three or four times. Wasn't too bad. Now, the two small bolts that hold the rear of the skid plate were a bear!!! I had to cut one of the off with a hacksaw. They got covered up by the cross member when my Rancho lift kit was installed. Very limited clearance and a nightmare to remove.

Wound up finally getting them out, then modd'ed the skid plate by cutting two slots in the rear so I can now just loosen the bolts and slide it on. Works much better now!!