Yamaha Rhino Winch Mount

Ramsey Winch Installation

Disclaimer: Consult your Yamaha dealer concerning warranty issues before performing this modification.

Although a tire upgrade may provide the most consistent improvement in overall capability, a winch is the most critical upgrade you can make. No matter how capable you make your Rhino, sooner or later you will exceed those capabilities leaving you stuck in the middle of the boonies. Being equipped with adequate recovery gear will make the difference in having a great time riding, and in having to be a burden on others riding along with you....or even worse, in having to walk home because you weren't prepared.

For my needs I chose a Ramsey 3000lb. winch and wireless remote with a 2" receiver mount available from ATV Outfitters for around $440 total (cheaper alternatives are available). Installation will take the better part of an afternoon so allot adequate time to do the job right the first time. I installed my winch many different ways before finding the most efficient method and hopefully this write up will save you time and frustration.

1- From front to rear, remove the first four (two on each side) skid plate bolts. Remove the Rhino front bumper by removing the two bolts on the top mounts using a 14mm socket, and the two bolts on the bottom mounts using a 17mm socket.

2- The ATV Outfitters winch mount system is not only a very good design, but its reasonably priced as well. The system includes four main pieces: The receiver mount, the fairlead mount, the winch, and the roller fairlead. Put the receiver mount down first and put the fairlead mount on top of it. Place the winch on top of the fairlead mount, and bolt them all together using bolts and lock washers. The bolts included with the Ramsey winch weren't long enough so I replaced them with comparable bolts that were ½" longer than the bolts included with the kit. Check yours to make certain you're getting adequate thread contact. While you're tightening the mounting bolts bear in mind that your life could one day depend upon your winch, so don't cut any corners here. Flip it back over and mount your roller fairlead to the fairlead mount using the bolts, washers, and nuts provided with the kit.

3- Set your winch mount into your Rhino front bumper as shown and attach it to the bumper on the forward holes using the bolts, washers, and nuts included with the kit and two ½" wrenches. Make sure the receiver tube is square with the front of the bumper before tightening those bolts.

4- With the winch now mounted into the bumper, mount the bumper back on the Rhino using the original bolts. In addition to the four bolts that mount the front bumper to the Rhino, you also have two rear winch mount holes (one on each side) to be bolted together using the bolts, washers, and nuts provided with the kit.

5- Mount your solenoid in any location you are comfortable with. I mounted mine to the front of my battery box using two ¼" x ¾" bolts, washers, and nuts (requires drilling). If you're using the wireless remote like I did, go ahead and mount your receiver now too. I mounted mine to the side of the battery box using two ¼" x ¾" bolts, washers, and nuts (requires drilling). I grounded my receiver using a self tapping screw.

6- If you thought mounting the winch was fun, just wait until you get into the wiring. ☺ It's not to bad, but you will end up with a lot of leftover wire that you'll have to roll up and zip tie out of the way. Most likely I'll eventually get custom length cables to replace the ones that were included with kit.

7- A trick to save you from having to splice into any ignition line is by using the accessory plug. The wires providing power to the accessory plug in the Rhino connect using standard female connectors. Unplug them from the back of the accessory plug and pull them into the hood compartment where you can work on them. The Ramsey receiver power supply wire has both a male and female plug end on the ends of the wire. Strip the plastic shield away from the male end and plug it into the factory female end. Slide the rubber boot over it and plug the Ramsey receiver power supply wire female end onto the terminal on the back of the accessory plug, and plug the ground female plug back onto its terminal.

8- I mounted the receiver antenna on the frame rail using the double sided tape and a zip tie for when the tape fails.

9- Depending upon where you mount you rocker switch, you may need to extend your In/Out wires using crimp fittings and heat shrink.

Look for updates on the performance of our Ramsey winch as test the capabilities and limits of our Rhino and our Ramsey!

Disclaimer: A winch should be installed by someone with technical capabilities.