Toyota Tacoma 3rd Gen Hidden Winch Mount

Sigh… how do I answer this? The truth is I do not know how well this winch plate will work because I haven’t been able to install it. The welds and craftsmanship look superb and I can assume that if as much time and effort were put into the design then I won’t have any problems with it mechanically. The bigger question is, why haven’t I installed it. In short… It was over 9 and a half weeks late. I am a teacher. I work 60-70 hour weeks 10 months out of the year. This leaves me 2 months over the summer to go out and enjoy my truck, to build, to wheel, and to repair before I return to the classroom. When I ordered the hidden winch bumper the delivery date from Bash as per his site was June 9th, approximately a week into my summer. I reached out to Bash on the 13th of June and was told that he would be getting to it on the 19-21st of June. On the 9th of July (now 1 month behind and 2 and a half weeks after he said he’d be starting my order) I again inquired as to the status, to which Bash replied that he had not yet begun and that there was still an order ahead of mine. He acknowledged the delay and offered a refund. I declined as he seemed confident that he would be getting to my order within a few days. I reached out again on July 22nd. He said he’d have it out on the 24th. On the 24th my order went into “production” according to an email from HK. Long story short, I received my order on August 22nd. As of right now, the winch plate sits powder coated in my tiny garage with the winch and all of the other supplies necessary for installation awaiting the proper alignment of the planets for installation. I had a full 7 weeks from the original date given to accomplish this task but that got blown out by the delays described above. I have since looked into HK and Bash and this is apparently not a new scenario. His saving graces according to other reviewers are his build quality and his communication. While I am sure the build quality is great (I won’t know until I install and use), his communication is actually terrible. I had to reachout bi weekly for updates. All timelines given turned out to be inaccurate.Not. Great. Communication. The only reason you are reading this is because I am getting emails from HK asking for a review of their product/service. So here you go. Order with caution, patience and a lot of time.

Bash is awesome! He got my order out when it was finished and communication by text message was prompt and thorough. The welds are great and the product is straight and true. Either he has built some great jigs or he’s a great welder on a fixture table. No warping, good penetration and temperature on the welds and they even look fantastic like a row of dimes laid out. The bumper was clean but definitely use some prep spray or acetone to wipe it down until you get a clean rag before coating it.

Winch mount fit right in as it should. Winch mounted right up. This thing is very well built. Could not be happier with how it turned out. Well done Bash.