Ive decided to add a winch to my 2017 Rubicon. Im undecided on how to mount it. My oldest young’un says he thinks a winch bumper is the best way. I also know you can mount them on the frame under the plastics.

Any opinions?

Drawbacks to either mounting option?

I have my Ram set up with the winch mounted into a receiver hitch front and back and wired to be used on either end. I prefer to take the winch off in periods when I know I won't be using it

Winch on frame works fine, can be a little harder to reach knob for free spooling. If you've buried the front end in mud it will be a little messy if you want/need to free spool the line out.

Winch on a winch bumper probably easier to reach, adds more weight to front end (enough to notice on steering/suspension??), adds more length to front end, costs more $ from buying special bumper. Probably handier if you use winch a lot.

Both my atvs have frame mounted winches, don't see any point in the cost of an additional bumper.

If you need to install a snow plow, make sure the bumper mount doesn't stick out to far (not an issue in AR?).