Abstract: The present invention provides a winch tray mounting system comprising a winch tray and a mounting assembly comprising at least two mounting brackets for attaching the winch tray to frame rails of a vehicle wherein when the winch tray mounting system is attached to the vehicle; (i) each of the at least two mounting brackets is directly attached to both the winch tray and one of the frame rails; (ii) the winch tray is located outside of the vehicle; (iii) the winch tray mounting system and the frame rails form a rigid structural body frame; and (iv) the winch tray mounting system directly translates applied mechanical loads to the frame rails. The present invention also provides a method for attaching the above-described winch tray mounting system to a vehicle comprising: providing the above-described winch tray mounting system, attaching the at least two mounting brackets directly to the winch tray; and attaching the at least two mounting brackets directly to the frame rails.