flat tow hardware

I have a 98 with a stock front bumper and I want to flat tow it. Tomken machine makes a tow plate, tow bar, and the tow hook brackets, but they are the only ones I can find. I really dont want a new bumper due to the expense. What is everyone using? Any recomendations are appreciated.

I use a Reese set-up. It came with bumper mount brackets and is adjustable. I think I spent about $125 on it or so.
I towed my Cherokee behind my motorhome for about 1000mi before I tore the bumper off the Jeep. After hooking it up the MH I turned off the ignition and removed the keys......thus locking the steering wheel....the first hard left I took...turning into Yosemite....I ripped the bumper off.....
Since then I have built brackets out of 3/16" plate that replace the stock press steel mounts and also have built a cross-brace that ties both sides together.
I still tow the Jeep...but now I have note on the dash of the motorhome asking where the keys to the Jeep are. :twak:
Rick

Ouch! nothing like learning the hard way! thanks for the input, anyone else with any ideas?

we bought one when my buddy's transmission went out on his XJ so I could flat tow hime from outside Tucumcari, NM to Tulsa, OK.
It was $150 from u-haul. I would guess it would work with a stock bumper, but you would have to drill holes in it and mount the tow points.

My buddy's got a custom built bumper that the tow bar fit right onto.

My MJ lived the last 10K miles before I got it behind a RV. When I got it it had one of these installed on it. Not cheap @ $350 but it's built sturdy and mounts to the frame rails not the bumper. I've cosidered getting rid of it since the mount hangs below the bumper.

I think the best option would be a heavier bumper with integrated tow points like Rigidco, AJ, etc. and then get one of the $100 towbars and modify it to attach. That way you'd get a sturdy bumper that wouldn't allow the towbar to tear through for the same money as the setup that's on mine.

- JP

camping world makes a tow bar setup for the XJ. It's really neat, but a little spendy.
I got one used and I love it.
Big O

A little different question but still in the park - Once the transfer case is in N you can tow without doing damage to trans and such right?

Thanks :wave:

I flat tow a Cherokee behind our motor home. I use a Roadmaster tow bar and base plates. The base plates are beefy chunks of steel, each using seven grade 6 nuts and bolts.
See
http://www.roadmasterinc.com/pdfinst/1418-1.pdf

Towing can really stress the front end, especially in turns. Using the stock bumper as the attachment point will not cut it. If you are going to tow, the base plates must be securely attached to the unibody, just like front tow hooks should be.
When properly set-up, the Cherokee is a great toad. I almost forget it’s in back of our 23’ motor home. With its small size and go almost anywhere FWD, it was the perfect choice no matter if you are visiting a city or spending a week in Death Valley.
Jeeps are the easiest of vehicles to tow. XC in neutral, transmission in Park and the key in the steering un-lock position- that’s it. I have a single cord that plugs into the motor home and Jeep for the lights and brakes.

JP, If I was keeping the jeep longer the bumper would be the plan, still trying to pull this off inexpensivly :laugh:

Lazy, I like the look of that roadmaster kit. thanks..

anyone using the tomken setup?

any drilling required?

looking back the tomken may be the way to go.. I have a reese hitch and a tow bar. I mounted the "bumper mounts" on the cross tube of the hitch. definetly a solid mount as the hitch is a class 3... hangs down, but acts as a nice skid and solid recovery point.

Question, When the Tcase is in neutral does that lock the front with the rear?
just wondering since im locked front and rear

I used to use a blue ox brand tow bar setup for my towing my YJ. Very stout setup that I bought used on eBay for about $100 including shipping. Here's there website: http://blueox.us/tips.html.

Jeep said:

A little different question but still in the park - Once the transfer case is in N you can tow without doing damage to trans and such right?

Thanks :wave:

Click to expand...

NO!!!!
that will lock your front and rear driveshafts together and make them spin at the same speed - and when cornering, your front end goes farther than the back!!! = bad for driveline!

and a tow dolly with the t-case in nutral would be suicide...

i guess that answers this too:

creeperjeep said:

Question, When the Tcase is in neutral does that lock the front with the rear?
just wondering since im locked front and rear

Click to expand...

if i were to flat tow - especialy locked front and rear - i would pull the front and rear driveshafts and throw them inside the vehicle but if you dont have an SYE then i would pull the front and throw it in the rig and pull the rear at the diff ends and tie it up under the rig...

"that will lock your front and rear driveshafts together and make them spin at the same speed - and when cornering, your front end goes farther than the back!!! = bad for driveline!
if i were to flat tow - especialy locked front and rear - i would pull the front and rear driveshafts and throw them inside the vehicle but if you dont have an SYE then i would pull the front and throw it in the rig and pull the rear at the diff ends and tie it up under the rig..."

My 2001 XJ's XC does not lock the front and rear driveshafts together, when in neutral. The owners manual tells you how to properly set it up for towing (XC in neutral, transmission in Park, ignition switch in the steering wheel unlocked -power off position).
I have thousand of miles of flat towing on our XJ and so do hundreds of other XJ (and TJ) owners. They are a very popular choice among RVers because of the ease of set up and dependability, not to mention how much fun an XJ is to drive on and off-road.
READ THE OWNER"S MANUAL; it's your XJ's bible.

On my '92 XJ, I did just as the owners manual stated. T-case in N and I flat towed it (U-Haul Tow Bar) from North Texas to Southwest Colorado (about 1500 - 1600 miles) and back with no problems at all. I have no lockers - just stock diffs.

Michel