Tow bar..mounting brackets to bumper

[Jump This]

You know how Jeep has those niffty plugged holes in the front bumper....they seem to be in a perfect location for mounting the brackets from my Reese tow bar........any reason I should not use these holes? Any experience with Reese tow bars (they seem kinda cheesy to me, after I bolt them together I will be welding and adding some beef...)

[Georgia Mike]

I don't know about the holes you're referring to (ditched my factory bumper a LONG time ago :D),but the 5,000 lb. rated Reese tow bar is what I use. It's a good piece and I have no uneasy feelings about towing with it. It's mounted to my winch bumper with heavy duty frame mounted brackets(along with safety chains for an extra bit of insurance). You need to make sure you have it tied into the vehicle's "frame rails",whether it be a direct mount,or mounted to the vehicle's factory bumper brackets. I personally would recommend the first option,as I would be hesitant to trust two little cheesy stamped steel pieces that were only designed to hold up a 15 pound bumper to hold the entire load of the vehicle's weight.

As far as welding on the tow bar...well......the thing you need to remember when modifying things like that is liability. You modify it,and it kills someone,it's on your hands. You leave it alone and use it as directed and it kills someone,it's on the manufacturer's hands. Just my $.02 :)

[AZ Jeff]

Originally posted by Jump This
You know how Jeep has those niffty plugged holes in the front bumper....they seem to be in a perfect location for mounting the brackets from my Reese tow bar........any reason I should not use these holes?

Those holes in the bumper are for the factory fog lites. They are in a part of the bumper that has no reinforcement. THus, attaching the tow bar brackets to that location, without bolsters, is asking for the bumper to be bent, torn, etc.

You need to tie the tow bar to the area where the bumper attaches to the frame, or to the frame directly.

[Jump This]

Thanks much.....thaught I should build a support or bracket to the frame rails anyway....

[RichP]

I've seen them installed in TJ's and YJ's and the installer cuts two slots in the TJ/YJ bumper for the tabs to stick thru. Some use them for a set of shackle mounts when on the trails.
Been giving that some thought, next outing I'm going to look a bit closer to the tow setup and see if that would be a possiblity for the rear of the XJ.

[Eagle]

Originally posted by Jump This
Thanks much.....thaught I should build a support or bracket to the frame rails anyway....

Quadtratec already has it for you, complete with brackets to attach the tow bar plate to the "frame." Available with or without a front receiver tube.

It's in the 2003 Spring Jeep Cherokee Essentials catalog. If you don't have that, www.quadratec.com

[Jump This]

I looked into that Eagle...was not fully satisfied with thier product. Kinda hangs lower (although 'hang' might be overstating it a bit) than I want. They use a flat plate along the bottom edges of the rail. I will be changing out the bumper sooner or later and thaught just a temporary fix will do. Strong....but temporary.

[JnJ]

For sure tie it into the frame some how. I towed my XJ from Texas to Tellico and back with the tow bar attached to the factory bumper. After I got back home i found that the factory bumper itself was fine, but the factory bumper mounts were tearing apart. Each mount had about a 1/2" rip in them. We are just lucky it held together for the trip.