Flat tow/ Stock Bumper

[Ludakris]

ok, I appologize if this has been covered, but I did a quick look and didnt find it. And yes, I saw other threads, but didnt want to hijack....

I want to Flat Tow my 89' XJ behind my Dodge Dakota, My question is on mounting the tow bar to the front of the XJ. I want to know if the front bumper and mounts will hold up to it, or should I do some reinforcement of the stock bumper? Maybe the mounts as well? or can I just bolt the mounts to the bumper and roll out?

 

[RCP Phx]

Dont even consider it,you need a tow bar kit(kinda built like a receiver hitch)!

 

[Kevin3151]

I actually did install a front receiver hitch (90 bucks) and then mounted my tow bar to it for flat towing. It is perfect and when I come down hard on something it protects my front clip nicely. It also adds a nice front tow point for a strap if you dont have hooks.
KH

 

[MattBlackXJ]

Tomken sells a "tow plate" that bolts to tow hook brackets for this purpose.

 

[Eagle]

Tomken sells a "tow plate" that bolts to tow hook brackets for this purpose.

Yep. It's in the Quadratec catalog.

 

[old_man]

The Tomken setup is pretty nice. In the bargin you get beefier tow hook brackets. The towbar then hooks to those brackets. I bought their brackets then made a crossmember with a 2" receiver as well as connections to the tow bar.

As it turns out, flat towing is pretty straight forward. The biggest problem is the lack of brakes on the towed vehicle. That is why I went with a tow dolly. The drawback to that is that you have to drop the rear driveshaft.

What ever you do, be careful.

 

[Ludakris]

I actually did install a front receiver hitch (90 bucks) and then mounted my tow bar to it for flat towing. It is perfect and when I come down hard on something it protects my front clip nicely. It also adds a nice front tow point for a strap if you dont have hooks.
KH

I have a reese front hitch on its way, did you drill through it and bolt the brackets to the cross bar? I hadnt even thought of that, but it makes sense.