Front reciever

Hey all I'm looking at fabbing up a 2" front reciever for our 87 XJ Wagoneer. Wondering what others have done in the past? Anyone got pics of a good build?

I've got a pretty good picture in my mind of what I want but I would love to see what others have done. I will be retaining the original bumper but it will really just be a skin, more like the plastic outer shell on other vehicles. Cross-tube for the reciever will extend full width an be tied into the bumper "skin" at the ends with the fasteners being covered by the end caps. Reciever will, of course, come out through the bumper and be hidden by the license plate bracket when not in use. I'm also thinking about running some tabs out through the bumper for shackles which would hide neatly inside the bumperettes. I may just run the tabs out under the bottom edge of the bumper though. Also I will probably run a piece of angle along the bottom lip of the bumper, bolted through the "skin" and braced up to the cross-bar.

Few questions. What's the minimum thickness recommended for the shackle tabs; 3/8", 1/2", thicker? If 1/2" what's the minumum amount of meat around the pin hole? I've got a bunch of 1/2" x 1 1/4" flat bar but I'm not sure there would be enough meat around the hole. Got lots of 3/8" x 2" as well, but is it thick enough? Double up the 3/8" maybe? Also any guesses on the best way to cut the chrome bumper without too much discoloration? Anyone tried cutting something chrome with a plasma? Maybe just drill the corners and use a jig saw?

Anyways, appreciate any comments or suggestions.

look up the detours offroad backbone system.
It's basically exactly what you want.
http://detoursusa.com/xjbackbone.php

87manche said:

look up the detours offroad backbone system.
It's basically exactly what you want.
http://detoursusa.com/xjbackbone.php

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Thanks for the link some useful stuff for me in the installation instructions. It is a nice set-up too but not a reciever. One of the main objectives here is to not have to carry the winch around when not needed.

not for nothing but I think you can buy a used front receiver for 50-75 bucks

There are still a few companies that sell front hitches for the XJ. Drawtite sells one (65009) and so does Curt (31084). But they are both spendy $150 or so. I would personally buy the IRO tow hook setup and weld a receiver tube to the top or bottom of it. Would be a bit cheaper and heavier steel.

Might not be what you are looking for but I converted some tow hook brackets into receiver mounts. This setup lets me swap in regular class-III stuff, plus I can also hook up a flat-tow.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?p=243938303&postcount=1







Next on the project list is to get a snow plow mounted

tchase said:

Thanks for the link some useful stuff for me in the installation instructions. It is a nice set-up too but not a reciever. One of the main objectives here is to not have to carry the winch around when not needed.

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As someone that has/uses a winch in a 2" receiver mount you will hate it, especially if you use a regular drawtite front receiver. It's too low and hangs out way too far. My JCR bumper with the reciever in it is going to get converted to regular winch bumper.

My winch is mounted to the bumper in a plate, if you use a receiver that's below the bumper it will drop it another 4-5 inches, you will hit it on everything, trust me. And getting the winch out and into position when you really need it is a real pain.

87manche said:

As someone that has/uses a winch in a 2" receiver mount you will hate it, especially if you use a regular drawtite front receiver. It's too low and hangs out way too far. My JCR bumper with the reciever in it is going to get converted to regular winch bumper.

My winch is mounted to the bumper in a plate, if you use a receiver that's below the bumper it will drop it another 4-5 inches, you will hit it on everything, trust me. And getting the winch out and into position when you really need it is a real pain.

Click to expand...

Thought about this as well but being that this is my other half's daily driver and she says the winch MUST be removeable, the winch MUST be removeable. It will be kept as high as possible though, defineately will not be under the bumper. Reciever will come out through the bumper, as high up in the bumper as I can get it and still hide the hole behind the license plate (non-issue, by the way, with having to remove the plate to put on the winch as we are not required to run a front plate here).

That's what I do with my current setup.

Honestly for the headache of designing your own stuff you could just buy a bumper with a 2" receiver in it, otherwise look at some of the builds in advanced fab that have tucked the winch under the grill and into the core support. That's the area you want to stick your receiver in if you want it hidden behind the stock bumper. You might call Detours and see if he will make you one, or sell you some of the pieces from his backbone setup and you can finish it out how you'd like.

I agree, ask Detours if there is room for you to install a stock receiver and if so will they do it

Here's what I did instead of adding a receiver hitch. It gave me more approach angle putting it higher at bumper height and since I don't have a welder, the price was nearly the same for buying the receiver hitch vs. the receiver bumper. This first picture is before I ripped off the front valence and trimmed the fenders. the second one is as it sits now.

Appreciate the input guys, keep it coming.

Keeping the stock bumper is also non-negotiable. Jeep will remain 100% stock in appearance.

While the detours system looks like a quality peice, it's not exactly what I'm looking for and even if they could mod it for me the cost would be prohibitive, especially after shipping/duty to get it here. Not worried about fabbing it myself, that way I end up with exactly what I want. A friend with a CNC Plasma table will be cutting the frame brackets for me. I also have pretty much unlimited access to a fully equipped shop with a couple welders and a plasma. Shouldn't be too big a deal really. Defineately won't be as much work as what I've got planned here: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1058798

If that's the case, it shouldn't be such a big deal. Plate the frame, cut out the stock core support, replace with something beefy enough to run your receiver into. THe only problem I could see is that you'll loose the access to the harmonic balancer through the core support. So you might want to do that before you can't get to it without pulling the motor.