Google it for me - TJ rear bumper

shawn

shawn

running dog lackey of the oppressor class
Administrator
Joined
Mar 13, 2005
Location
Raleigh, NC
I actually have searched for this, and I'm coming up empty-handed.

Does anybody make a rear bumper for a TJ that has an integral hitch that is actually intended to be used as such? What I have in mind looks like the Warn rear bumper:

awww.autotrucktoys.com_jeep_images_W61854_Warn_Jeep_Wrangler_r.jpg


But the Warn one specifically says it is not for towing, just carrying a hitch hauler or your bicycles or whatever.

I prefer that it does not have a tire carrier or anything like that. Just low profile, and can be used for towing or as a recovery point.
 
Sounds like a CYA situation. Like saying "for off-road use only." Manufacturers don't want to go through the trouble and expense of getting a bumper tested and certified to pass a certain load capacity classification, then get the stamp that certifies it for towing use. It may be built to the same or higher standard than your average receiver hitch, it may bolt on in the same holes, if not more. But to say it's for towing, or even not say it ISN'T for towing, opens them up to heaps of liability should something happen if somebody tows with it and something catastrophic happens. Also, there's no hoops for safety chains.
 
catfishblues said:
Manufacturers don't want to go through the trouble and expense of getting a bumper tested and certified to pass a certain load capacity classification
Click to expand...

Possible, but then you look at how they're built, and it makes sense. Neither the Barnes bumper nor the Warn have any real metal in the middle. It's not like a hitch where you have a piece of quarter wall 2x2 tube spanning between the frame rails. They're both pretty flimsy in the middle.
 
catfishblues said:
Sounds like a CYA situation. Like saying "for off-road use only." Manufacturers don't want to go through the trouble and expense of getting a bumper tested and certified to pass a certain load capacity classification, then get the stamp that certifies it for towing use. It may be built to the same or higher standard than your average receiver hitch, it may bolt on in the same holes, if not more. But to say it's for towing, or even not say it ISN'T for towing, opens them up to heaps of liability should something happen if somebody tows with it and something catastrophic happens. Also, there's no hoops for safety chains.
Click to expand...

I looked this up last year and came up with the same conclusion.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/can-i-tow-warn-rock-crawler-bumper-423847/
 
Having removed and installed a few TJ bumpers and seeing where they mount, if I was towing anything more substantial than say a tailgating set up I'd want something that distributes that load forward on the frame a bit.

Is it possible you are trying to make a combo product of something that would be better served by two products.
A spork is neither great as a spoon nor a fork.
 
Ron said:
Having removed and installed a few TJ bumpers and seeing where they mount, if I was towing anything more substantial than say a tailgating set up I'd want something that distributes that load forward on the frame a bit.
Click to expand...

Fair enough.

But speaking from first-hand experience with the aftermarket bumpers I own, the bumper is the weak point, not the frame attachment. I still have a set of those "frame reinforcement" brackets in the box that I meant to install on my Jeep. Kind of a waste of time at the moment, since the bumper is deformed around the bolt heads.

That's really what I'm trying to prevent. I'm never going to tow much for very far with a TJ. But I'd love to be able to hitch the car trailer to it to move around the yard. Or be able to slide a receiver shackle into the hitch to use as part of a recovery system and know that a couple thousand pounds of straight-line pull isn't going to make a smiley face out of the bumper.
 
shawn said:
That's really what I'm trying to prevent. I'm never going to tow much for very far with a TJ. But I'd love to be able to hitch the car trailer to it to move around the yard. Or be able to slide a receiver shackle into the hitch to use as part of a recovery system and know that a couple thousand pounds of straight-line pull isn't going to make a smiley face out of the bumper.
Click to expand...

The AtoZ with the frame tie in will do that fine. I wouldn't worry very much.

Hell I have seen videos of the Savvy one being used for recovery out of the hitch without a problem also - aluminum bumper rock crawling crawler
 
uploadfromtaptalk1445270655469.jpg


Smittybilt src classic rear bumper is tow rated, and available. Can get it with it without d-rings.
 
If its a fully boxed bumper, and you have the frame tie ins, you'll be fine. I think I have a spare set of frame tie-ins you can have when we meet up on the chipper. The bumper is plenty strong enough for the straight line forces of a trailer, and I assume you're not pulling a super tongue heavy trailer. A couple hundred pounds should be fine if the bumper is a fully boxed construction, so long as you don't have some stupid long hitch. Think of it like this: If the bumper is strong enough to pull a stuck jeep out with (mostly) static force like a winch or dynamic force like a tow strap, then it will be fine pulling a couple thousand pound trailer.
 
shawn said:
Fair enough.

But I'd love to be able to hitch the car trailer to it to move around the yard. Or be able to slide a receiver shackle into the hitch to use as part of a recovery system and know that a couple thousand pounds of straight-line pull isn't going to make a smiley face out of the bumper.
Click to expand...

I had the WARN TJ bumper pictured above at one point. IIRC it specifically said for Recovery only, implying that it was strong enough for what you mentioned. I used it as a tow point numerous times with no issues. The one I had had the end bolts and also 2 center bolts that went through the rear cross member at evenly spaced intervals.
 
Back
Top