YJ rear towpoint

[TwistedCU]

Recently bought this for the YJ. It's a pretty good, simple design that was cheap (about $120 with shipping). It is basically angle iron with a 2" receiver and 2 shackle/d ring tabs. I like it, but I was thinking of making some brackets to tie it better to the frame, as it mounts to the crossmember where the bumperettes were (same holes).

Whattya think, will it be okay for recovery or should I fab up some brackets ti tie it to the frame? I checked out how the crossmember is tied to the frame, and it looks pretty stout, but looking for opinions...

 

[redrooster]

It should be ok for light pulling. I wouldn't snatch from it. All the bolts on the outer ends and none in the center would be my main concern.

 

[TwistedCU]

Well I will need it to be my recovery point, and it will have to hold up to whatever that may be. It being angle iron I would hope that it wouldn't bend...

I dunno. I was more worried about the crossmember. Hadn't considered that.

 

[TWDJ]

I actually used some 1/4"x1" iron bar to bolt the 1/4" angle iron "bumper" I made to the frame. The frame, just forward of the crossmember, has threaded holes (nuts). As I recall they were either 10mm or 3/8".

My "bumper" has 2 tow hooks bolted through the angle iron directly to these straps.

The whole assembly is on my garage floor being painted. I'll take some pics and see what kind of luck I have posting them.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

What's the thickness of the angle iron?

I would consider grade 8 bolts through the crossmember closer to the shackle tabs, and use 1/4" backing plates behind the crossmember, as large as you can fit in there.

 

[redrooster]

I think it looks fine for towing a trailer and probably pulling someone out. I just wouldn't snatch from it without tying it straight to the frame. Angle is reasonably strong...probably stronger than the cross brace.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Not a bad looking setup, receiver and d-rings pull from a vertically centered location so as not to tweak the crossmember. Jeepers run into problems when the receiver is mounted below the crossmember centerline, and it tweaks the bottom of the crossmember out and up during a hard pull.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

Looks functional anyway......

 

[TwistedCU]

I may drill and install 2 bolts on each side of the receiver (inside the D ring tabs) just for peace of mind. I think it would be fine too, but I'd hate to be wrong.

Thanks for the input folks.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

So, where'd you get it? You never said......

 

[TwistedCU]

ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=8076885864&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT

It was $128 shipped.

 

[TwistedCU]

What's the thickness of the angle iron?

Missed that, it's 3/16" angle iron.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=8076885864&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT

It was $128 shipped.

Cool. So, did your Sahara have the bumperettes originally? How long did it take to put it on? I kinda like it....simple in design, funtional, high enough not to be much of a hassle on departure angles......

 

[Sparky-Watts]

How much is it rated at for towing?

 

[TwistedCU]

Yes, I had bumperettes. I can put them back on with this thing, but I opted to leave them off.

How much is it rated at for towing?

This Bumper Easily Exceeds Your Jeep's Towing Capacity

I intend to test that claim.

 

[TwistedCU]

FInally a good spot to mount a CB antenna

 

[LVRockCrawler]

the bumper i bought from stevesjeep fab has two tabs (one on ea/end) that go under the frame rail - look and see - you'll find two threaded holes there at the end of the rails - add some pcs. of angle that can be tied into your bumper to add some additional strength to the snatch point - provided the shackles are right above it......<edit> just looked closer at the pic you posted - the tabs are more inboard - still tying into the frame rail will help tho... and looks like theres some holes to bolt the add'l angle to that can go under the frame and still look clean!

 

[wm69]

here's what I did with my CJ, but the YJ springs don't use the hanger like the CJ's. I'm sure something could be rigged up pretty easily if you got creative.

4x4 piece of square steel 60" long along the top with corners trimmed off the bottom for aesthetic reasons. $35 (guy who had the steel owed me a favor)

D ring Brackets $50 (had made at a local machine shop)

Angle iron- free from the guy who had the bumper steel

Receiver hitch $30 shipped (made by ACME)

Grade 8 bolts to mount it all $30

I can pick the Jeep up with this setup. I have my factory flat front bumper with the same D ring brackets on the front and angle iron bolted on either side of the frame rails behind the front bumper for reinforcement.

 

[wm69]

Frame tie in's