Basket's Build

lBasket said:
Very crafty. So you can easily remove the entire thing?
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The piece that slips over the bumper stays bolted on. My winch plate is over it.

The piece that’s pinned on and hanging on the front face of the bumper stays bolted to the tow bar. I’ve also have two small shackles hanging below for attaching the safety cables thru.
 
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Farmergreg said:
I like that the bolts are in shear vs tension and they are into the frame rails.
( design ideas stolen from @DaveC )
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Thief!
Puppy Bowl GIF by SB Nation
 
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lBasket said:
I see ok. That grey thing coming out of your hitch is like a surge brake right? Would you recommend it?
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Yep. Ready Brake. It's mechanically actuated via the lever that sticks up (L shaped), which pulls the cable running thru the engine bay and firewall and attached to the brake pedal.

I'd definitely recommend. I wanted something that wasn't electronic or have to tie into the Jeep's electrical system. It's adjustable and has worked flawlessly.

I have the simple version, but they also make higher end models integrated into the tow bars themselves.

My tow points cost ~$100 to have made, I picked up the Blue Ox tow bar used on FB for $85, the cables and magnetic lights were under $120 together from etrailer and the Ready Brake was $435, so all in for roughly $700.

I tow the TJ 2-4 times per year, 2-6 hours each way to camp for hunting trips. If I were doing it more frequently, I'd go with the higher end Ready Brake. I think it's called the Ready Brute Elite... it's integrated into the tow bars and they're able to set up/ take down on any terrain. My Blue Ox is great, but it can be a bit of a pain if not on mostly level ground.
 
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DaveC said:
Yep. Ready Brake. It's mechanically actuated via the lever that sticks up (L shaped), which pulls the cable running thru the engine bay and firewall and attached to the brake pedal.

I'd definitely recommend. I wanted something that wasn't electronic or have to tie into the Jeep's electrical system. It's adjustable and has worked flawlessly.

I have the simple version, but they also make higher end models integrated into the tow bars themselves.
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Cool, I saw that mentioned somewhere. Might look into these as well. Will probably boil down to what I can get the best deal on.
DaveC said:
My tow points cost ~$100 to have made, I picked up the Blue Ox tow bar used on FB for $85, the cables and magnetic lights were under $120 together from etrailer and the Ready Brake was $435, so all in for roughly $700.

I tow the TJ 2-4 times per year, 2-6 hours each way to camp for hunting trips. If I were doing it more frequently, I'd go with the higher end Ready Brake. I think it's called the Ready Brute Elite... it's integrated into the tow bars and they're able to set up/ take down on any terrain. My Blue Ox is great, but it can be a bit of a pain if not on mostly level ground.
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What does it do when it isn't on level ground?
 
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lBasket said:
Cool, I saw that mentioned somewhere. Might look into these as well. Will probably boil down to what I can get the best deal on.

What does it do when it isn't on level ground?
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Nothing bad. It's just that my tow bars are fixed. They can pivot in/ out up front but nothing else, so you just need to be on mostly level ground to attach. No issues at all driving.

The Ready Brute is built into a really fancy tow bar that can articulate for lack of better term; supposed to make it easy to connect or disconnect on any terrain.

If you do go with one of the Ready Brake/Brute units, shop around. They can be found many places online, and the manufacturer (NSA RV) will price match. I bought direct from them and saved about $100 this way.
 
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DaveC said:
Nothing bad. It's just that my tow bars are fixed. They can pivot in/ out up front but nothing else, so you just need to be on mostly level ground to attach. No issues at all driving.

The Ready Brute is built into a really fancy tow bar that can articulate for lack of better term; supposed to make it easy to connect or disconnect on any terrain.
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I think the one I picked up yesterday is like that, its some all-terrain non-binding tow bar
DaveC said:
If you do go with one of the Ready Brake/Brute units, shop around. They can be found many places online, and the manufacturer (NSA RV) will price match. I bought direct from them and saved about $100 this way.
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Good to know! Hopefully I can find a good deal used, I've got a decent amount of time to wait. Lots of the kits I'm seeing currently are partial. Would prefer to avoid that headache if I can
 
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lBasket said:
I think I just need to bolt these black things into my front bumper and then this bar will attach

View attachment 508792
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I have the same tow bar, yes those get bolted to the front bumper or if you put 2 small receivers under the bumper ( 1 1/4” I think) two of those other pieces would slid in and those would attach to those brackets. I built my bumper and added some nut plates behind it. I put the brackets on slightly loose then put the hitch on and tighten the rest of the way with a wrench that way you can pull the hitch on and off.
 
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lBasket said:
Having a hard time finding a braking setup used that isn't missing a bunch of junk.

I'm pretty tempted to just buy new, 800$ isn't terrible

https://www.campingworld.com/nsa-readybrake-8000-lb.-ball-style-supplemental-rv-surge-brake-133939.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign={Campaign}&cq_cmp=19941437670&cq_con=&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&cq_plt=gp&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwYSwBhDcARIsAOyL0fg_X9M_OFJnrJ_ol-LREwYPmu2OKbSUkpZ94dBNAy74-e3_C4eEXdEaAsI6EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

there are also like 500$ off brand setups on Amazon. Not sure saving 300$ is worth buying something so important off brand any thoughts?

https://www.amazon.com/RB4000-Receiver-Dependable-Trailer-System/dp/B0CKC1XWRG/?tag=wranglerorg-20
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Oof...the ReadyBrake has gone up a bunch since I bought mine in 2019. I wouldn't chance the off brand, especially one with no substantial review history. Have you looked for the ReadyBrake on other websites? I found it listed at many RV dealers, truck speciality shops, and surprisingly, Walmart on-line. Bookmarked and took a pic of the screen website with the lower price I'd found and then called NSA and they price matched, so I bought directly from them.

eTrailer.com is another good vendor. I can't stand Camping World based on a few bad experiences with the one local to me and they seem to be the 'high price leader' most of the time too.
 
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lBasket said:
Having a hard time finding a braking setup used that isn't missing a bunch of junk.

I'm pretty tempted to just buy new, 800$ isn't terrible

https://www.campingworld.com/nsa-readybrake-8000-lb.-ball-style-supplemental-rv-surge-brake-133939.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign={Campaign}&cq_cmp=19941437670&cq_con=&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&cq_plt=gp&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwYSwBhDcARIsAOyL0fg_X9M_OFJnrJ_ol-LREwYPmu2OKbSUkpZ94dBNAy74-e3_C4eEXdEaAsI6EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

there are also like 500$ off brand setups on Amazon. Not sure saving 300$ is worth buying something so important off brand any thoughts?

https://www.amazon.com/RB4000-Receiver-Dependable-Trailer-System/dp/B0CKC1XWRG/?tag=wranglerorg-20
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Hit up ebay. I got a never used Brake Buddy for a couple hundred bucks. Ebay isn't what it used to be, but if you're patient, the deals are still there.
 
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