Front Bumper That Is Safe For Towing My Jeep

[Mudflat]

So I bought my really nice ‘06 TJ last September with the intention of towing it behind our motorhome. My problem now is that I’m worried whether the front bumper is up to the job & if it would be safe to tow “as is”.
It looks exactly like a Smittybilt SRC crawler front bumper with D-rings model 76740-D which retails for $169.49 (pretty cheap). It is bolted to the frame with 4 bolts.
the Jeep is at my local 4 Wheel Parts store right now getting some front end work done. I asked the guy there to take a look at the bumper & let me know if it’s safe to tow. He called me later & told me that it WOULD NOT be safe to tow & he would show me why when I come in to pick up the Jeep.
My concern is that some of these guys are salesmen & are more concerned with getting into our pockets than with helping us out. What are your thoughts about this bumper? I’m thinking that a bumper with a winch mount would be designed to handle the load better. I suppose it depends on the quality of the D-ring welds.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Steel City 06]

Personally, I would prefer to use a bumper that is rated/advertised for flat towing. Chances are you would be fine, but it would depend on how exactly the brackets are mounted, the quality of the steel and welds, and the design of the bumper itself. Most front bumpers mount with 6 bolts, not 4, so that would concern me here.

There are flat tow kits that mount to the recovery points on a bumper like that. That may be more convenient than adding separate brackets.

There are quite a few bumpers available that are made for flat towing. The one I have (RH4x4) comes with the option of three different brands of flat tow brackets.

 

[Mudflat]

Personally, I would prefer to use a bumper that is rated/advertised for flat towing. Chances are you would be fine, but it would depend on how exactly the brackets are mounted, the quality of the steel and welds, and the design of the bumper itself. Most front bumpers mount with 6 bolts, not 4, so that would concern me here.

There are flat tow kits that mount to the recovery points on a bumper like that. That may be more convenient than adding separate brackets.

There are quite a few bumpers available that are made for flat towing. The one I have (RH4x4) comes with the option of three different brands of flat tow brackets.

Thanks for your timely response. I forgot to mention that I’ve already got a Blue Ox tow bar with all the safety cables & the light kit. It would work with any bumper with recovery tabs.

 

[Steel City 06]

Are you sure there aren’t actually 6 bolts on that bumper? Most have two on top and one on the bottom on each frame rail. They’re 1/2-13 UNC bolts, generally between 1-2” long.

 

[andy29847]

My TJ had a Warn bumper on it when I bought it. I had a local welder make some brackets to bolt on to the bumper for towiing. I recently bought a Gladiator. I bought a Rockhard bumper with Rockhard brackets to tow the Gladiator.

Rockhard Bumpers are first class! The Rockhard bracket is stronger and fits the Blueox ends of my tow bar better than my homemade brackets. Rockhard makes a bumper for the TJ:

Rock Hard 4x4™ Patriot Series Full Width Front Bumper for Jeep CJ5, CJ7, CJ8, YJ, TJ, and LJ 1976 - 2006 [RH-4010]

You need a tow bar, a way to connect the tow bar to the vehicle, a brake system, and lights. Putting this together is not cheap.

I use a Ready Brute Elite tow bar with surge brakes. I started with one of these because it was given to me. I have stuck with the Ready Brute tow bar because of the simplicity.

Manufacturer of the Ready Brute Elite tow bar and the Ready Brake

I connect to the front bumper via bolted on brackets. The brackets on my TJ were made by a friend. BTW, if you use the d-ring mount to tow with, then you need somewhere to attach your safety cables.

Like I wrote earlier, the Ready Brute system uses surge brakes. The tow bar comes with a kit to run cables to the brake pedal. Installation is simple, but you have to drill through the firewall. Regardless of the brake system you use, you need the stop and go braking system and a break-a-way (emergency) brake system.

I use wireless lights that are battery powered and have a magnetic base.

https://www.etrailer.com/Tow-Bar-Wiring/Pilot-Automotive/NV-5164.html

 

[Steel City 06]

My TJ had a Warn bumper on it when I bought it. I had a local welder make some brackets to bolt on to the bumper for towiing. I recently bought a Gladiator. I bought a Rockhard bumper with Rockhard brackets to tow the Gladiator.

Rockhard Bumpers are first class! The Rockhard bracket is stronger and fits the Blueox ends of my tow bar better than my homemade brackets. Rockhard makes a bumper for the TJ:

Rock Hard 4x4™ Patriot Series Full Width Front Bumper for Jeep CJ5, CJ7, CJ8, YJ, TJ, and LJ 1976 - 2006 [RH-4010]

You need a tow bar, a way to connect the tow bar to the vehicle, a brake system, and lights. Putting this together is not cheap.

I use a Ready Brute Elite tow bar with surge brakes. I started with one of these because it was given to me. I have stuck with the Ready Brute tow bar because of the simplicity.

Manufacturer of the Ready Brute Elite tow bar and the Ready Brake

I connect to the front bumper via bolted on brackets. The brackets on my TJ were made by a friend. BTW, if you use the d-ring mount to tow with, then you need somewhere to attach your safety cables.

View attachment 217666

View attachment 217667



Like I wrote earlier, the Ready Brute system uses surge brakes. The tow bar comes with a kit to run cables to the brake pedal. Installation is simple, but you have to drill through the firewall. Regardless of the brake system you use, you need the stop and go braking system and a break-a-way (emergency) brake system.

I use wireless lights that are battery powered and have a magnetic base.

https://www.etrailer.com/Tow-Bar-Wiring/Pilot-Automotive/NV-5164.html

I have a very similar RH4X4 bumper and it has Reese tow brackets on it currently.

https://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-4011.htm
The difference between this one and the RH-4010 is that this one also comes with a front hitch receiver, which is useful for cargo racks, an extra recovery point, and to put trailers in tight spots.

I have stalled out a 12k winch on that bumper, so I have no doubt it could flat tow without issue.

 

[Mudflat]

My TJ had a Warn bumper on it when I bought it. I had a local welder make some brackets to bolt on to the bumper for towiing. I recently bought a Gladiator. I bought a Rockhard bumper with Rockhard brackets to tow the Gladiator.

Rockhard Bumpers are first class! The Rockhard bracket is stronger and fits the Blueox ends of my tow bar better than my homemade brackets. Rockhard makes a bumper for the TJ:

Rock Hard 4x4™ Patriot Series Full Width Front Bumper for Jeep CJ5, CJ7, CJ8, YJ, TJ, and LJ 1976 - 2006 [RH-4010]

You need a tow bar, a way to connect the tow bar to the vehicle, a brake system, and lights. Putting this together is not cheap.

I use a Ready Brute Elite tow bar with surge brakes. I started with one of these because it was given to me. I have stuck with the Ready Brute tow bar because of the simplicity.

Manufacturer of the Ready Brute Elite tow bar and the Ready Brake

I connect to the front bumper via bolted on brackets. The brackets on my TJ were made by a friend. BTW, if you use the d-ring mount to tow with, then you need somewhere to attach your safety cables.

View attachment 217666

View attachment 217667



Like I wrote earlier, the Ready Brute system uses surge brakes. The tow bar comes with a kit to run cables to the brake pedal. Installation is simple, but you have to drill through the firewall. Regardless of the brake system you use, you need the stop and go braking system and a break-a-way (emergency) brake system.

I use wireless lights that are battery powered and have a magnetic base.

https://www.etrailer.com/Tow-Bar-Wiring/Pilot-Automotive/NV-5164.html

Wow! Thanks. I’ve already installed a Hopkins towed vehicle light kit that uses the Jeep’s lights instead of magnet mounts.

 

[DaveC]

So I bought my really nice ‘06 TJ last September with the intention of towing it behind our motorhome. My problem now is that I’m worried whether the front bumper is up to the job & if it would be safe to tow “as is”.
It looks exactly like a Smittybilt SRC crawler front bumper with D-rings model 76740-D which retails for $169.49 (pretty cheap). It is bolted to the frame with 4 bolts.
the Jeep is at my local 4 Wheel Parts store right now getting some front end work done. I asked the guy there to take a look at the bumper & let me know if it’s safe to tow. He called me later & told me that it WOULD NOT be safe to tow & he would show me why when I come in to pick up the Jeep.
My concern is that some of these guys are salesmen & are more concerned with getting into our pockets than with helping us out. What are your thoughts about this bumper? I’m thinking that a bumper with a winch mount would be designed to handle the load better. I suppose it depends on the quality of the D-ring welds.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks in advance for your help.

View attachment 217647

I was in a similar position when setting my TJ up for flat towing. I found very few front bumpers that were tow rated (I think they're afraid of potential liability exposure) and the ones that were, generally were really heavy and often bulky. I want to keep the TJ light and actually like the minimalist style of the OEM bumper.

I checked with a highly respected local 4x4 shop that does lots of fab work and they confirmed they could fab attachment points that would tie into my frame with the OEM bumper while matching to any tow bar (you can see them in the first pic). With that information, I bought a Blue Ox tow bar, took it to them and I think it cost about $125 for the tow points you see here. I paired that with the Ready Brake system and some magnetic lights that plug into my truck's pigtail so I wouldn't have to tap into the Jeep's electrical system (for lights or brakes).

The setup works really well and I've been very happy with it.