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Flat Towing with Installed Winch

MtCamper

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I bought a Rubi so I could go offroad. Doesn't make sense to me to use the base plate adaptors that could cause clearance problems. Mine came with the genuine Rubicon plastic bumper and really thin shield for the steering mechanisms. I replaced with the RockHard aluminum bumper and Blue Ox brackets. My old Warn 8000 fit right in. Towed about 5000 miles so far and am pleased with the way it works. I've used the shield to slide rocks several times and am sure the OEM would have failed. Bumper stood up to a 40 MPH whitetail without damage (except to the deer). Quality product.

I'm sure the base plates would work great on the other Wranglers. It would even add a bit of protection to the steering mechanism.
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Hinxster

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Or you could go this route. Bear in mind I have yet to hook it up to the RV so I can't comment on the differences between these (Maximus-3 Tow Loops) or they typical base plates on the market. What I will say tho is that this is a much cleaner install which omits the sightly bar below the bumper.


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That looks good. How soon before you connect with the RV? Very interested to hear how it works.
 

zb39

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My Hardrock aluminum came in 2 days ago with the warn 8zeon winch. I just need the jeep now.
 

Bilymac

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That's a pretty nice setup. I went through this a few months ago myself but did not even look into Blue Ox because I already had a Roadmaster Towbar. The Roadmaster baseplate would not work with the Factory Steel bumper anmd winch. It was either the baseplate or the winch. I ended up getting a new bumper (LOD) and selling my steel bumper. This was a bummer - I really like the front steel bumper. The rear is another story!
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Any issues towing with the LoD bumper? any signs of stress on the ends of the frame where it bolts on?

I'm looking at this same set up for towing.
 

Midwest22

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That looks good. How soon before you connect with the RV? Very interested to hear how it works.
I connected the my Jeep to the RV this weekend and towed for about 200 miles. All aspects of the towing setup worked flawlessly. The Maximus-3 tow loops combined with their Blue Ox adapters, fit together like an expensive Italian suit. I couldn't be happier with the set up and love the stealth nature of how I have it all configured. When the breakaway cable is tucked away behind the bumper, there is nothing that screams this is a toad! It's been quite the journey getting it all set up but it's been worth it!


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roaniecowpony

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I'm a novice at flat towing. I did pull my brother's old CJ a couple times. But now that I have the JLUR, I'm thinking about flat towing again. Since I'm thinking about a winch and bumper of some kind, I figure a fully thought through plan of all this stuff would be better.

At first, I thought the OEM steel bumpers would be a good way to go. I like the look. But they are expensive, even second hand, don't have HiLift jack points, and no tabs.

I've been looking around and Warn has a bumper that looks like it may do all the tasks. So, my question is: Can I put a tow bar on the recovery tabs? It would seem logical. If you can lift the vehicle from the recovery tabs, towing would be a lighter load.
 
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RC3

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Any issues towing with the LoD bumper? any signs of stress on the ends of the frame where it bolts on?

I'm looking at this same set up for towing.
This is working pretty well. We just ended a 10,000 mile trip across the country, towing all the way. I have had 2 small issues to deal with - neither of which is very serious and absolutely not a safety issue.

1 The safety pins that LoD sends with their tow bar brackets are very long and tend to rub against the bumper. Mine wore a bare spot in my powder coat. Pic attached I replaced these pins with 3/16" round safety clips from Ace Hardware.
2 The tow bar brackets fit very well onto the d-ring brackets when they are new. However after many thousands of towing miles, they have spread open just a little (maybe 1/8") causing a little slop in that connection.

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Jondrew

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I know BlueOx sells pins for the recovery tabs on a Smittybilt XRC bumper. I assume they would work with others but don’t know for sure.



I'm a novice at flat towing. I did pull my brother's old CJ a couple times. But now that I have the JLUR, I'm thinking about flat towing again. Since I'm thinking about a winch and bumper of some kind, I figure a fully thought through plan of all this stuff would be better.

At first, I thought the OEM steel bumpers would be a good way to go. I like the look. But they are expensive, even second hand, don't have HiLift jack points, and no tabs.

I've been looking around and Warn has a bumper that looks like it may do all the tasks. So, my question is: Can I put a tow bar on the recovery tabs? It would seem logical. If you can lift the vehicle from the recovery tabs, towing would be a lighter load.
 

Hgrace

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Having my Rockhard 4x4 aluminum bumper and Warn VR10s installed Thursday. I'll be installing the Brake Buddy Stealth and Cooltech wiring myself as well as the Cooltech CB antenna.
Off road specialists are afraid of the brake and light kits.
 

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zb39

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Springtail

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I'm a novice at flat towing. I did pull my brother's old CJ a couple times. But now that I have the JLUR, I'm thinking about flat towing again. Since I'm thinking about a winch and bumper of some kind, I figure a fully thought through plan of all this stuff would be better.

At first, I thought the OEM steel bumpers would be a good way to go. I like the look. But they are expensive, even second hand, don't have HiLift jack points, and no tabs.

I've been looking around and Warn has a bumper that looks like it may do all the tasks. So, my question is: Can I put a tow bar on the recovery tabs? It would seem logical. If you can lift the vehicle from the recovery tabs, towing would be a lighter load.
I have flat towed Jeeps and FJ40s for years....it is truly one of the best options that I have done to those rigs. In addition to not having to drive the Jeep long distances when going to meets.....it also serves a great Mall Crawling need where I can flat tow on our day trips to the city (1 hour drive away), unhook in town and drop off the wife and the jeep so she can do her thing (shopping obviously) and I can run the necessary errands with the truck. We meet up on the edge of town and rehook for the ride home at the end of the day......nice.

To answer your question: I would imagine that you are right and that hooking to the recovery tabs is probably an ok option.....that said, I personally would only buy a bumper that is rated for that task. quite likely there are nuances in the manufacturing process that make a difference. I've never had a trailer or tow vehicle cut loose on me....bit I bet it sucks!

Doc
 

Mrjimmystewart

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Hgrace,
Where are you intalling the Brake Buddy control unit? I just bought the CoolTech wiring harness to go with it. There does not seem to be a lot of extra space in the Jeep. Will it fit under the drivers seat? Looks like the engine compartment is too full.
 

t3aztec

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I connected the my Jeep to the RV this weekend and towed for about 200 miles. All aspects of the towing setup worked flawlessly. The Maximus-3 tow loops combined with their Blue Ox adapters, fit together like an expensive Italian suit. I couldn't be happier with the set up and love the stealth nature of how I have it all configured. When the breakaway cable is tucked away behind the bumper, there is nothing that screams this is a toad! It's been quite the journey getting it all set up but it's been worth it!


IMG_1483.jpeg
This is the same setup with our new JLUR we want to do. I currently have the plastic bumper. And was planning on purchasing the steel and Maximus-3 tow hooks.

Questions.

What is your safety hooks connected to?
What are all the lines for running form the RV and how do they hook up.

Thanks in advance. I’m lost on all this as it’s our first motorhome and toad.
 

Midwest22

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This is the same setup with our new JLUR we want to do. I currently have the plastic bumper. And was planning on purchasing the steel and Maximus-3 tow hooks.

Questions.

What is your safety hooks connected to?
What are all the lines for running form the RV and how do they hook up.

Thanks in advance. I’m lost on all this as it’s our first motorhome and toad.
There are 2 holes on the Maximus 3 Tow Loops. The front hole is used for the tow bar and the rear for the safety cables. Ive got D rings attached to the rear hole and simply clip in the hooks when towing. After a 1700 mile drive across the country I noticed that one D ring was unscrewed and inches away from falling off so now I have some zip ties attached to the bolts that go through them.

As for the lines, the red one is to tie the brake/lights to the toad and the other (black) is for my supplemental air brake system (M&G 2.0). Both lines are routed to a (semi) hidden section on the drivers side of the front bumper. I used a Maximus filler plate for Zeon Winchs and fabricated a supporting bracket underneath to combat the forces the air and wire lines place on it. My goal was to hide the connection points as best as I could so the Jeep doesn't look like every other toad on the road. Mission accomplished ;)

And yes, your pretty red tow loops WILL get beaten up after a few hundred miles of towing.


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