Heaviest you've towed with JL

[GunnersJL]

I’ll be looking for one at Jeep Beach in 2 weeks. If I find one I’ll let you know. So far the only two I’ve seen are Poison Snyder Bruiser and LOD JL Destroyer.

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[Geos7812]

You’ll pass on the Chinese hitch, but knowingly overload the Jeep? I say if you are going to go, GO BIG! nothing you will do will increase the GVWR of the Jeep. nothing. Good luck man, I get the hard times. However, I am in the auto business and overloaded vehicles are becoming “a thing” with law enforcement, insurance companies and personal injury attorneys. Can you not trade the Jeep? They hold their value very well and you might be surprised.

 

[anotherWS6]

OMG. Can you please just go away?

 

[anotherWS6]

I’ll be looking for one at Jeep Beach in 2 weeks. If I find one I’ll let you know. So far the only two I’ve seen are Poison Snyder Bruiser and LOD JL Destroyer.

Cool, thanks.

I actually saw the spyder one as well. One of the issues is that my jeep is stock and gonna remain pretty much so. I'm even second guessing tires/small lift which I desperately want after having to park in a parking garage several times over the past couple of months. I daily drove my 2000 Silverado for over a decade - 35's and 4-5 inches of lift. Before the last lift I was in some extremely nerve wracking garage situations. After it? Forget about it. I'd love to never go into a city again, but that's not reality right now. They don't hold family and divorce court in the woods! And i did buy this - my first personal new vehicle in a long time - with practicality in mind.

This is literally the firt car I have ever left stock, lol. It's killing me.

 

[anotherWS6]

OH BTW, the point to the above post was that the Spyder bumper is cool but probably a but too aggressive looking for an otherwise stock jeep. I know that many companies try to make their bumpers look crazy and tough - which is often fine - just not what I'm looking for personally. I'd like to see something understated. The Spyder isn't TOO crazy though, just checked it out again. I just want the "that guy" look. "Hey that jeep went into a gravel parking lot once and probably couldn't get out of much more but he's got an insane bumoer with twenty seven tow recover points and more angles than a college geometry book."

My recent thought for the front is to find a take off rubi and then pop the end caps off. So I'm not an extreme guy.

Their Crawler bumper has a beefy receiver as well and is a bit less styled. None of them are cheap though

What is the deal with EAG bumpers? Are they junk? This one looks pretty nice......
https://www.ebay.com/p/EAG-18-19-Je...hts-D-ring/5024606881?iid=183683687069&chn=ps

I see them sold on Amazon and Walmart as well. Is this just a typical "ebay" bumper? If you look at all of teh pics in the link it shows the backside of the bumper to get an idea of how the hitch is reinforced. I dont have much to compare it to in my own head. And I can find it even cheaper.

 

[anotherWS6]

Or this on.....
https://www.amazon.com/u-Box-Wrangler-Explorer-Receiver-Floodlights/dp/B07NVHKB69

3/16 steel construction. Seems beefy if the quality is good.

 

[anotherWS6]

This is intriguing as well. Basically a big tube receiver. Not the prettiest in the world but simple and most likely strong.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MPKXYXC/ref=psdc_15709271_t3_B07N2TVKJ9

 

[anotherWS6]

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Another one~!

https://www.amazon.com/Hooke-Road-W...61DK8X6X2PFM&qid=1554919040&s=automotive&th=1

 

[GunnersJL]

Never seen any of those bumpers before. Interesting. From my perspective I will stick with a known entity for a bumper.

Here is an interesting article that takes the mystery out of this entire discussion.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/tow-me-down-1609112611

Boiled down, speed kills. US tow ratings are lower because we allow higher speeds, increasing the chance of instability. The JL 4 door in the UK is rated to tow 2000 KG, or 4,409 lbs. But their speed limit is 60 MPH.

GAWR for the rear axle on a 4DR is 3000 lbs. Curb weight for the rear axles is 1974 lbs, so there is a fair amount of leeway there depending on tongue weight and how you load cargo. A 5000 lb trailer would need around 560 lbs of tongue weight, putting all that weight on the rear axle. Which is one reason why a WDH is so critical.

So the rear axle can handle the tongue weight of a heavier trailer. The drivetrain can. The suspension can with a WDH. And keeping your speed under 60 helps avoid oscillation issues. Trailer brakes resolve the braking concerns. But the stock Class II hitch is a deal killer. I would not trust it to exceed 350 lbs tongue weight, or pull more than the 4,409 lbs the UK allows. Note in the article the UK doesn’t require 12 - 15% tongue weight due to lower speeds. Here the hitch is a major point of weakness for increased loads.

 

[lightsout]

Most if not all the bumpers you listed are MADE IN CHINA, EAG makes decent stuff however I would not tow ant significant weight with their bumpers. I Also would not use a bumper with a built in receiver.

 

[TroyBoy]

I really like my smittybilt xrc bumper. Yes it’s made in China but not only does it bolt the hitch part with the original 4 bolt holes as the old hitch, it also bolts the bumper to the frame. So a total of 8 bolts holding the hitch on. I would think that is stronger than the factory hitch although it is still rated as 3500lbs towing.

 

[aai]

just want to add some info from personal experience, I have retrofitted the OEM hitches on our old FJ Cruiser and our new Jl Wrangler 2dr. We currently have a 2015 4 Runner that came with the tow package so I didn't have to retrofit the oem stuff.
2014 FJ Cruiser tow rating per sticker 4800lbs (sold)
2015 4 Runner 5000lbs (current)
2018 2dr Wrangler 2000lbs (current)
The oem hitches for these vehicles are very similar.
Not telling anyone to do anything but what the law says, just want to share the information. I believe its not just the attachment points that they rate these vehicles tow ratings.
toyota hitches for the FJ and 4 Runner attached. That said I hitch up 3000lbs to our 2dr Wrangler as needed, and yes its illegal.

View attachment 168061

 

[GunnersJL]

This will get you thinking.

http://www.trailerlife.com/tech/qa/diesel-march-2019/

 

[Geos7812]

This will get you thinking.

http://www.trailerlife.com/tech/qa/diesel-march-2019/

Yep! Good ‘ish.

 

[ClaytonW]

Just FYI: I am looking at JL towing capacity specifications at the country, where I am originally from, the Czech Republic. It says 2495 kg, it is 5500 lbs.
In Europe, JL is considered a big SUV and it must be able to tow at least this weight. And I am sure that people even overload it. On the other side, EU hitch is different. And probably, it has different mounting points. I would not tow this with a stock US hitch.

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