Maximus-3 JL Tow Loops (Front & Rear)

[Twojayhawks]

Yes mine are the 5/8"models & they are sending me the 3/4" ones. My structure around the brackets is quite easy to see & it looks good so I'm optimistic I found this in time. I'm still torn on possibly going to a tried & true base plate or even a Rockhard bumper. I am quite spooked with this product & can't imagine how PO'ed I'd be if I have damage like Redbarron. I'll install the new loops & tie rod first & then decide.

Sponsored

 

[lightsout]

Yes mine are the 5/8"models & they are sending me the 3/4" ones. My structure around the brackets is quite easy to see & it looks good so I'm optimistic I found this in time. I'm still torn on possibly going to a tried & true base plate or even a Rockhard bumper. I am quite spooked with this product & can't imagine how PO'ed I'd be if I have damage like Redbarron. I'll install the new loops & tie rod first & then decide.

Rock hard is no better, it too is not tied to the frame, in fact pictured below is the Rockhard tow brachets that only has two bolts that only bolt to the thin sheetme metal bumper frame bracket that like the frame hoens only has a coploe small welds holding it to the end of the frame. Jeep as said you cannot to from the bumper connection as that plate was not designed for towing.

Becasue these two bolts only attache to the bottom 2 (of 4) bumper frame plate holes it is also inbalanced and will create a botom to top rocking force on that sheet metal plate and the welds.

LOD is also no better however in there case the bumper D-ring is only welded to the bumpers sheetmetal and not even directly tied to the bumper frame plate.

Look at the two main playes in base plates Roadmaster and Blue Ox both bilt/tie directly to the tubular frame.

Note that Maximus has a additional bracket comning shortly that will tie the loops to the frame as well and will be available to all current maximus users.

Any towing connection needs to be directly tied to the frame (not the frame hornor the frame bumper plate).

I have the Barricade Bumper that has propbably the most robust of bumper D-rings and even they say do not tow from the bumper and that is becasue Jeep says NO. This is why most bumper manufctures have a NO towing position and only a couple like Rockhard and LOD go against Jeep engineers.

This is the barricage bumper D-ring.

Here is Rock hard

 

[Twojayhawks]

Very nice set up Lightsout! I wish Maximus would just get squared away. So it sounds like I'll be taking everything apart again when they release the additional bracket.

 

[lightsout]

Very nice set up Lightsout! I wish Maximus would just get squared away. So it sounds like I'll be taking everything apart again when they release the additional bracket.

I was told the braket is a add on and shold not require bumper removal. I am supposed to be reciving a non painted one this Friday.

 

[Gaffer]

I was told the braket is a add on and shold not require bumper removal. I am supposed to be reciving a non painted one this Friday.

Please post a picture of it when you get it so we can all see how it ties in. Is it supposed to work with the 5/8" and 3/4" both? When I contacted them the other day they had no ETA on them and said that they were in development. Really looking forward to the 3/4" loops with tie rod and frame tie in when it all gets worked out.

 

[snapper692]

Out of curiosity, how many of you are towing without a braking system installed in the jeep?

 

[lightsout]

Please post a picture of it when you get it so we can all see how it ties in. Is it supposed to work with the 5/8" and 3/4" both? When I contacted them the other day they had no ETA on them and said that they were in development. Really looking forward to the 3/4" loops with tie rod and frame tie in when it all gets worked out.

I will. We are heading out for a Trip to Alaska next week so it was critical I had this resolved as the roads and towing up there will definetly test this and me. So they are sending the prototype pre paint version

 

[lightsout]

Out of curiosity, how many of you are towing without a braking system installed in the jeep?

That is Ilegal in pretty much all States

 

[Gadgettr1]

I was told the braket is a add on and shold not require bumper removal. I am supposed to be reciving a non painted one this Friday.

I'll be eagerly watching for your posts on this bracket. Is is supposed to provide enough support for both the 5/8" and 3/4" loops? Or do they expect us to have to pay for upgraded loops also?

 

[JeepinJason33]

Out of curiosity, how many of you are towing without a braking system installed in the jeep?

Not sure anyone will admit that... I doubt the brakes on my JL do much to help with my 40,000 pound RV, but they certainly would make a huge difference if the Jeep every came loose from the rig. The emergency braking system is the main reason I use it as a runaway could be deadly.

 

[lightsout]

Not sure anyone will admit that... I doubt the brakes on my JL do much to help with my 40,000 pound RV, but they certainly would make a huge difference if the Jeep every came loose from the rig. The emergency braking system is the main reason I use it as a runaway could be deadly.

Here in the PNW like it is near Denver we do a lot of steep windy mountain passes and having the wrangler braking for simply slowing down for speed and corners however I am 29,000lbs (35' Tiffin Diesel pusher) and my 4xe Wrangler is 6,000, the brakes on the TOAD are very useful especially since we cross at least 2 steep windy mountain passes on every trip. Prior to the Tiffin we had a 2017 Bounder 35K gas class A on the Ford f53 chassis and then using the Ready Brake inertia based braking. Half way down Steven Pass we were smoking like we were on fire. I pulled over and the brakes on the RV were RED hot. It cost me a set of brakes on a 1 year old RV. Needless to say I now have Airforce one which is a game changer.

Current set-up

 

[Gaffer]

You are right, people with LOD system might want to know they are the same, go post about it in another thread because people with the LOD system are not going to be in here looking for information on LOD. It sounds like you are really upset with LOD, fine. We are concerned about the Maximus fix because we have the Maximus system not the LOD system. Hence the title, Maximus-3 JL Tow Loops (front and rear). I don't care if they are the exact same system, my concern is with how Maximus is going to fix this and they appear to be trying to do the right thing.

I was made aware of the LOD tie in on this thread. The comparison is relevant. We all need to be safe while flat towing.

 

[Twojayhawks]

Yes no one will admit to not using an aux brake system on a forum as shaming will follow. I suspect my damage is minimal to just slightly bent tow loops because I use a aux brake system (ReadyBrake). The weakness in this product is not from rough roads or pulling but from the towed vehicle pushing against the coach while braking.

 

[lightsout]

Yes no one will admit to not using an aux brake system on a forum as shaming will follow. I suspect my damage is minimal to just slightly bent tow loops because I use a aux brake system (ReadyBrake). The weakness in this product is not from rough roads or pulling but from the towed vehicle pushing against the coach while braking.

The Ready Brake system you are using is very problematic and no way I would use it with the Maximus with or without the new fixes. I currently use the Ready Brute Elite on my Tiffing Diesel pusher but will not use the braking prortion, it is total garbage. Here is why.

Prior to buyng our Tiffing Diesle pusher we had a 2017 Bounder 35K Class A on the Ford F53 Chassis. I was so excited to have a tow bar with a braking system built in and to save $$$ and easy setup. SO we set up to tow our 4900lb 2018 JL Wrangler. We live in the PNW (near Seattle) and every camping outing we cross steep mountain passes. Our 2nd trip in our new Bounder over Stevens pass going east was ok coming back a different story. This pass has about a 9 mile down hill 5-9 degrees seval 80-180 degree turns with speeds limit 60 on straight parts and 25-40 on turns. Even with down shifting you have to brake on straight aways to to stay below speed limit as well as braking to manage the turns reducing from 60-to 35mph. about half way down we started smelling burning I assumed it must be another verhicle untill i look at the plume of smoke coming from the rear tire area of my coach. I carefully pulled over and smoke was billowing out. I crawled under and the steel of the brakes were glowing RED. about an hour to cool the brakes and we limped down the hill (30 miles) using gears only for braking (fortunately the steepest part was done). Got to a Truck and tire shop to have the brakes checked, they were toast needed new pads. The SHop told us that the brakes on the Ford F53 are weak to begin so we had the brakes replaced and also upgraded, the upside it only cost $700. The Tire shop said they see alot of RV's have the same issue on that pass when inertial brakling is used byt he ready brake was the most common offender. I did some more research on the Ready Brake and learned that these inertial based braking system require significant braking to trigger the TOAD braking and on hills when you brake to slow that is not enough to trigger TOAD brakes so the RV brakes are carrying most of the load. I also called NSA to discuss this and they also confirmed that the Ready Brake does not activate the brakes in sof braking events.

I parked the RV till I got a new braking system, I bought two systems to test out the Blue OX Patriot 3 and the RVI 3. Both were wireless systems however both are also inertia based, so they have the same issue as the the ready Brake they do not brake on soft braking events like mountain pass slowing. However they do have manual overides to manually activate the Toad brakes. This was certainly better still required planning and attention. I returned the patriot it kept shifting and getting error messages when disconnected (seemed to be acsued by the stiff supension of the Wrangler and rough mountain roads) and kept the RVI3. We sold that RV a year later and bought the Tiffin Diesel pusher as well a 2nd Wrangler a 2021 4xe Rubicon that now after mods weights in at 6,000lbs. I installed the Airforce One Braking which is a wired (air) connected system that is 100% proportionate braking even the slightest braking triggers the TOAD brakes now.

The Ready brute is likely fine for the flats but for mountian no freaking way, while you may not have a braking disaster like I did not having brakes in soft braking events will simply wear down the RV brakes faster.

Like I said I love the ready brute tow bar the braking simply sucks and is dangerous. There are some sketchy passes here in the PNW and the West Coast so I take this seriously these days after a event like that.

This is also why I say I would not use the Ready Brake with the Maximus I would also be skeptical with the RVI3 and the patriot since they are also inertia based braking system that are mostly designed for hard braking events. You need the Toad to brake if for nothing else to reduce stress on the tow connection as musch as for stopping. Those system do not provide that. So Gas RV should use invisibrake (a wired full proportional system) and diesel use Airforce One IMO.

This was our Gasser (Bounder) set up

this is the current Tiffin

 

[Twojayhawks]

There is NO reason you cannot move the Maximus tow loops to the inside of the frame to reduce the spread since the inside is a mirror of the outside in terms of bolt location. however the tie rod would then be too wide. That would lessen the gap by 8-10". My Tie rod is supposed to be here by Friday however I do not see any issue with hook up as the tie rod has a quick disconnect so I will connect with tie rod not connected then simply put on after connected, maybe 1 minute more.

I got my new tow loops & tie bar today & plan to dig in this weekend. I did call Joseph @ Maximus to discuss moving the loops to the inside vs. outside of the frame horns & I think I will do that. He wants me to be sure I'm no narrower than the industry base plate widths. I checked BO is 24", Demco is 22.25, Etrailer brand? 19", couldn't figure out Roadmaster. Anyway my loops are currently @ about 34" spread & I would sure think I'll still be in the acceptable zone after using inside mount. Of course the tie bar will now be worthless until it's cut. Safe travels to Alaska!

Sponsored