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Rear Bumper with receiver hitch?

14K views 31 replies 16 participants last post by  Jerry Bransford 
#1 ·
Just wondering if most advertized bumpers with a receiver hitch are meant for towing or are they more for recovery etc. The factory hitch on my 03 TJ is apparently a class 1 and only rated to 2000 lbs. What I am wondering is if I replace my stock bumper with an aftermarket with receiver would that likely up it to a class 3? I will be towing my I/O boat from time to time and it is 2400 lbs empty and does not include the trailer. Only going short distances but a little leary of the factory set-up. Any advice appreciated.
 
#5 ·
I have a Highrock 4x4 rear bumper that has an integrated 2"x2" class 2.5 trailer hitch. From my understanding, it is DOT rated. My LJ is rated for towing 3500 lbs, hence the class 2.5 not 3, but I think a TJ it is only rated for 2500 lbs. I believe most bumpers do not carry a DOT rating only because they do not have safety chain hookups, the Highrock bumper does. I love it, tows like a champ and I still have a great departure angle!
 
#7 ·
Thanx for the info so far. The SRC Smittybuilt is rated as a class 3 as per their website, looks like an option. Another is to visit my local welding guru to see if he can beef up my facrory hitch. He is really good and did an xcellent bit of work on my rear fifth wheel hitch. I am only towing to the other side of the lake, approx 2 miles at speeds not exceeding 30 MPH. Any other advice is appreciated.
 
#10 ·
I ran the High Rock bumper on mine for a while. It is a great bumper and the receiver is rated to tow. As others have mentioned, the TJ is only rated to tow 2000 pounds (with the 6 cylinder) and that is pushing it. Will it pull it? Yes, but stopping it in a panic situation is a whole other story. The TJ's short wheel base makes it a prime candidate for a jack knife stop and roll over in a panic stop.
 
#11 ·
TJ is only rated to tow 2000# period.

But a rated hitch bolts to the frame and has a rating sticker on it. Some bumpers which have the receiver tube might also have a rating sticker.... I've never looked but without the DOT sticker it is not rated.

Recovery point? When towing a 2000# trailer with a 200# tongue weight you are not putting that much horizontal strain on the hitch. You can probably push the whole unit with 1 or 2 buddies. When you are stuck and using it as a recovery point you could be using a 8K# winch. Most aftermarket bumpers with a receiver tube welded in will bend if you apply any real force. Recovery points should be bolted directly to the frame like the front 2 on your TJ.

What Province are you in?
 
#12 · (Edited)
X2, the TJ with the 4.0L engine is rated to 2,000 lbs. 1500 lbs. if it's the 2.5L with automatic.

So far as receiver hitches on bumpers go... the lawyers got involved and now most companies are now afraid to offer any tow ratings at all even if their bumpers are actually up to towing. My first receiver hitch bumper was rated to tow 2,000 lbs. when I installed it in 1999. But guess what, that same exact bumper being sold today is no longer rated to tow anything... damned lawyers.

Understand that a receiver hitch can experience more severe loads and stress when being used for recovery than it could be expected to when towing. Don't forget that a 2,000 lb. trailer is not presenting anywhere near that load on the receiver hitch, it's only experiencing its rolling load... keep in mind it's easy for a human to push a 2,000 lb. trailer around to position it but no way could we actually lift 2,000 lbs.... a 2000 lb. trailer probably gives a 500 lb. rolling load, maybe 1000 lbs. in some extreme maneuver.

So if a receiver hitch is rated for recovery, odds are it's more than strong enough for towing. They're just worried about the liability potential when towing on the highway, not so much during recovery operations when offroad.

So if it's a fully welded 2" receiver hitch and the bumper is has frame-attach points that bolt onto the side of the frame just in front of the bumper, or you buy those separately, odds are good it'll be fine for towing. Because it's sure getting hard to find a bumper that is specifically rated for towing due to that liability worry. My Dirt Worx bumper has a well designed fully welded 2" receiver hitch integrated into it with frame-attach points and it tows my pop-up tent trailer without even realizing it's there... but it did not come with any type of rating certification simply because the company is small and can't afford the insurance and attorney it'd require to be able to rate it as suitable for towing.
 
#14 ·
I run Swag 2.0 Rear bumper on mine, thou it has not rated, i would put a lot of trust in it, the way it is constructed and hooked flat to the rear frame with 6 bolts and Frame Tie-Ins i added from them.

Thou you will need an aftermarket tire carrier if your not using the stock one.
 
#16 ·
the Swag is a work of art. Not so sure about strength tho. The recovery points are outboard of the frame. Probably more than adequate for towing 1000# .. but not state of the art engineering.
 
#17 ·
The D-Ring points go thru the bumper and are welded on both sides and the Frame tie-in kits(compatible with any bumper using the stock outer holes), attach it to the main frame directly from behind the rear cross member.


here is an image of their un-welded kit, for those who want to weld it themselves to save cost.


And think he started to cut and weld the receiver to both sides from this image, guess to give people that 1/4" they need to not have to cut off some of the receiver.
 
#19 ·
So after talking to my local hitch guy (who said he basically had start from scratch to try beef up my factory hitch) He suggested that I buy a factory hitch if available. I opted to install a Curtis Class 3 Hitch so that I could tow my boat and be sure that the hitch was adequate. Ordered from Canadianhitches.ca who offered a price match (and met that price plus). It was delivered yesterday (ordered Jul 15 from this supplier 2300 kms away and it was delivered on the 20th. GR8 service! The longest part of the install was removing my factory Class 1 hitch. The Curtis bolted right on. Very pleased with shipping and quality of the Curtis hitch.
WeeRobbie
 
#25 · (Edited)
The only problem with bolt-on receiver hitches like the above is they are positioned so low that they can drag badly on uneven terrain when you're offroading. Bumpers with receiver hitches integrated into them at bumper height don't cost much more than a bolt-on hitch does, like this $150 bumper at http://www.thedirtworx.com/#!product/prd13/1638368235/rear-bumper which is only $13 more than that bolt-on receiver hitch costs.

I'm running that rear bumper myself and because its receiver hitch is up high at bumper height, it stays out of the way of uneven terrain.
 

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#27 · (Edited)
Whether a bumper and its receiver hitch is "rated" or not has been covered ad nauseum over the years on the various Jeep forums but few but the very largest bumper manufacturers with very stout receiver hitches are willing to make the claim they're "rated" any more. Even if they're more than up to the job as my Dirtworx bumper is. Dirtworx is a small enough company that there's no way they can afford the extra costs of sufficient liability insurance and lawyers to be able to claim it's "rated".

Blame the lawyers, blame the litigious society we live in today. But the LAST thing I'd do is to base my bumper and receiver hitch decision on whether or not the manufacturer had spent the $$$ for a lawyer and insurance so they can say it's "rated". And you forget that a receiver hitch hangs out more in an exposed position and extends out further than the tail pipe does which significantly increases (worsens) the departure angle. If you don't have experience with a bolt-on receiver hitch hanging up on the terrain, fine, but I do. It was bad enough and enough of a PITA that I immediately removed it and I'll never run another again. But if you want to run a bolt-on receiver hitch because your level of terrain won't be running into it, be my guest.
 
#28 ·
Most after market bumpers aren't tow rated. Most companies don't take the time, money and liablity involved with tow rating a bumper. The 2000 lb towing capacity also includes a 200 lb tongue weight rating. I don't think I would feel comfortable towing as heavy of a load as you're looking to tow. That being said, if you were going to do it you'd want to make sure the receiver was rated for it. Good luck, and let me know if you have any other questions!

-Ryan
 
#29 ·
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