I am want to pull a small trailer behind our TJ (4 x 5-ish). I know the TJ's towing capacity is around 1800 lbs and I will deffenetly be adhering to the that. As light as possible all the way!
So here is the situation. I want/need a new bumper with a swing out tire carrier. I had the 33" tire bolted to the tailgate of our 95 YJ and it wore out the tailgate hinges and the striker. I don't want this to happen again, hence the new bumper with tire carrier on the TJ.
I am trying to avoid a trailer hitch install and have been looking at the above mentioned bumpers with a built in hitch. I find these all over the place but none are "rated" for towing. I think there is a Smittybuilt one but not 100% on that. I have found a fab shop near me that does some awesome work and makes a really good bumper. This is part of the description from their website. "We are very proud to offer a tire carrier built for your TJ / YJ / CJ This is a great addition to your Jeep. Built by professional fabricators. It comes with built-in receiver hitch. We use special receiver tubing. This is not just 2 1/2″X2 1/2″X3/16″ square tubing. This is a custom tube we buy with a special wall thickness. Then the inner and outer welds are flash ground. This tube is made to be used as hitch tube only."
I called and talked to them tonight and I kept getting the same answer "Because of legal reasons I can not tell you its rated to pull anything, no one rates bumper hitches because of this" I do under stand why he has to say this. It sucks, but I understand.
So my question is this. To the others that have gone before me and have taken the chance and used these types of bumpers for towing, have you had any regrets?
I will also be respecting the tow capacity of my Jeep and I'm sure coming in much less. With the above description of the steel used to make these bumpers am I wrong to think I will be fine?
So here is the situation. I want/need a new bumper with a swing out tire carrier. I had the 33" tire bolted to the tailgate of our 95 YJ and it wore out the tailgate hinges and the striker. I don't want this to happen again, hence the new bumper with tire carrier on the TJ.
I am trying to avoid a trailer hitch install and have been looking at the above mentioned bumpers with a built in hitch. I find these all over the place but none are "rated" for towing. I think there is a Smittybuilt one but not 100% on that. I have found a fab shop near me that does some awesome work and makes a really good bumper. This is part of the description from their website. "We are very proud to offer a tire carrier built for your TJ / YJ / CJ This is a great addition to your Jeep. Built by professional fabricators. It comes with built-in receiver hitch. We use special receiver tubing. This is not just 2 1/2″X2 1/2″X3/16″ square tubing. This is a custom tube we buy with a special wall thickness. Then the inner and outer welds are flash ground. This tube is made to be used as hitch tube only."
I called and talked to them tonight and I kept getting the same answer "Because of legal reasons I can not tell you its rated to pull anything, no one rates bumper hitches because of this" I do under stand why he has to say this. It sucks, but I understand.
So my question is this. To the others that have gone before me and have taken the chance and used these types of bumpers for towing, have you had any regrets?
I will also be respecting the tow capacity of my Jeep and I'm sure coming in much less. With the above description of the steel used to make these bumpers am I wrong to think I will be fine?
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