LoD bumper with towbar brackets installed on Jeep Wrangler

[Barmats]

This bumper was one of two brands that allowed direct a towbar connection. I knew I wanted to replace the stock bumper, and many baseplates will not fit if you've installed an aftermarket bumper. I chose LoD over the HardRock bumper because it was significantly less-expensive, and the towbar brackets were welded on vs bolted on (2 bolts) on the HardRock. A good weld will be stronger than two bolts and will never stretch out and loosen.

The installation was straightforward with no issues at all. Everything lined up and fit perfectly. One side of the stock fog light harness had to be extended (there simply wasn't enough slack even after undoing all of the loom clips) as they are placed quite a bit further outward than in the stock bumper. I soldered in an extension and then insulated the joints with 2 layers of heat shrink. There are extension harnesses available but soldering provides a better electrical connection and there's no chance of connector issues down the road. Plus it was free.

This mid-width bumper uses 3/16" steel, is zinc powder coated (optional) and has welded towbar brackets for my Blue Ox Avail. LoD offers this for any major brand of towbar at n/c. The finish is outstanding and the quality is excellent. It's A LOT heavier than the stock bumper, and one person could probably do the entire install on their own, but it is easier with a helper.

The towbar fits perfectly. I've ordered 3/4" d-ring shackles and d-ring isolators from 4wd.com, and am having the SMI Air Force One installed tomorrow.

[JohnBoyToo]

You might consider having your connections mounted on TOP of the bumper...
just in case you decide to go rock crawling and you tear the under bumper connections off

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Barmats

This bumper was one of two brands that allowed direct a towbar connection. I knew I wanted to replace the stock bumper, and many baseplates will not fit if you've installed an aftermarket bumper. I chose LoD over the HardRock bumper because it was significantly less-expensive, and the towbar brackets were welded on vs bolted on (2 bolts) on the HardRock. A good weld will be stronger than two bolts and will never stretch out and loosen.

The installation was straightforward with no issues at all. Everything lined up and fit perfectly. One side of the stock fog light harness had to be extended (there simply wasn't enough slack even after undoing all of the loom clips) as they are placed quite a bit further outward than in the stock bumper. I soldered in an extension and then insulated the joints with 2 layers of heat shrink. There are extension harnesses available but soldering provides a better electrical connection and there's no chance of connector issues down the road. Plus it was free.

This mid-width bumper uses 3/16" steel, is zinc powder coated (optional) and has welded towbar brackets for my Blue Ox Avail. LoD offers this for any major brand of towbar at n/c. The finish is outstanding and the quality is excellent. It's A LOT heavier than the stock bumper, and one person could probably do the entire install on their own, but it is easier with a helper.

The towbar fits perfectly. I've ordered 3/4" d-ring shackles and d-ring isolators from 4wd.com, and am having the SMI Air Force One installed tomorrow.

Well,
To me, it's too bad that you already had them install tow brackets when, you already had them on there, in the form of those 3/4" thick D-ring brackets. I know many that utilize those for attaching the tow bar. Blue Ox and others make adapter ends for their tow bars, to fit right on those D-ring brackets. That way, your tow bar has a place to link up to and, you don't have those vulnerable, smaller, weaker tow bar brackets on the bottom leading edge which, could be subject to damage in certain situations.

Yes, utilizing the D-ring brackets raises the tow bar link height but, a simple riser in the hitch receiver would take care of that. Oh well, it's already done.
Scott

[Barmats]

Originally Posted by JohnBoyToo

You might consider having your connections mounted on TOP of the bumper...
just in case you decide to go rock crawling and you tear the under bumper connections off

Good point. When I ordered the bumper, I did not choose a winch cutout because I have no plans to do any offloading. However, in the unlikely event that this changes, I could use a D-ring adapter as Fire Up mentions above to move things up a bit.

[Barmats]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Well,
To me, it's too bad that you already had them install tow brackets when, you already had them on there, in the form of those 3/4" thick D-ring brackets. I know many that utilize those for attaching the tow bar. Blue Ox and others make adapter ends for their tow bars, to fit right on those D-ring brackets. That way, your tow bar has a place to link up to and, you don't have those vulnerable, smaller, weaker tow bar brackets on the bottom leading edge which, could be subject to damage in certain situations.

Yes, utilizing the D-ring brackets raises the tow bar link height but, a simple riser in the hitch receiver would take care of that. Oh well, it's already done.
Scott

I didn't know that D-ring adapters for towbars were available until you mentioned it. This attachment point is beefier than the towbar brackets that LoD installed, so this may be something I consider switching to. The lower brackets could be used for the safety cable connections.

[exgman]

Since I do a lot of offroading I went with RockHard because the attachments were up on the bumper. It also allows the warn Power Plant to sit down inside the bumper instead of on top. Barmats, remember the higher you move your attachments up on the bumper the more drop hitch you will need to keep the tow bar level.

[Barmats]

Originally Posted by exgman

Since I do a lot of offroading I went with RockHard because the attachments were up on the bumper. It also allows the warn Power Plant to sit down inside the bumper instead of on top. Barmats, remember the higher you move your attachments up on the bumper the more drop hitch you will need to keep the tow bar level.

In order to use the low-mounted towbar brackets, I think I will already need a hitch receiver adapter to raise the towbar up a bit. I have a mild 2" lift on the Jeep, and have measured a height difference of about 4" between the receiver and the Jeep's brackets (Jeep is higher). I've looked at the Blue Ox adapters and they look extremely heavy-duty.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Barmats

In order to use the low-mounted towbar brackets, I think I will already need a hitch receiver adapter to raise the towbar up a bit. I have a mild 2" lift on the Jeep, and have measured a height difference of about 4" between the receiver and the Jeep's brackets (Jeep is higher). I've looked at the Blue Ox adapters and they look extremely heavy-duty.

They are heavy duty but, they are "Billet" in the manufacturing process. Meaning, they are machined from a single piece of metal. They are however, a bit pricey for your application. They'll run you about $250 or so for a pair. But, it's done and, you have a good system. As far as needing a riser so your tow bar is more level, that's no big deal. While tow bar manufacturers "request" that your tow bar be level (or as close to it as possible) I'm presently running with the coach part of the tow bar about 4.5" lower than the Jeep attachment points.

It's certainly not optimum but, the riser I had get's it as close as I'm gonna get with this present setup. I've ran a few thousand miles with this setup and, it works just fine. My Warn front bumper has twin, 3/4" thick tabs welded on each side. The adapter brackets for my Blue Ox Aladdin to those twin tabs were $49.50 locally. But, they are fabricated, not billet.

Anyway, do what you feel is right for you. If you feel you're going to use the tabs on the face of the bumper, then you'll have to get a fairly high riser to get that tow bar as close to level as possible. Your choice.
Scott

[FlaRider]

How did the AFO one install go? . Where did they mount the control box in the Jeep?

[Barmats]

AF1 is being installed now, but due to delays at my end getting the MH and Jeep in to the shop, it won't be ready until the end of next week. I'll report back with more info when everything is done. I'm guessing the controller will be in the engine compartment but don't know for sure.

[bevandtomH]

Barmats- like your set up and configuration!
I am considering the exact same combination but have a question for you or any one else.
With the AFO, do you need to use a supplemental tail/brake light set up?
What does everyone do?
Thanks.
Tom

[Barmats]

Hi Tom - I am having the shop doing the AF1 install wire the Jeep for brake and tail lights. Without this, I think the brake lights would come on, but not the turn signals. It's also possible (I read this from another post) that even though the brake lights come on initially when the MH brakes, this may be on a timer and shut off after several minutes.

I decided to go with diodes vs drilling & bulbs in the event I later change out the incandescent tail light units for LEDs. The cost was the same. The MH's 7-pin connector will provide all tail light functions, as well as a toad battery charge line. The AF1 draws power from the toad to run the pump which creates vacuum in the Jeep's brake lines (the Jeep pedal will hence be active without having to run the engine), and having a charge line from the MH will eliminate the possibility of a weak or discharged battery. Our trips will likely involve 6-7 days of driving without running the toad, so this is important to us.

The brake light indicator that comes with the AF1 is designed to hang over the toad's rear-view mirror so you can see it in the MH's rear camera view. I'm having the shop install a brake light notification LED up front in the MH so I can easily see it from the driver's seat. Apparently, the coach is prewired for a brake controller so there's at least one wire running up that can be used for this. Otherwise, it would be a relatively simple matter to run one long wire from the back to the front.

That is what I'm having done to the Jeep. There are other options, such as magnetic-mount rear lights, having bulbs installed into the tail light units, etc. I don't think any part of this is difficult, and wish the weather here was warmer so I could have done it myself. I installed the bumper in the garage, but don't relish the thought of lying on my back in the snow to work under the MH!

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Barmats

Hi Tom - I am having the shop doing the AF1 install wire the Jeep for brake and tail lights. Without this, I think the brake lights would come on, but not the turn signals. It's also possible (I read this from another post) that even though the brake lights come on initially when the MH brakes, this may be on a timer and shut off after several minutes.

I decided to go with diodes vs drilling & bulbs in the event I later change out the incandescent tail light units for LEDs. The cost was the same. The MH's 7-pin connector will provide all tail light functions, as well as a toad battery charge line. The AF1 draws power from the toad to run the pump which creates vacuum in the Jeep's brake lines (the Jeep pedal will hence be active without having to run the engine), and having a charge line from the MH will eliminate the possibility of a weak or discharged battery. Our trips will likely involve 6-7 days of driving without running the toad, so this is important to us.

The brake light indicator that comes with the AF1 is designed to hang over the toad's rear-view mirror so you can see it in the MH's rear camera view. I'm having the shop install a brake light notification LED up front in the MH so I can easily see it from the driver's seat. Apparently, the coach is prewired for a brake controller so there's at least one wire running up that can be used for this. Otherwise, it would be a relatively simple matter to run one long wire from the back to the front.

That is what I'm having done to the Jeep. There are other options, such as magnetic-mount rear lights, having bulbs installed into the tail light units, etc. I don't think any part of this is difficult, and wish the weather here was warmer so I could have done it myself. I installed the bumper in the garage, but don't relish the thought of lying on my back in the snow to work under the MH!

Barmats,
I certainly understand your thought process on all the operations of getting your coach and toad ready for the road. Some of what you've stated brings me back to what I did with our previous coach and toad. I'm not a fan of drilling the tail lights and adding bulbs in toads. I've utilized the stock tail lights on all 11 of our toads, as toad-towing lights. It's a preference thing.

Now, it's kind of "Deja Vu" for me when you mentioned the LED notifier mounted in the dash of the coach. I did the same EXACT thing in our Bounder. As you most likely know, many toads have active brake lights, if a braking device is used when towing them, even when the ignition is off. Well our previous toad, an '04 Jeep Rubicon, was one of them. You could have the keys in your pocket and, step on the brakes and, the Jeeps brake lights would light up.

So, in order to not have a conflict of signals between the coaches brake light/turn signals and, the Jeeps brake/turn signals, I installed a small, two way toggle switch in the door jamb of the jeep. And, at the time, we were using the Ready Brake system for the Jeep. Well, as stated, when the Ready brake was applied, the Jeeps lights would light up.

I cut the output wire from the Jeeps brake switch and sent it up to the middle connection on that toggle. Then, I wired one side of the toggle to a long wire to the front of the coach, like yours, I installed an LED in the dash of the coach. Then, I wired the other side of that toggle, back to the output wire of the brake switch on the Jeep.

So, when the Jeep is being towed, I flipped the toggle so that the Jeeps brake switch, sent the signal, all the way to the front of coach, and into that LED. That way, I'm notified of two things. One, that the Ready brake system is working and two, that the R/B system is actually working the brake pedal on the Jeep.

But, when the Jeep was being driven, I'd flip the toggle so that the Jeeps brake signal, went to the Jeeps tail lights, just like it should.

I surely feel for you in not being able to get out and do the work yourself on your coach. That would drive me nuts, not to be able to do things myself. This is specifically why we recently moved to Lake Havasu City and, into a brand new home, WITH A MOTOR HOME GARAGE ATTACHED! It's really nice to be able to go out, anytime and tinker away with the big girl.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw some of this reminiscing at ya.
Scott

[Barmats]

Scott - you essentially wired in a "manual" diode by using a SPDT switch. I considered doing that as well but figured one day I would forget to flip the switch one way or the other and something wouldn't light up like it was supposed to. Being new to RV-ing, I figured anything I could do to make it easier for myself was probably a good thing!

Minnesota is very pretty in the summer... for the few months that it lasts. And the mosquito is our state bird. We moved here about 25 years ago for work, and have grown to intensely dislike the winter season. We're actually looking at homes like yours in the Lake Havasu City area because they are in the right part of the country (warm), and have beautiful RV garages. I can't imagine how nice it must be to keep your RV with you, and be able to use it and work on it whenever you want. We've looked at homes in other states like FL, NV and CA, and found a community in Indio, CA where a large percentage of the homes have attached RV garages. Cost of living in CA is relatively high, and although it's become one of our favorite vacation spots, just seems so far west from what we're used to. If we end up near you, I'll definitely let you know!

-Barry