We bought our first toad today :)

[Spk64]

I went with the Rockhard, it was not cheap but is well made. They had the adapters for the Blue Ox Tow Bar we already had.

[BirchyBoy]

Originally Posted by AKIQPilot

FireUp has a really nice JKU with a Smittybilt XRC modular bumper on it. It looks great and has many different options for style and size so you can get the exact look you want. It has recovery points that you can attach the towbar directly too.

Maybe Scott will see this and post some pictures of his JKU, bumper system and towbar attachments.

It's something like this.
https://www.smittybilt.com/product/index/147.htm

Thanks. I would rather spend the money once, and the cost on that one is not too bad.

[Crasher]

When I had our 2010 JKU Rubicon, I went with the Rock Hard bumper with Blue Ox tabs. It makes a nice setup both for towing and mounting a winch. We have air brakes and had the M&G system. Another great product.

[BirchyBoy]

I ordered the LOD Armor Lite mid-width bumper, skid plate and license plate bracket today. I’m pretty excited to get it installed! I ordered from Northridge 4x4 and received a $75 gift card which will go towards a receiver hitch and wiring.

[BirchyBoy]

I installed the LOD Armor Lite today. The process was pretty easy, taking about two hours total. I am wondering now if I should have used blue Loctite. There is a single flat washer on the inside; LOD doesn’t include lock washers.

[BirchyBoy]

I’ve spent too much time analyzing my options. I have looked at the NSA surge brake device with either Roadmaster or Blue Ox tow bars and the full system from NSA. The economics just didn’t work trying to piece it together. Roadmaster off-road adapters are much less expensive than Blue Ox and the tow bars are comparable. LOD makes adapters for both but the lead time is 30 days. Either way, the cost worked out to be the same as the Hercules system from NSA.

I called NSA to order the Hercules but Sue told me that they don’t make custom clevis adapters for that yet, only the Elite. I asked if she could help with the price and she said no but that dealers like Amazon would be cheaper and confirmed that the full warranty would be valid, So I ordered the ReadyBrute Elite and breakaway device ($1,200 total) from Amazon and the custom clevis adapters ($104) from NSA.

Everything should be here in a week or so

[hohenwald48]

I got my RBE off Craigslist for $500. It was nearly new and unused. You might want to check in your area.

Added a install kit and ReadyStop kit from NSA.

[lawjohnson]

We just pulled the trigger on a Roadmaster Sterling All Terrain with an Air Force One braking system.

[BirchyBoy]

It turns out that I suck at ordering custom clevises from NSA. Well, both LOD customer support and I suck. The measurements from LOD specify a 15/16” hole and 1/2” wide D ring. I passed that into NSA but said I’d be using a 3/4” pin.

In all actuality, the D ring is just over 1/2” wide due to the powder coating. I think I’ll be able to file the inside of the clevis down some since it’s aluminum. I am going to find some 3/4” pins and head it Ace and look for some bushings. Hopefully that will work.

[BirchyBoy]

I had a long post about getting everything to work but lost it :(

The short story is that I sanded some Curt hitch bushings down to the correct OD diameter using a drum sander in a drill press, and a large file to widen the slots in the clevises.

Now, should I shorten the hitch pins or leave them as is?.

And I give up on trying to get pictures to be oriented correctly. It shouldn’t be that hard to do.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by BirchyBoy

I had a long post about getting everything to work but lost it :(

The short story is that I sanded some Curt hitch bushings down to the correct OD diameter using a drum sander in a drill press, and a large file to widen the slots in the clevises.

Now, should I shorten the hitch pins or leave them as is?.

And I give up on trying to get pictures to be oriented correctly. It shouldn’t be that hard to do.

Birchboy,
It's too bad you had to "re-invent the wheel" when it came time for you to link your tow bar to your toad. But, since there's really no "standards" when it comes to aftermarket Jeep bumper manufacturing, all you can hope for is to get as close as possible for a fit, between pieces. I guess I got lucky when I setup our present '15 Jeep JKUR. As has been stated by Tom earlier, we have a Smittybilt XRC MOD front bumper and, do use the recovery tabs for towing.
When setting it up for towing, I took all necessary measurements on both the bumpers recovery tabs and, the ends of the Blue Ox tow bar we were using. I then simply started looking for tow bar adapters and, quickly found the exact ones I needed. They came with "Pins" for coupling the adapters to the recovery tabs. Well, after just one time trying to remove their pins when we were done towing, and the pain in the a$$ it was, I ventured over to Tractor Supply and picked up what you see in the pics.

They're a D-handle set of pins, most likely what you are using. And yes, they're a bit longer than they need to be for the job at hand. I thought about shortening them but, why? They get the job done just fine, even with a bit extended length. And the "D-handle" is by far, far and above, the best and easiest way to extract those pins than any other design. Good luck on yours.
Scott

P.S. I'm not sure how you're trying to post pictures on here but, sometimes it can be a bit intimidating. Here's what I do, see if it works for you.

1. Create any form of file for pictures on your computer. It doesn't matter what you call it, it's just a file with pictures saved.

2. Now, when you're done typing in your post, scroll down below the text box and you'll find a small block that says: Manage attachments.

3. Click on that tab

3. When you do, it will bring up a box with, among other things, 4 tabs of "choose a file".

4. If you click on the first one, it will automatically go to the section of your computer, that stores files, including the picture file you created.

On my laptop, when I click on "Choose a file", the next screen opens with the heading at the top: "This PC > Pictures > '04 Horizon".

Now, if I'm in or on this forum and, want to show or share a picture involving that '04 Horizon, I simply scroll around on the screen and find the first picture I want to share. When I do, I click on that one. Then, down at the bottom of that same screen, it will say "Open". When I click on "Open", because the forum is in control of what I'm doing, the picture WILL NOT OPEN! Instead, it will be sent to the "choose file" tab you clicked on in the beginning of this section.

That one is ready to Upload. Now, if you want more pictures to share, you move your cursor down to the next: "Choose file". And follow the same procedure. You can to that for the four "Choose file" tabs. Once you've selected either one or, four pictures, in that same "choose file" screen, you'll see a block that states: "Upload".

If you click on that tab, the system will now begin to upload all your photos. Once they're all done uploading, you will see them all in a different format, at the lower corner of that same box. Now, all you have to do is, click the "X" at the top of that box to make that "choose file" box disappear and then, click on the tab you normally would to submit your post, DONE!

The next thing you'll see is, your post, along with all the files/photos you chose.

Now, here's another bit of info. Where I showed you what my Laptop says after I've clicked on "choose file", i.e. "This PC>Pictures>'04 Horizon", if you click on the second arrow, what will happen is, you'll be presented with any and all files of photos you have in storage. If you want to grab a photo from any of the files in the list, you simply click on that file name that has the photo in it you want, and, you'll be presented with the file and all the photos to choose from. Choose the photo(s), one at a time by following the procedure outlined above and, you're home free. Good luck.
Scott

[BirchyBoy]

Thanks Fire Up. I should have been more clear about the pictures. It’s the orientation that’s the issue. The pictures are all correct on my phone but most are upside down when they are presented on this website. I probably need to always take the pics with my phone in a particular manner, such as always horizontal with the top of the phone to the right, but I haven’t found it yet.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by BirchyBoy

Thanks Fire Up. I should have been more clear about the pictures. It’s the orientation that’s the issue. The pictures are all correct on my phone but most are upside down when they are presented on this website. I probably need to always take the pics with my phone in a particular manner, such as always horizontal with the top of the phone to the right, but I haven’t found it yet.

You're welcome Sir. Do you do the total posting from your phone or, PC or MAC or what? Since I do all my posting/threads from my laptop, any pictures that I have on my phone that I want to share, are already on my i-cloud which, is sent to my laptop automatically. I then go find them, and transfer them to a file for a given subject, i.e. motorcycle, motorhome, boat, project etc.

That way, when I'm on the forum and want to post a pic with my thread, I can grab it from the file which, if it was taken from my phone originally and was sideways or otherwise odd, has been edited to be able to post it so it appears normal in the forum posts. Hope this helps some.
Scott

[AKIQPilot]

Originally Posted by BirchyBoy

Thanks Fire Up. I should have been more clear about the pictures. It’s the orientation that’s the issue. The pictures are all correct on my phone but most are upside down when they are presented on this website. I probably need to always take the pics with my phone in a particular manner, such as always horizontal with the top of the phone to the right, but I haven’t found it yet.

Are you left handed? When you hold your phone sideways to take a picture is the "home button" on the right or left? Is the camera in the upper left corner of the phone or the lower right corner of the phone.

Many left handed people hold their phone sideways with the home button on the left and not on the right. This can cause your pictures to be upside down.