3X Blue Ox base plate failure on Jeeps

[Pigman1]

Blue Ox sells the tow bar and base plate to enable an RV'er to tow this vehicle. They designed the base plate and its attaching hardware to perform this tow function without damaging either their components or the structure it attaches to. In very simple terms, they appeared to have FAILED in this endeavor. Not the first failure by Blue Ox, and them denying responsibility means nothing.

[PSOUZA]

Originally Posted by Tlmr4784

And you guys are trying to throw Blue Ox under the bus....it sounds like Jeep has the failure here...
Did I miss something?

Oh yes, and quite a few others did as well.

Folks don't seem to understand that the Jeep suv's do not have a frame. They are unit body (uni-body) construction, whereby many smaller sheets of metal are stamped into shapes and spot welded together to form the body of the vehicle. Unlike the Jeep Wrangler which, indeed, does use a traditional ladder frame with body attached.

A new wrinkle, partially illustrated by previous post with picture(s) is an aluminum sub frame that presumably was used as an attachment point by Blue Ox. A big no-no for several reasons. If the sub-frame was not attached to directly, it was severely stressed by the result. You need to think heavily about that and the implications. Seriously.

Big rush to assign blame without thinking of the underlying design of the vehicle.

Is it the fault of Jeep? Hell no! Is it the fault of the government? What isn't? That leaves Blue Ox, don't it? Language police stand down.

All our vehicles are being reduced in properties we used to be able to take for granted. Durability and longevity for two, and arguably usability.

So as a result, the Jeep Suv's are built to satisfy government standards that have unintended consequences. That also can be argued, but not here.

Instead of a sturdy frame to attach to, a sheet metal body shell with hidden points of reinforcement, frequently with no backside access is all that remains.

I see Blue Ox guilty of attempting to attach a towing system to the shell of an ostrich egg on wheels. That doesn't mean it can't be done, they just aren't smart enough, yet, to do it. Or smart enough not to try.

Phil

[gpounder]

I have a new 2020 Rubicon the with the newer body style started in 2018. No idea if this translates to the other Jeep vehicles.

When I added a winch bumper there was an extra OEM bracket on both sides of the end of the box frame that created a kind of sandwich around it. It was very clear this was an improvement to add strength to the frame bumper attach points.

I wonder if tow base plates continue to use these extra brackets.

[gpounder]

Originally Posted by PSOUZA

As I recall, that was part of the mounting for the front air dam. Not a high strength point.

Phil

No, not part of that assembly. These brackets added a layer to the existing frame to bumper connection. 3 bolts on each side of the frame hold them in place, a true improvement to the connection point.

[PSOUZA]

Originally Posted by gpounder

No, not part of that assembly. These brackets added a layer to the existing frame to bumper connection. 3 bolts on each side of the frame hold them in place, a true improvement to the connection point.

You're fast! I deleted that post almost immediately upon rethinking it. Went looking for pictures of the 2020...no luck. I remembered that Maximus-3 made a major change in tow loop mounting using, I think, those brackets as part of their solution. Very solid system for Blue Ox and similar tow systems. have you considered their system?..You can probably use a plate kludge on your new towed, but the Maximus-3 is so much more elegant. Fan-boy speaking

Phil

[gatorb8]

simply put: Blue Ox redesigned the Cherokee base plate and won’t stand behind the original design by replacing the original design that has failed in the field