Jeep Wrangler - where attach safety cables?

[OR-Viatorem]

I'm prepping to flat-tow my 2015 Wrangler Rubicon JKU. I want to attach my coiled safety cables to the frame rails, but the jeep has an aftermarket front bumper, and no "slot" or other anchor point in the side of frame rails.

I'm looking for suggestions, experience, wisdom with this. Is it possible to add an anchor point somewhere - other than the bumper?

I suppose I could install anchors on the bumper, but that kinda defeats the purpose of the safety cables if its the bumper that fails.

thanks!

[fletch460]

Have you installed the tow bracket yet? All the ones I see have loops for the cables

[Lt Dan]

Some have put a length of heavy duty chain around each side of the frame with a bolt to hold it together. Then you just clip the safety cable to the chain link. If you are towing from the D rings on the aftermarket bumper I hope you have verified that it's capable of being towed from there. A lot of aftermarket bumpers are not strong enough for the constant side flex on the D rings when towing.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by OR-Viatorem

I'm prepping to flat-tow my 2015 Wrangler Rubicon JKU. I want to attach my coiled safety cables to the frame rails, but the jeep has an aftermarket front bumper, and no "slot" or other anchor point in the side of frame rails.

I'm looking for suggestions, experience, wisdom with this. Is it possible to add an anchor point somewhere - other than the bumper?

I suppose I could install anchors on the bumper, but that kinda defeats the purpose of the safety cables if its the bumper that fails.

thanks!

OR,
Well, there will be most likely some flaming on this but, no biggie, been flamed many, many times, still alive. Anyways, we too have a '15 Jeep JKUR and, I setup all the towing components on it. For attaching the cables, I came up with cast steel Eye bolts that I installed in the ends of the cross beam, under the radiator. I used 1/2" versions but, I'm gonna change to 5/8" or 3/4" versions simply because I can.

And, before anyone get's their panties in a wad stating they're weak, well, all I can say is, THEY WORK. How do I know? I tested one of them on our last trip. I lost a linch pin which, held in my main pin for the tow bar on the Jeep's bumper. That caused the tow bar on that side to become disconnected and drop to the road. All this was at 60 mph. That left the remaining tow bar on the left side and, the cable on the right side. That cast steel eye bolt worked flawlessly. No damage to anything.

I bought different types of linch pins and, have not had any troubles since. Here' what my eye bolts look like, and where they're installed.
Scott

[tankcj]

I attach the safety cables to the D rings. I also mounted the air fitting for the M&G brake to a bracket just left of the fair lead. The electrical connection is to the right of the fair lead and the break away is on top of the fair lead and pivots out of the way when not in use.

[RPrince]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

OR,
Well, there will be most likely some flaming on this but, no biggie, been flamed many, many times, still alive. Anyways, we too have a '15 Jeep JKUR and, I setup all the towing components on it. For attaching the cables, I came up with cast steel Eye bolts that I installed in the ends of the cross beam, under the radiator. I used 1/2" versions but, I'm gonna change to 5/8" or 3/4" versions simply because I can.

And, before anyone get's their panties in a wad stating they're weak, well, all I can say is, THEY WORK. How do I know? I tested one of them on our last trip. I lost a linch pin which, held in my main pin for the tow bar on the Jeep's bumper. That caused the tow bar on that side to become disconnected and drop to the road. All this was at 60 mph. That left the remaining tow bar on the left side and, the cable on the right side. That cast steel eye bolt worked flawlessly. No damage to anything.

I bought different types of linch pins and, have not had any troubles since. Here' what my eye bolts look like, and where they're installed.
Scott

I installed eye bolts in the same place you did for our '16 JKR. Haven't had a need to check them, but I believe they would do just fine.

Randy

[OR-Viatorem]

Originally Posted by Lt Dan

Some have put a length of heavy duty chain around each side of the frame with a bolt to hold it together. Then you just clip the safety cable to the chain link. If you are towing from the D rings on the aftermarket bumper I hope you have verified that it's capable of being towed from there. A lot of aftermarket bumpers are not strong enough for the constant side flex on the D rings when towing.

I may do a similar thing, but with 3ft cables from blue ox instead of chain.
Yes these d-ring tabs are strong. Towed my TJ Wrangler for years with no issues.

[OR-Viatorem]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

OR,
Well, there will be most likely some flaming on this but, no biggie, been flamed many, many times, still alive. Anyways, we too have a '15 Jeep JKUR and, I setup all the towing components on it. For attaching the cables, I came up with cast steel Eye bolts that I installed in the ends of the cross beam, under the radiator. I used 1/2" versions but, I'm gonna change to 5/8" or 3/4" versions simply because I can.

And, before anyone get's their panties in a wad stating they're weak, well, all I can say is, THEY WORK. How do I know? I tested one of them on our last trip. I lost a linch pin which, held in my main pin for the tow bar on the Jeep's bumper. That caused the tow bar on that side to become disconnected and drop to the road. All this was at 60 mph. That left the remaining tow bar on the left side and, the cable on the right side. That cast steel eye bolt worked flawlessly. No damage to anything.

I bought different types of linch pins and, have not had any troubles since. Here' what my eye bolts look like, and where they're installed.
Scott

This looks like a nice solution. Well done! It’s fortunate/unfortunate you had the real-world incident to know that it works. Yikes!

Anyhow, I may just loop a 3ft blue ox cable around the frame and hook to that.
Thanks for the info!

[lrsses]

If it's an E-Trailer off road bumper and you have a frame tube use a heavy duty cable from Harbor Freight and attach your safety cables to it. That's how I do the one I have.

;QUOTE=OR-Viatorem;5178932]I'm prepping to flat-tow my 2015 Wrangler Rubicon JKU. I want to attach my coiled safety cables to the frame rails, but the jeep has an aftermarket front bumper, and no "slot" or other anchor point in the side of frame rails.

I'm looking for suggestions, experience, wisdom with this. Is it possible to add an anchor point somewhere - other than the bumper?

I suppose I could install anchors on the bumper, but that kinda defeats the purpose of the safety cables if its the bumper that fails.

thanks![/QUOTE]

[jndjeep]

Be careful, according to e-rigging.com eye bolts loose up to 85% of their strength at 90 degree pulls. Can they be faced forward?

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

OR,
Well, there will be most likely some flaming on this but, no biggie, been flamed many, many times, still alive. Anyways, we too have a '15 Jeep JKUR and, I setup all the towing components on it. For attaching the cables, I came up with cast steel Eye bolts that I installed in the ends of the cross beam, under the radiator. I used 1/2" versions but, I'm gonna change to 5/8" or 3/4" versions simply because I can.

And, before anyone get's their panties in a wad stating they're weak, well, all I can say is, THEY WORK. How do I know? I tested one of them on our last trip. I lost a linch pin which, held in my main pin for the tow bar on the Jeep's bumper. That caused the tow bar on that side to become disconnected and drop to the road. All this was at 60 mph. That left the remaining tow bar on the left side and, the cable on the right side. That cast steel eye bolt worked flawlessly. No damage to anything.

I bought different types of linch pins and, have not had any troubles since. Here' what my eye bolts look like, and where they're installed.
Scott

[L.C.Gray]

Sometimes you just have to find or create a spot. You might look and see if the frame has slots for T-Hooks and utilize them.

My jeep had some very convenient existing holes in the factory bumper that were a perfect fit for 1/2' cable clamp u-bolts.


https://www.irv2.com/forums/f85/help...ml#post5410691

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by jndjeep

Be careful, according to e-rigging.com eye bolts loose up to 85% of their strength at 90 degree pulls. Can they be faced forward?

This happens quite often. Some people think *end of the world* situations could happen. Well, that's ok. Knowing what kind of stress will be placed on those eye bolts, in any given situation, is what helps me make a decision in this kind of scenario.

You see, you're not gonna drop that Jeep out of the back of an Air Force C-130 at 30,000' and, have a 500' chain attached to that eye bolt and the air plane and expect it to last. Nope, ain't gonna happen.

But, when both vehicles are traveling AT THE SAME SPEED, no matter what the speed is, and the tow bar becomes un-attached on one side or the other, when the safety cable then takes over keeping the Jeep attached to the motorhome, there's not very much stress on it at all. The potential for BOTH SECTIONS/ARMS of the tow bar detaching AT ONE TIME is for the most part, almost impossible. Now, if the front of the tow bar becomes detached or breaks somehow, that's a different story.

But, the physics of the whole scenario remain the same. Both vehicles are traveling at the same speed, IN THE SAME DIRECTION. So, that means all the safety cable(s) have to do is, basically control the side-to-side movement and maybe a bit of tension on them.

I know this system works. I had a tow bar leg, break free TWICE on one trip. The safety cable on that side, AND THE TOW EYE, both did their job without issue. There is no signs of stress/ware/failure/cracking/tweaking what so ever on that entire attachment area.

If one is not happy with that kind of arrangement, then don't do it. It's pretty simple. So many people overthink so many RV situations.
Scott