My wife gave me a Wrangler for Christmas!!! Help

[Roger G]

It's a 2012 arctic edition 2dr. Wife's gonna be ok, not kidney stones, Dr said it was a cyst on the plumbing. He said to take pills and drink plenty of fluids, it will go away in a day or two, hope he meant beer! Have an something or the other gram scheduled for next week to see what he can do about it, until then she just has to wait until it quits hurting, hopefully. I'm leaving the Jeep home and taking the car since everything is already set up for it. I already have a brake buddy and a Roadmaster hitch purchased in anticipation of towing four down, just no base plates because I didn't know exactly what model I was going to buy. Thanks for all the suggestions . Has anybody bolted the tow bar mounts directly to an aftermarket rock crawler bumper instead of buying the model specific kit. The base plate kit is $400 plus shipping, that would go a long way toward a new steel bumper?

[Wayne M]

Originally Posted by daveshan

Wane, unfortunately the OP just said "Wrangler" which covers from '87-'13 so we have no idea what bumper he's dealing with. Those tow bars you linked are good solutions to towing wither a YJ ('87-95) or TJ ('97-'06) however the JK bumper is not suitable for mounting that type.


OP, what year did you get?

I'm not going to search again, but i'll wager there is a contraption out there that is a temporary solution until a base plate, or the right connection is acquired. My point is "U-Haul does carry tow bars," as does other companies, many companies.

Search, search, and search some more. It's out there.

[Midniteoyl]

Originally Posted by Wayne M

I'm not going to search again, but i'll wager there is a contraption out there that is a temporary solution until a base plate, or the right connection is acquired. My point is "U-Haul does carry tow bars," as does other companies, many companies.

Search, search, and search some more. It's out there.

And the last 3 I checked, didnt... So hit or miss.

[JMonroe]

Originally Posted by trampsrv

would you not be able to put the back wheels on the dolly with the tranny in park in 2 wheel drve and the seat belt throught the steering wheel?

Only if you have manually unlockable hubs. Haven't seen those as standard equipment for years.

Problem is, not being able to unlock the front hubs the front driveshaft will be turning, but now the rear won't be. As discussed earlier in this thread - bad.

[daveshan]

Originally Posted by Roger G

It's a 2012 arctic edition 2dr. Wife's gonna be ok, not kidney stones, Dr said it was a cyst on the plumbing. He said to take pills and drink plenty of fluids, it will go away in a day or two, hope he meant beer! Have an something or the other gram scheduled for next week to see what he can do about it, until then she just has to wait until it quits hurting, hopefully. I'm leaving the Jeep home and taking the car since everything is already set up for it. I already have a brake buddy and a Roadmaster hitch purchased in anticipation of towing four down, just no base plates because I didn't know exactly what model I was going to buy. Thanks for all the suggestions . Has anybody bolted the tow bar mounts directly to an aftermarket rock crawler bumper instead of buying the model specific kit. The base plate kit is $400 plus shipping, that would go a long way toward a new steel bumper?

Nice Jeep and good to hear about the wife!!

Jeeps are the reason I got into RVing, I've seen just about every bumper out there for both TJs and JKs, and gotten rid of a few in favor of a minimalist approach. Most of the aftermarket bumpers weigh a ton and in far too many cases add to the overhang. Unless you're going to be bashing into rocks or just want the look (the reason most bumpers are sold) there are far better solutions to both towing and winch mounting, if you're thinking of adding one later.

Doesn't take a degree in physics or geometry to figure out just what hanging 150lbs of bumper a few feet in front of the suspension does to those stock springs add in a 90-100lb winch and it's upgrade time.

[Rich and Cork]

Originally Posted by Roger G

I . Has anybody bolted the tow bar mounts directly to an aftermarket rock crawler bumper instead of buying the model specific kit. The base plate kit is $400 plus shipping, that would go a long way toward a new steel bumper?

Yes.

[max49]

Has anybody bolted the tow bar mounts directly to an aftermarket rock crawler bumper instead of buying the model specific kit. The base plate kit is $400 plus shipping, that would go a long way toward a new steel bumper?

Yes for me too; and as a "good will gesture" for Roger G, I will trade my '97 Wrangler Sahara that is already set up to tow for his not set up to tow new Wrangler. Heck, I'm such a softie, I'll even throw in my towbar, brake buddy and magnetic tow lights.
I'll even deliver it and drive his back.

[Roger G]

Originally Posted by Rich and Cork

Yes.

Looks great. That's what I think I'm going to do. One day I'm heading west to play in the rocks. The only rocks in Mississippi are on a gravel road. I had a 79 CJ 7 when in high school and college and kept it many years after, wish I could find it again and refurbish it.

[Roger G]

Originally Posted by max49

Has anybody bolted the tow bar mounts directly to an aftermarket rock crawler bumper instead of buying the model specific kit. The base plate kit is $400 plus shipping, that would go a long way toward a new steel bumper?

Yes for me too; and as a "good will gesture" for Roger G, I will trade my '97 Wrangler Sahara that is already set up to tow for his not set up to tow new Wrangler. Heck, I'm such a softie, I'll even throw in my towbar, brake buddy and magnetic tow lights.
I'll even deliver it and drive his back.

Well it's not new but used with 16000 miles but I forgave her. I appreciate the offer but I learned a long time ago, never sell, trade, throw away, or otherwise no longer have possession of any present from the wife. I've had every generation Jeep except the TJ so the offer is intriguing.

[Mekanic]

Originally Posted by CampDaven

I have a 2012 Wrangler with auto trans. It is love!

4-down, xfer in N, trans in P, roll. East-peasy.

Have no idea why anyone would wanna go thru unhook/rehook of drive shaft.

Because they were talking of putting hte front axle of the jeep on a dolly

[hogdriver]

Roger G

Ignore all these responses about disconnecting driveshafts. If your Wrangler is 2006-2013 it is plain easy to setup to tow. I tow a 2012 Wrangler JKU and you could get it ready in one day ( if you order soon).

To tow the automatic, read the manual, but you basically put the transfer case in Neutral and transmission in Park. If the Wrangler is 2010+ , you do not need a key in the ignition. If it's older than 2010 you need the steering wheel unlocked to tow.

Next buy a towbar. 4WheelParts sells 3or 4 for less than $250. I use a Roadmaster All Terrain avail from Roadmaster directly or ETrailer.com. If you buy a Roadmaster or Blue Ox you'll need a mounting system. It took me one afternoon to mount my Roadmaster and wire it. Estimate $800.

Then you need to wire it. There are threads recently about this. Use either a CoolTech.com wiring harness or a dealer Mopar harness. The CoolTech kit is cheaper and faster to install. Estimate $150.

Last item is braking. Any Wrangler I have ever seen weighs more than 3000 lbs, which is the legal limit in most states requiring supplemental braking. I use a Roadmaster Brakemaster kit. It's a great kit but requires an air connection to the RV and that is not quick unless you know a diesel shop. Look at electronic braking actuators like Air Force One and Roadmaster. Hang on to your wallet because all of them are $500+. Estimate $750.

Probably cost $1500-$2000, depending on labor and urgency.

Once you have it done, the Wrangler is very easy to tow and quick to connect. The advantage to all of this is you don't have to store a tow dolly. You can probably sell your old tow dolly for a good chunk of what the Wrangler will cost to modify.

[Old Dude 66]

Originally Posted by daveshan

Nice Jeep and good to hear about the wife!!

Jeeps are the reason I got into RVing, I've seen just about every bumper out there for both TJs and JKs, and gotten rid of a few in favor of a minimalist approach. Most of the aftermarket bumpers weigh a ton and in far too many cases add to the overhang. Unless you're going to be bashing into rocks or just want the look (the reason most bumpers are sold) there are far better solutions to both towing and winch mounting, if you're thinking of adding one later.

Doesn't take a degree in physics or geometry to figure out just what hanging 150lbs of bumper a few feet in front of the suspension does to those stock springs add in a 90-100lb winch and it's upgrade time.

I agree with daveshan! Unless you plan to do some serious rockcrawling, you don't need an aftermarket bumper or winch. We run the Jeep passes in Colorado and have never had a need for either. About the only thing you may need to do is a little larger tires and a 2 inch lift. Anything behond that necessitates other changes and away you go! The old JEEP thing of emptying every pocket kicks in.