Factory bumper/flat tow/ winch

[Mrtintsd]

I did see a post on flat towing that answered a few questions but I didn’t want to hijack the thread so I started a new one
I need to set up my 392 to flat tow by mid March but wanted to know if anyone here can save me the research and let me know what they did.
In a perfect world I would like to use the factory bumper with a warn 12s winch and flat tow. The tow bar I like is a roadmaster but not sold on any brand….. just want a quick connect to bumper or hidden mounts

I am under the impression I can NOT do both a winch and flat tow with the factory metal 392 bumper? Am I wrong? Her is a pic of the bumper on my jeep. I am being lazy and picked pictures in my phone but you can see bumper in them

 

[Asuperheat]

I'm going to use Maximus-3 set up on mine incase I decide to flat tow it. I still have a JK for flat tow and running trails with. I have the brackets but I have not installed them yet. You may want to call them and see if you can uses their bracket with their winch mount.

 

[Mrtintsd]

I will call them. That seems to be the issue with the factory bumper. Either I do a winch OR I set up for flat tow but not both? Now this could be wrong information because I have only had it looked at by camping world. It could also be I didn’t understand correctly too

 

[CPT Papa]

I will call them. That seems to be the issue with the factory bumper. Either I do a winch OR I set up for flat tow but not both? Now this could be wrong information because I have only had it looked at by camping world. It could also be I didn’t understand correctly too

You can have both. I have the Maximus 3 tow loops and a Warn 12S mounted to the Maximus 3 winch mount on the factory bumper.

 

[zmpm01]

I personally would not flat tow hooking the tow bar directly to the bumper, been there done that and had a failure where the Blue Ox mounting plate pulled thru the ARB bumper leaving about a 8" hole in the bumper, I was lucky it only caused damage to the back of my Motorhome about 22K and my 06 Jeep Liberty was 2K and didn't hurt anyone else, it happed in between Tok, AK. and Anchorage, AK. the summer of 2019 you can get a base plate that bolts to the frame and then you hook the tow bar to it, I currently have a Blue Ox base plate and Tow Bar system on the 392 and Jeep Liberty. A lesson learned the hard way and $$$$$. I almost forgot to mention I have a Warn Zeon 12S mounted in the factory bumper

 

[Mrtintsd]

I personally would not flat tow hooking the tow bar directly to the bumper, been there done that and had a failure where the Blue Ox mounting plate pulled thru the ARB bumper leaving about a 8" hole in the bumper, I was lucky it only caused damage to the back of my Motorhome about 22K and my 06 Jeep Liberty was 2K and didn't hurt anyone else, it happed in between Tok, AK. and Anchorage, AK. the summer of 2019 you can get a base plate that bolts to the frame and then you hook the tow bar to it, I currently have a Blue Ox base plate and Tow Bar system on the 392 and Jeep Liberty. A lesson learned the hard way and $$$$$. I almost forgot to mention I have a Warn Zeon 12S mounted in the factory bumper

Okay. I think that is close to the setup I was quoted. The tow bar attachment is to the frame and not the bumper. First item on quote is attachment

 

[zmpm01]

Yep Mrtintsd it looks like that should do it, there pretty easy to install if you have the time, plus nobody will take the time like you would to make sure things are tucked up out of the way as far as the wiring goes. The 392 tows great haven't had any issue's towing it 2K miles so far.

 

[Mrtintsd]

Yep Mrtintsd it looks like that should do it, there pretty easy to install if you have the time, plus nobody will take the time like you would to make sure things are tucked up out of the way as far as the wiring goes. The 392 tows great haven't had any issue's towing it 2K miles so far.

Thank you
I will let you know how it goes

 

[FBomb]

Okay. I think that is close to the setup I was quoted. The tow bar attachment is to the frame and not the bumper. First item on quote is attachment

Do you have a winch and the stock bumper?

 

[Mrtintsd]

Do you have a winch and the stock bumper?

I have the stock metal bumper. No winch yet. That is the main reason for post. I want to do the tow brackets and winch at the same time so I’m not doing double the work pulling bumper. Or worse, buy it all and find out I can’t

 

[AZ392]

I have the stock metal bumper. No winch yet. That is the main reason for post. I want to do the tow brackets and winch at the same time so I’m not doing double the work pulling bumper. Or worse, buy it all and find out I can’t

Did you end up finding a way to do a winch and flat tow bracket?

 

[AZ392]

Also, do you have a neg battery disconnect or is this even necessary?

 

[FBomb]

I ended up going with the Blue Ox baseplate and the 10,000 lb towbar with a RoadMaster Tow Defender screen. The only modification I had to make was two small notchs around where the base plate mounts up to the frame. I did have to pull the winch out and remove the bumper to install the base plate, but it actually looks pretty good and matches up well with the color of the stock bumper.

 

[AZ392]

I ended up going with the Blue Ox baseplate and the 10,000 lb towbar with a RoadMaster Tow Defender screen. The only modification I had to make was two small notchs around where the base plate mounts up to the frame. I did have to pull the winch out and remove the bumper to install the base plate, but it actually looks pretty good and matches up well with the color of the stock bumper.

Thanks! Which winch/number setup do you have and can you post some pics when you have time? I am also a “DIY” guy and will likely tackle this whole install my self

 

[zmpm01]

Hey FBomb how bad was the RoadMaster Tow Defender screen to mount to the Blue Ox Tow Bar system, I had an older screen system but it was on a RoadMaster Tow bar. Only thing I didn't like about the screen is it would hold mud or be muddy from a rain after driving on dirt roads. But it worked and kept the rocks off the Jeep. I have a Blue Ox Kargard but was thinking about adding the Tow Defender also. Going to Alaska and want to protect the 392 best I can..

 

[Mrtintsd]

Did you end up finding a way to do a winch and flat tow bracket?

I did and keep meaning to post pics of install. I will folowow up with pics but I used everything in the quoted parts list I posted except the baseplate. I actually used the warn base plate. The only reason for that was because the local parts store had both the winch and base plate in stock. I didn’t want to wait so I use the warn base plate the install is pretty straight forward. Plenty of videos online if you get lost. I had to modify a bracket on each side to get the plate to sit correct. I used a bench grinder. The hardest part is the steel skid plate. First, the patterns they give you to cut for rubican are NOT correct. I semi bolted in place Marked where edges of brackets meet plate. Then I measured the distance to bottom of bracket. This was how deep you cut the plate notch. The problem here is the skid plate is 3/8 steel. I actually took to a body shop by me and had them cut with a plasma cutter and paint. I am making this sound harder then it is. I think I did. Winch, winch plate and tow hooks all in one night after work. 3-4 hours

 

[Mrtintsd]

Did you end up finding a way to do a winch and flat tow bracket?

I did and keep meaning to post pics of install. I will folowow up with pics but I used everything in the quoted parts list I posted except the baseplate. I actually used the warn base plate. The only reason for that was because the local parts store had both the winch and base plate in stock. I didn’t want to wait so I use the warn base plate the install is pretty straight forward. Plenty of videos online if you get lost. I had to modify a bracket on each side to get the plate to sit correct. I used a bench grinder. The hardest part is the steel skid plate. First, the patterns they give you to cut for rubican are NOT correct. I semi bolted in place Marked where edges of brackets meet plate. Then I measured the distance to bottom of bracket. This was how deep you cut the plate notch. The problem here is the skid plate is 3/8 steel. I actually took to a body shop by me and had them cut with a plasma cutter and paint. I am making this sound harder then it is. I think I did. Winch, winch plate and tow hooks all in one night after work. 3-4 hours
I should add…. The reason I had to modify the winch plate was because of the tow brackets that are installed. One of the welds hits the plate. Not bad but once modified…… everything lingered up better

 

[FBomb]

Hey FBomb how bad was the RoadMaster Tow Defender screen to mount to the Blue Ox Tow Bar system, I had an older screen system but it was on a RoadMaster Tow bar. Only thing I didn't like about the screen is it would hold mud or be muddy from a rain after driving on dirt roads. But it worked and kept the rocks off the Jeep. I have a Blue Ox Kargard but was thinking about adding the Tow Defender also. Going to Alaska and want to protect the 392 best I can..

The Tow Defender was pretty easy to install, the only modification I had to make was drilling two holes in the support bar the mounts to the brackets that you install on the towbar. There's two holes on each side of the support bar, but they didn't line up with the brackets. I'll take a few pics tonight and post them. I've only towed the Jeep once with the Tow Defender but it seems to work well.

 

[zmpm01]

Thanks for the Info FBomb! The pictures would be great..

 

[FBomb]

Here's a few photos of the baseplate install. It took about six hours including removing and reinstalling the winch.