Towing With Bumper Mount Hitch

[ParadiseMJ]

I have a stock step bumper with a hitch receiver bolted to it with 3/4" bolts.  I can easily tow my little utility trailer and/or my light weight canoe/camping trailer with it.  The frame mounts look petty beefy but SHOULD I be towing anything else with just that set-up...or do I need to find a "real"  receiver hitch? 

 

They are, so far, pretty hard to find and the ones I've seen bolt right into the same mounting holes that the bumper uses.  I'm not so concerned with the "pulling" part as I am with the  tongue weight support.

I don't want to tweak or bend the bumper or bumper mounts. 

[johnj92131]

The key is what condition is your bumper.  Here in California we do not have the rust problems many others have.  Do you know what the trailer weighs and what the loaded tongue weight is?

 

You are correct about the mounting points of both the bumper and the receiver hitch.  But the receiver hitch has 2 inch square tubing between the mounting points.  Not so with the bumper, it is just thin mild steel that can twist and rust.  Hit the bumper with a hammer and you will see metal damage.  Hit the receiver hitch and you will see paint damage.

[mvusse]

Here in the rust belt, even if the bumper still looks solid on the outside, the inside has been rotted away and should not be trusted with anything heavier than a cement mixer or log splitter. I think the bumper was originally rated for trailers up to 1,000 pounds, but my memory might be failing me on that.

[Eagle]

I wouldn't trust the bumper hitch even for a "light" camper trailer.

[GirsMJ86]

My current rig has the stock chrome bumper but it's trashed because the PO pulled something with it. It's not the worse I've seen from a pull using a bumper, but it still makes me sad because of how hard it will be to replace. No way would I pull something on an stock MJ bumper just because of how rare they are. If you can't find a true receiver hitch anymore, they would be super easy for a shop to make if you took them your truck.

[Bornindesert]

Agree with all the points made. I did tow a lot with my Dealer installed bumper, its not what I'd consider the factory Comanche bumper though. All my towing was flat back country rural roads in Indiana delivering 3,000 lbs loads of hay, rarely went over 45 mph. Towing an RV or Stock trailer? Not with an MJ I'm afraid that would scare me on the highways.

 

I recently sand blasted the old Capital JEEP Eagle, Tallahassee FL bumper, threw some extra welds on it, straightened the area where the ball attaches and fresh paint. As was noted, very soft steel. The hitch area bent when the wife backed it up a little to sharp, and I was able to straighten with a 25 lb sledge and 800 mg of ibuprofen.

 

[Bornindesert]

Should add, at 6" of lift in the back, this bumper won't be seeing any Tow duty. It's mainly cosmetic and a place to light up the license plate. I do need to somehow add a receiver for some light trailer action. Interested in where recommendations go in this thread.