Bumper-mounted trailer hitch bracket for Jeep Wrangler TJ

One thing that I noticed that I would at least re-engineer a bit was the fact that it appears that his hitch plate does not have a backing plate behind the thin metal of the Jeep bumper... I would think that he should at least have a backing plate as large as the hitch plate inside the bumper to distribute the load across a greater area... An even better idea might be to have this backing plate large enough to traverse the full with of the bumper... Once you're at that point, maybe you should even consider having this 'backing plate' tie in to the frame of the vehicle... Of course, by this point, it would have probably been easier to just build a real bumper from scratch...

Not a good analogy... These are the same engineers who designed the problematic manifold that cracks and the motor mount bolts that haved sheered off on my XJ multiple times?

Who has the video of a rear bumper being ripped off while attempting to pull another vehicle out of the snow alongside the road?

I saw a link to it sometime in the last 6 months or so...

Billy, I think you are referring to this video.

I saw your family photo on your website... Damn man, you sure have a lot of kids (9!!!)... Did you know that they have figured out what cause that these days? HINT -- It's not in the water...

This one's funny...

Well.... there is no Jeep in that one but it is a good illustration on the strength of bumper supports..

The rev head culture amazes me too sometimes. Driving to the local shops in a 2 ton 4wd vehicle fitted out to blast through the Amazon Jungle defies logic. But as long as they dont do anything to kill me, they are welcome to it. So, by your logic, refusing to take even minimal precautions against misuse is OK because "other people" do even more stupid things. Do you write software this way?

Written by a true, tunnel vision, engineer. A pity that the rest of the world doesnt, or cant think like this.

Richard, you posted the design on this group. People responded. You negate any feedback you receive. They are not personal attacks - at least, not until you started responding in a silly manner.

One of the beginnings of maturity is recognising how little you know as an individual. Intelligence is then finding the information you need to overcome this. It is not just "Jeep trailer hitches" - its for the rest of your life, and your life to date, as well. Think about this - please - your life might start to get better and less confrontational.

Anderw VK3BFA.

I am an engineer.

I define engineering as the economical application of scientific knowledge to a physical application.

To "plan for the worse" is not engineering, if the worst is not worth planning for. It is spending too much on the biggest and baddest in the catalog, which is the anti-engineering mentality of "I built it as strong as possible, so I didn't have to think about it, nothing more could have been done". You don't build a wooden crate when a cardboard box will do, even though it won't stand up to a gorilla jumping on it.

Look, the item tows my boat, economically, and with some material analysis, albeit casual. It does not fit the worst case, nor is it intended to.

Ya gotta love Usenet. Posters simulating critical thought with platitudes, without knowing who they are talking to.

A (smaller) backing plate is only a glorified washer, good only against shearing through the attachment point. The rest of the bumper will have failed before that happens, so it adds nothing.

A larger backing plate would be tantamount to replacing the bumper with a stronger cross-member, and at that point you might as well put on a frame- mounted hitch instead of using the bumper.

Richard,

I like your definition of engineering. I guess I am a successful engineer, because I worked for exactly six years, three months after I got out of school, and I have been retired for eleven years since. I call that "the economical application of scientific knowledge to a physical application". Sure I could have worked for twice as long, had a couple heart attacks, and there would be enough money for my widow, kids and grandkids to never have to be afraid of poverty or hunger again. There is a parallel here, and someday I am going to figure out what it is. Until then, you keep doing what you are doing.

"Posters simulating critical thought with platitudes", I love this. Please feel free to post here again, the next time you engineer something. ;^)

Earle

Nah. Thats cost accounting. Design and manufacture something with the minimal cost and effort that will just do the job with no margin for error. When it fails, refer to "Definition of Engineering" and blame the customer for their lack of knowledge.

Sorry, wasnt aware I was talking to "an engineer". I apologise. Please forgive me for my ignorant comments.

Andrew VK3BFA.

Bill, Social Security benefits in the U.S., are like this guy's trailer hitch.

Earle

application".

If you get in an accident and someone gets hurt. only then, is when it really counts. You may get charged. I've seen hitches like yours and it was bent all to hell. Don't be stupid/cheap, pay the 150 fricken dollars for a proper hitch and be safe! This is NOT Microsoft where failures are sorta O.K. Dag nab it.

Debunked earlier in this thread.

Ok, now you are just being plain stupid sir.

You can be 'sure' if something happens and that home made hitch lets go and your trailer goes off and kills someone you will be charged.

Even in good ol Florida.

Your 'debunk' said nothing at all and I looked.

It was a BS smokescreen link that didn't cover the law about the structure of the attachment point or cover carrying a load too big for the hitch or vehicle.

Mike