JCR rear bumper hitch, BIG problem!! UPDATE WITH ANSWERS

I bought a JCR rear bumper with the class 3 hitch reciever and I have a BIG problem.

When I went to buy a 10" drop hitch it was sloppier than a cheap... Well you all know the end of the story.

When I put the hitch into the bumper I could move the hitch back and forth and up and down about 3 inches!! :fs1: :mad: Imagine pulling a trailer with that!!! My first thought was a hand crank for a early model Ford. Has anyone had this problem with JCR before? I know they are supposed to have some play, but this is insane. I could and would not ever tow something with that kind of play. I haven't contacted the manufacture yet but I will after your comments.

I have a Grand Cherokee with a normal factory hitch and it doesn't even come close to the play this one has. Did they use the wrong size 2" stock to build the bumper with???? :hmm:

Thanks!

Measure it and see. Try another hitch.A 10in will have more slop than a 3-4 in but still should not have what your describing.

we actually had a similar problem with our diesel. every other ball and hitch we have fits snug but we had to get a bigger drop so we went with a cheaper version since we only use it once a long while. to fix the problem i welded on the top side and ground it smooth to fill some of the gap. there is still play but its not as bad. i would go the store and measure some other hitches to see if you can grab a bigger (dimensions wise) one.

Ok, I took some measurements on the two hitches side by side.

The Comanche JCR rear bumper:

2-3/16" side to side and top to bottom.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee OE hitch:

2-3/32" side to side and top to bottom.

Here are some pics:

The JCR bumper:

The Grand:

And a video of my 2" drop hitch, remember I need a 10" drop for my Comanche so the movement will be exaggerated greatly with the other hitch.

So what are your thoughts?

My JCR rear bumper receiver is sloppy as well. I figured it was just the adjustable-height hitch I'm using. I can measure mine as well if it helps.

So what are your thoughts?

Obviously, they used the wrong tubing to build the receiver. Square structural steel tubing, unlike pipe, is specified by the outside dimension, not the inside dimension. The hitch adapter itself is made using 2" tubing, and it should measure pretty close to exactly 2". The receiver has to be some larger size, and then the inside clear dimension is arrived at by subtracting the wall thickness (times two) from the nominal outside dimension.

I just measured the factory Mopar hitches on two of my Cherokees. The receiver tube is a nominal 2-1/2" with 1/4" wall thickness, which results in a pretty close fit with a 2" hitch adapter. The people who made your bumper must have used 3/16" wall tubing instead of 1/4" to save some bucks. Not good, IMHO.

offroad bumpers are generally used for recovery rather than towing, so maybe that has something to do with it. :dunno:

So what are your thoughts?

Obviously, they used the wrong tubing to build the receiver. Square structural steel tubing, unlike pipe, is specified by the outside dimension, not the inside dimension. The hitch adapter itself is made using 2" tubing, and it should measure pretty close to exactly 2". The receiver has to be some larger size, and then the inside clear dimension is arrived at by subtracting the wall thickness (times two) from the nominal outside dimension.

 

I just measured the factory Mopar hitches on two of my Cherokees. The receiver tube is a nominal 2-1/2" with 1/4" wall thickness, which results in a pretty close fit with a 2" hitch adapter. The people who made your bumper must have used 3/16" wall tubing instead of 1/4" to save some bucks. Not good, IMHO.

I think you hit the nail on the head Eagle. I emailed JCR today and we'll see what their reply is because I don't want to use the bumper to tow with if it is made of this weak material, not to mention what could happen if someone towed a long trailer with a 10" drop! :eek:

I am not pleased with this and wish I would have found out before it was painted and mounted on the truck. :fs1: The company may not even know what they did wrong. :nuts:

3/16" flush mounted in the bumper as they did is not what I would consider "weak". :D you won't ever break it. :thumbsup:

I did a bit of Googling about and found that square steel tubing in the 2", 2-1/4" and 2-1/2" sizes is only available in a few wall thicknesses. Actual wall thickness varies from nominal.

2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 5/16 = 0.291

2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 1/4 = 0.233

2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 3/16 = 0.174

2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 1/8 = 0.116

2 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 1/4 = 0.233

2 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 3/16 = 0.174

2 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 1/8 = 0.116

2 x 2 x 1/4 = 0.233

2 x 2 x 3/16 = 0.174

2 x 2 x 1/8 = 0.116

A 2-1/2" square tube with 1/4" walls would leave 2.034" inside opening. A 2-1/2" tube with 3/16" walls would leave 2.152" clear opening, which is approximately 5/32" (just over 1/8") larger than a 2" drawbar. If they used 1/8" wall tubing, the inside dimension would be 2.268", or slightly more than 1/4" bigger than a 2" drawbar.

offroad bumpers are generally used for recovery rather than towing, so maybe that has something to do with it. :dunno:

Thats one of tha nicest/cleanest looking bumpers I've seen for our trucks. With that said, I don't buy into the idea that their receivers arent intended to be used for towing. If that were tha case, why would they bother adding recovery brackets for "D" rings?

As you know, not everybody uses their Jeeps for hard core off roading where they end up in recovery situations. And .... not everybody has a winch to stick in their receivers for self recovery. Some people (like me. :chillin:) just like tha beefy look of a heavy duty bumper. In fact, later down tha raod, I may look into one of those for my truck. (assuming they correct the receiver issue)

Send it back. If I were you and or before I was done with um, they'd be replacing tha bumper they screwed up on and sending me a front bumper as well.

(lets see; another $150 or so to have a second one painted ($300 total in paint) plus another $75+ to have it installed again. ($150 total) $450 bucks would more than cover one of their Stage 4 or even winch front bumpers. :thumbsup:

Let us know how ya do.

I did a bit of Googling about and found that square steel tubing in the 2", 2-1/4" and 2-1/2" sizes is only available in a few wall thicknesses. Actual wall thickness varies from nominal.

 

2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 5/16 = 0.291

2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 1/4 = 0.233

2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 3/16 = 0.174

2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 1/8 = 0.116

 

2 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 1/4 = 0.233

2 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 3/16 = 0.174

2 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 1/8 = 0.116

 

2 x 2 x 1/4 = 0.233

2 x 2 x 3/16 = 0.174

2 x 2 x 1/8 = 0.116

 

A 2-1/2" square tube with 1/4" walls would leave 2.034" inside opening. A 2-1/2" tube with 3/16" walls would leave 2.152" clear opening, which is approximately 5/32" (just over 1/8") larger than a 2" drawbar. If they used 1/8" wall tubing, the inside dimension would be 2.268", or slightly more than 1/4" bigger than a 2" drawbar.

I've got 4 vehicles with receiver hitches on um. These are the inside measurements I came up with using dial calipers on all 4. 2.050, 2.050, 2.055, 2.065 (that 2.065 was on that cheap little under bumper bolt on receiver I currently have on my truck) :shake:

I also measured 3 draw bars. 2.010, 2.020, 2.025 All of which will interchange with each other without excessive slop. Obviously some will be looser than others but nothing like tha one on that JCR bumper.

Oh and I did roughly measure tha wall thickness of the receivers. All were made with 1/4" material.

I don't buy into the idea that their receivers arent intended to be used for towing.

I agree, the receiver was the reason I bought the bumper in the first place. I need it for towing not off-road duty. Before buying, I'd asked JCR about towing with it, receiver size, weight rating, etc and they said it's a regular 2" hitch and it's rated to tow what the truck's maximum capacity is.

Interesting thread, if there's a problem with the bumper I'd like mine fixed as well. I've towed small lawn tractors around with it and didn't notice problems but I'm not so sure I want to drag my boat behind this.

Hey, how long is the receiver itself? Most receivers are a minimum of 6 inches long. If that one is say 4 inches long with tha draw bar sticking out tha back of it, its gonna have more slop than one thats as long as your bar.

There's a couple of ways to fix yalls problem but lets see what JCR says first.

EDIT ..... I went back to JCR's website and looked at that last photo of a Comanche rear bumper. Tha one that shows tha back side of it. No doubt tha receiver it too short. No wonder tha bar is floppin all around. Assuming there enough room, git you a 3"-4" long pc of receiver materal and extend the receiver by welding that pc to back end of it. I can almost guarantee that'll take out most of your slop. JCR aught know better.

Assuming there enough room, git you a 3"-4" long pc of receiver materal and extend the receiver by welding that pc to back end of it. I can almost guarantee that'll take out most of your slop. JCR aught know better.

No, that won't take the slop out of it. He reported that the inside opening dimension is 2-3/16". That's more than 2-1/8" almost 2-1/4", when it should be approximately 2-1/32" . The ONLY way that could happen is if they used thinner wall tubing to make up the receiver. I originally guessed maybe 3/16" wall instead of 1/4", but when you run the numbers, it seems like they would have had to use 1/8" wall tubing, and that's just not right.

The lighting isn't good in those photos, but if you look closely and compare against the photo of the Grand Cherokee hitch, you can see that the wall on the MJ bumper receiver tube looks pretty thin. There's a photo where you can see it up against the ruler, and it does look like 1/8" tubing -- with a reinforcing collar around it. But my XJ factory hitches are 1/4" tubing with a 1/4" collar around it, so they measure a full 1/2" on each side of the opening.

Assuming there enough room, git you a 3"-4" long pc of receiver materal and extend the receiver by welding that pc to back end of it. I can almost guarantee that'll take out most of your slop. JCR aught know better.

No, that won't take the slop out of it. He reported that the inside opening dimension is 2-3/16". That's more than 2-1/8" almost 2-1/4", when it should be approximately 2-1/32" . The ONLY way that could happen is if they used thinner wall tubing to make up the receiver. I originally guessed maybe 3/16" wall instead of 1/4", but when you run the numbers, it seems like they would have had to use 1/8" wall tubing, and that's just not right.

 

The lighting isn't good in those photos, but if you look closely and compare against the photo of the Grand Cherokee hitch, you can see that the wall on the MJ bumper receiver tube looks pretty thin. There's a photo where you can see it up against the ruler, and it does look like 1/8" tubing -- with a reinforcing collar around it. But my XJ factory hitches are 1/4" tubing with a 1/4" collar around it, so they measure a full 1/2" on each side of the opening.

BTW, I still stand by tha further you stick something of like size into a hole, the less wobble you'll have in what remains sticking out. :brows: Its one of those "laws of leverage" things. :thumbsup:

UPDATE

I called JCR and this is what they said:

Question:

Are you aware of the problem with your bumper with relation to the correct size reciever stock?

(Meaning they use 2-1/2" 3/16" wall square tubing for their reciever mount in their bumper instead of the usual 2-1/2" 1/4" wall tubing.)

Answer:

Yes we are aware and we DO NOT intend these bumpers to be used as a reciever class 3 hitch.

Question:

Why not, and why is there a hole in the bumper for a 2: reciever hitch?

Answer:

We would have to purchase the special reciever stock and our metal supplier doesn't have it, plus if you can believe it Reese has a patent on it. (Can you believe that!)

Question:

I don't understand, :hmm: the local trailer place has square stock on their shelf in lengths of 12,18,24,36, and 48" that's 2-1/2" 1/4 wall tubing designed for class 3 hitch material.

Answer:

Well, we never intended it for a real trailer hitch, if you wanted to tow something you should buy a "REAL" class 3 trailer hitch mount under our bumper. We would have to pay thousands of dollars to have the bumper and hitch load tested and qualified for tow ratings.

Question:

Why don't you put a disclaimer on your website stating "NOT TO BE USED AS A CLASS 3 HITCH" because I feel mislead on buying a bumper with a class 3 2" reciever hole in the bumper that is useless!

Their Question:

What can we do to make you happy?

My Answer:

Build it right with the right material so if someone wanted to use the hitch for towing they could but you wouldn't be directly liable if stated on your website.

Their Question:

Would you like a voucher for your next purchase to make it up to you?

My Answer:

No, I just want my $300 bumper to be made the right way and not have to pay for a "Fix" to get by because you didn't use the right material.

So if you intend to pull a substantial load don't use this bumper to tow it with.

That's very interesting. I will have to contact them as well. Before I ordered my bumper, I asked the following quesiton:

I’m primarily going to be using this bumper for towing, not off-roading, and can’t really determine the trailer hitch size from the photos. I’d assume it’s a 2” square but would like to verify. Also, looking at the photo of the backside of the bumper there are two holes above the receiver, are those for mounting the bumper or for the safety chain? If they are for mounting the bumper, are there any provisions for hooking up the safety chain? You mentioned in the thread that the bumper is rated at the tow capacity of the truck’s tow rating, and it certainly looks capable of it, but I’m not sure I’d want to tow anything without a safety chain hooked up.

I received a response from Brian:

The bumper has a safety chain hanger on the back side of the bumper. The hitch is for a 2" receiver.

Yeah you are right, the safety chain hookups are on the backside of the hitch. Yes the hole is for a 2" reciever hitch, but they don't recommend towing with it. :nuts:

I also run their bumper on the back of my XJ and the receiver is really loose. The tube they use needs to be cut out and the right sized one welded in before pulling very much. I like the bumper 'cause it's really heavy but that and the fact that the bar to hold the chains is on TOP of the tube instead of under it makes it no fun to pull a trailer.

Yeah you are right, the safety chain hookups are on the backside of the hitch. Yes the hole is for a 2" reciever hitch, but they don't recommend towing with it. :nuts:

maybe its more of a liability thing? and if so, they should put a disclaimer like you said.

Sounds to me like an excellent company not to do business with.

"We'll sell you a bumper with a Class 3 hitch receiver tube built right into it ... if you don't ever tow anything with it."

In response to "What can we do to make you happy?" my answer would have been "Issue me a full refund of my purchase price, including shipping. If you want your bumper back, send a UPS call tag."

In fact, if you paid by credit card I think I would remove the bumper from my vehicle, and tell the credit card company to cancel the charge because the item was not as advertised.

Oh, yeah, then there's this part:

We would have to purchase the special reciever stock and our metal supplier doesn't have it, plus if you can believe it Reese has a patent on it. (Can you believe that!)

Well, to be honest about it ... no, I don't believe that for a nanosecond. How can Reese (or anyone else) have a patent on a standard size of rectangular structural steel tubing that can be bought in ten-foot (and probably 20-foot) lengths from virtually any steel supplier in the country? I'm sorry, but that statement strains credibility beyond the breaking point. I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night.

I'm glad that this vendor makes parts for our Jeeps (not many companies bother with us),

but I think there are better ways to address this issue.

I can remember buying a receiver tube from a truck supply company when I built my rear bumper,

it was just the tube, maybe 8" long, and pretty cheap.

They have them starting at $20 here:

http://www.hitchcorner.com/trailer-hitc ... sories.htm

I think I paid more like 1/2 that.

I can completely understand Brian not wanting to claim any certain tow rating for his bumper without testing ($$$$$),

but even if he had to tack a $10-20 surcharge to buy the more expensive (true) hitch tube,

I'm sure the original poster would've picked that option.

If the OP paid someone to paint the bumper & install it, it makes solving the problem that much harder,

but cutting out the thinner wall tubing, and replacing it shouldn't be that tough for a local (to the OP) welding shop to take care of.

Seems like that would be better than the direction things seem to be headed (public, potentially bitter war of words on the board).

Kevin (knever3),

If it were me, I'd get a price for a local shop to do the work, and see how much Brian was willing to work with you on it.

Hope you guys can work it out. :cheers:

If the tube isn't intended for towing, there should not be places to attach safety chains, and there SHOULD be a prominent notice "DO NOT USE FOR TOWING."

I always figured that was to mount a good recovery point and not for towing, but I never once thought it "shouldent" be used for towing a trailer... :dunno: