ElMartillo

I noticed the trailer hitch on my ‘91 Sport 4 door 4WD is welded in. Is this how it came from the factory or does this indicate it’s an aftermarket unit?

Thanks!

fb97xj1

All the ones ive seen were bolted on using the nutstrips inside the framerail.

ElMartillo

Thanks for the reply. To clarify, do you mean the ones you’ve seen have beenwithout a doubt factory hitches?

derf

The factory hitch in my 2001 was bolted in using nut strips.

The factory does not weld a trailer hitch to the frame. They bolt it.

Martlor13

The factory wouldn't weld them in. I dont think ive ever seen a factory tow hitch on any vehicle welded in.

SatiricalHen

Factory hitches are bolted on not welded on, definitely aftermarket. Any pictures of it?

ElMartillo

BlueRidgeMark

Not factory.

Looks like good welding. Maybe a welder built his own.....

SatiricalHen

Weld look decent, but it's just attached to a very small area only on the surface. I'd rather have it bolted in the factory location.

RocketMouse

same here.. not factory... but I've seen custom ones welded in to the front bumper (upgraded of course) for 4x4s and full size trucks used for farm and ranch duty.

ElMartillo

My guess as a fabricator is that the hitch is manufactured, not likely custom. Of course, the install is, but I wonder why someone would go to the trouble of welding in a hitch over bolting it in correctly? Looking at the welds to the frame, I don’t feel completely confident in them, considering I’m about to pull an enclosed trailer across the country with it. I’m leaning toward welding in some angle iron to give it additional support.

SatiricalHen

If it were me I'd get a factory style bolt on hitch in case it needs to be removed for some reason. A big problem with welding a hitch to a Cherokee unibody is the fact that most load bearing parts of the unibody are folded sheets of metal and when you weld to it you only get contact with the outermost layer. Using the nut strips and bolts distributes the load a lot more evenly.

Martlor13

x2

SatiricalHen

Another little thing, if you do get a bolt on style hitch get good nut strips and don't use the block things that come with most hitches. I had the block things in my Cherokee and one of them pulled through the rail a little. I think XJ Wonders makes them and jcr makes them. Shouldn't be too hard to find good ones.

5-Speed

I got my nut strips from XJ Wonders. They are quite beefy and use bigger bolts then the factory ones. I agree with everyone else. Get the correct hitch and bolt it on.