This is honestly the best tow hook/steering box setup you could ask for that doesn't replace the front bumper. http://www.boostwerksengineering.com...Brace_p_8.html

 

That is a nice. You get the recovery points & added chassis rigidity, plus safeguard the steering box.

Hopefully the IRO setup works out for us. We should have quite a bit of added chassis rigidity with the combo of the RE Track Bar Brace and IRO Tow Hook System.

On the last trail run, there was a gnarly trail rig XJ with an exo cage and all around fairly hardcore setup.....with the exception of some sort of cross member/truss at the front tying the unirails together. He came over a small bump & throttled to get the front wheels up. When he slapped it back down, his beefy track bar bracket broke some welds, so he had to limp his rig off the trail and onto the trailer. What's crazy is literally less than an hour before that while we all were breaking for lunch, he was mentioning how he needed to add something like the RE brace.

 

Lesson learned on the trail. Not the prettiest cut job, but no more tail pipe getting pinched on the trail!

 

$20 jy hitch found just before our first trail run in Oct.





Like others have posted, the nut strips in the frame rail was a major pain in the rear! Stopped by a Uhaul shop not far from home. Kid hooked me up with square washers, bolts, nuts, and wire bolt leaders to pull the washer & bolt through the frame. No more nut strips!!!!

****Have since been "educated" that nut strips are the way to go. I'll be going back to them once I finally get around to mounting the gas tank skid.****

 

Definite overkill, but needed some sort of recovery point before our first run. Running out of time, I snatched this at the above mentioned Uhaul shop since it was all they had. One of these days I'll remember to pick up a d-ring hitch that we can leave mounted while on the trail. This one would obviously dig in constantly if we left it in.

 

I picked this up at a jy several weeks ago. It was under an XJ, sitting right behind another with the upcountry package. It seems to fit when I hold it in place, but haven't mounted it to be certain since I'm going to clean & paint it first. I've compared to some other OEM fuel tank skids in the forum, but this one looks different. Anyone seen one like this before?

 

Are you aware that there's some dude driving your daughters Jeep?

 

Ha! In the pics? Ya, at 16, our first run was a bit much for her....shoot, I was on edge most of the time myself! The plan was for her to get wheel time on the second outing, but she had to work. Most club wheeling is done on Saturdays, and teens usually have to work those days. Really bums her out. Hoping we can get a family Jeep trip together next year.

Or did you see me in it somewhere? I drive it about once a week and for the occasional errand....can't resist.

 

Sooooooo lame. All excited to get the new IRO tow mount system installed, and then a sway bar bolt threaded nut inside the rail broke on the drivers side. Got the other three out. I'm gonna do what the guy did in post 12 of this thread: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/b...cluded-843625/

 

man, that sucks. Hope you get it all worked out. Old, rusty bolts are the bane of our existence.

 

That's why I haven't unbolted my sway bar off, it's just zip tied to my tie ins for my factory hooks.

 

Bumper off is required for this install.



IRO tow mount system FINALLY installed. That busted nut was a giant pain. Fired up the grinder to cut the hex off, then hammered the bolt & nut into the rail. After that, had to cut a hole in the side of the rail so I could get a lock washer & nut on the bolt. Once I could get my pinkie in there to hold a washer & nut in place, I fed them on a wire through the larger hole to the upper left.





Although I probably could have gotten away with not notching this, I went ahead so I could draw it up close to the rail.





Here it is! I really like this IRO setup. Heavy duty design. Had it not been for that nut, it would've been an ultra easy install. Plus, it tucks up under the bumper nice & out of the way.

 

It fits just be prepared to cut where the hitch hangs low...but not much...
Just be glad that you don't have a low hanging hitch because the skid plate didn't fit and had to do a lot of modding but it works...

Here's a few pics of mine....you will see how my hitch hangs low that you can barely tell the skid is even there...

 

Thanks for posting those pics man! That helps a lot. Relieved to see it fits...even with a little trimming.