So my grandpa says this "You dont need to use those Longer mounts for your bumper, 1 bolt could hold thousands of pounds" So i said yeah right! I know the stock locations could not hold up an aftermarket bumper with a winch! let along tow your jeep out! So i would like some pictures of you trying to pull your jeep out or something and your front bumper ripped of shouldnt be to hard

 

I f'ed up my tow hooks getting pulled out a couple weeks ago I'll snap a pic in the morning I was buried though. My buddy went through it fine in his wrangler but he's got 33x12.50 and I got 30x9.50 guess the rut I got in was just wide enough to suck me in and he drove right over it

iPad makes sentences

 

Well, your grandpa is right in regards to bolts, for example a single 1/2" grade 8 bolt has a shear strength of ~17000 pounds and a tension strength of 22000 pounds. The problem really lies in the XJs 16gauge subframe. It's basically stamped sheet metal. All the extra bolts you put in are to disperse the load on the frame, the bolts themselves will probably never break.

 

i was yanked out by a full size ext cab f150
and while in the process of pulling me out
blew his trans, once my xj was fired back up
( bad crank sensor ) we pulled the f150
clean out of the woods by his brush guard
( owner of the trucks idea not mine )
and we ended up getting bogged down in soft sand
a few snatches later, we riped the guard off
at the welds!

 

Well im olny mounted up to the stock locations and its been yanked the crap out of. My buddy is also only on the stock mounts and he's pulled to the max of his 8k winch. Ive never had an issuse even when my rear tires and half the tailgate was burried on a 65 degree incline.
A lot of people under estimate them

 

In my ever so humble opinion, its better to be overbuilt than underbuilt. If you plan on adding a winch to the bumper I highly recommend extending the brackets back and not just relying on the factory setup. In fairness, Grandpa has a point, one bolt can carry quite a bit, but think about it. A 3500 lb Cherokee mired down in the mud or bound up in a rock garden is going to mean pulling much more than the vehicle weight. If your bumper gets pulled off (with your winch on it) then where you going to be. I feel better safe than sorry applies in this situation, extending the brackets also allows you to brace the unibody where the steering gear box is mounted (an area prone to problems when running bigger tires), the way I see it extended brackets have no downside other than the couple extra bucks you'll spend on steel. No offense Grandpa, but your not right on this one.