So I was pulling the Cherokee to the neighbors where we will be swapping out a bad transmission, while doing so I bent the front bumper a bit. My chain wasn't quite as secure as I thought It was. Not a problem, I can straighten the bumper. BUT now that I learned the hard way I would like to add some type of recovery tow points to the front end, I've seen a couple different options online that include brackets that bolt up to between the bumper mounts and frame. Pretty nice actually but think I can avoid the costly expense and weld something to the frame OR I also found these on a Grand Cherokee at the junkyard and was thinking of using these. I'm thinking they might rub on the bumper but I have some scrap metal I can use as a spacer/washer and drop it down a bit for some clearance if need be.

Would love to see what other people are using with their stock bumpers

 

after doing some more research I discovered the frame would benefit a crossmember or maybe a front receiver. Has anyone had experience with this product from Iron Rock?

 

I have the model with D-Rings instead of hooks and it is a quality product. I always try to use both rings on a pull but sometimes you can't, it is solid and on single ring pulls it feels as solid as both rings.

 

A 20' flat strap or kinetic strap wrapped around the axle tube would have a far better solution than setting up a chain to pull against any part of the body. If your not talking moderate or serious recovery then a $30~ investment in either style strap can resolve the "tow it down the road" situation for next time.

As far as front recovery your junkyard zj hook idea would prolly do the "tow is down the street" job but before you go trusting that peticular setup as actual recovery points I would seriously consider going with the under unibody mount posted above or an actual aftermarket bumper with 7 mounting bolts on either driver/passenger side and clevis mounts that are setup through the bumper assy and not just face welded.

The junkyard zj points you posted above just bolted into the frame with some extra plate and hardware may just end up ripped out the front of your unibody inviting bigger problems for later. Seen it multiple times

 

your correct about the strap. Lesson learned most definitely.

as far as the iron rock product I think it would be the way to go other than switching to a different bumper. I plan on swapping the bumper eventually but may go this route with the iron rock for the time being

 

I flat tow my XJ behind my motorhome. In order to do this I had to install a Blue Ox towing plate to the front of the XJ. The towing plate looks similar to the Iron Rock device except that it is sandwiched between the frame and bumper brackets using new supplied bolts. It fits snugly behind the lower black plastic valence and the tow hooks stick through the plastic (after I cut holes). I have towed my XJ several thousand miles without any issues