bumper brakets

[jeepcherokee]

Does any one know or have heard of just bumber brackets(heavy duty style). I would like some so that i can make my own bumpers. after taking a look underneath i decieded it best for me not to make sure they were strong enough for abuse. Does anyone have pictures or rough blueprints for some? Thanks

 

[MudderChuck]

Just oppinion, but a good approach may be adding a class three hitch front and rear and just leaving the stock bumpers.
My reasoning being, the stock bumpers, are by test (tested by my wife on numerious occasions) plenty strong enough.
The weakness is in the frame of the XJ. Not excactly weak, but built as a unit, adding a bumper and brakets, raröey takes into account the whole unit. The stock bumpers/brackets are designed to crush, before deforming the frame to a marked degree.
Adding 1/4 inch thick bumper brackets, to a frame thats in effect sheet steal, doesn´t make much sense.
Trailer hitches front and rear, add a frame insert (a nut strip) and spread the stress over a wider area of the frame.
If you decide to make your own bumpers a close look at trailer hitch mounting systems, will probably be a big help. Strong enough, without making it so rigid, a slow speed crash, crushes the frame.
The front and rear trailer hitches also make for a handy place to use a High Jack.
The rear trailer hitch, while costing a little clearance, protects the gas tank in a rear ender and helps protect the tank some, when draging the rear end in a ditch.

 

[mujaman]

mudderchuck is exactly right... the XJ frames are basically just layers of sheet metal and are not all that strong unless working as an entire unit. i know that when i installed my ARB bull bar i had to drill a bunch of extra holes in the frame because it attached at many different points to spread the load evenly and not stress any one point of the frame too much. so definitely make sure you take some similar approach...