Has anyone installed a front hitch from a TJ?

[Shankster]

I'd like to install a front hitch on my 02 but don't want to hurt my approach angle so the low hanging Curt one won't work for me. The Hidden Hitch would have been perfect but they don't make it any more. I'd want it to exit the bumper behind the license plate and I'd just remove the licence plate whenever I needed it. I've been searching here and on Lost Jeeps and I see some references to front TJ (97-06 Wrangler) hitches fitting the KJ but can't find any specifics or photos. Has anyone done that? If so how good is the fit? What mods if any are required? Would the hitch rating be reduced due to compromises in the way it attaches?

 

[waya]

I'd like to install a front hitch on my 02 but don't want to hurt my approach angle so the low hanging Curt one won't work for me. The Hidden Hitch would have been perfect but they don't make it any more. I'd want it to exit the bumper behind the license plate and I'd just remove the licence plate whenever I needed it. I've been searching here and on Lost Jeeps and I see some references to front TJ (97-06 Wrangler) hitches fitting the KJ but can't find any specifics or photos. Has anyone done that? If so how good is the fit? What mods if any are required? Would the hitch rating be reduced due to compromises in the way it attaches?

i too have been looking to put a hitch behind the liscense plate. please let me know if you find out anything

 

[Shankster]

So this is the TJ/YJ "hidden" hitch I'm considering for my KJ:

DRAW-TITE | 65048 | Front Mount Hitch Receiver, 2 Inch Square Receiver, Black, Compatible with Jeep TJ, Wrangler, YJ

Draw-Tite Trailer Hitches & Towing Accessories. Since 1946, Draw-Tite has always strived to provide the right trailer towing system for each application. This is why we offer as many as ten different trailer hitches for a single vehicle. Whether it's weight capacity, ease of installation...

www.draw-tite.com

I like that one better than the Curt version since the shackle mounting points are on the very outside and there is a decent chance they'd stick out where the existing tow hooks protrude from the holes in the bumper. On the Curt one they'd be behind the bumper so would be useless unless you cut new holes in the front of the bumper. On the Draw-Tite it might be necessary to do some trimming on the outsides of the existing bumper holes to make those usable. Or in both cases you might want to just cut them off.

This hitch bolts to the top of the stock bumper through the frame on a TJ or YJ. The hitch has 3 mounting holes on each side but only 2 would be used on a TJ or YJ. 96 or later use the 2 farthest holes and earlier Wranglers use the front and middle holes. If it fits on a KJ it would be installed upside down to the 4 outside tow hook mounting points on the frame but I don't know whether you'd use the +96 or -96 holes on the hitch or if you'd need to drill a couple of new holes. I found a post on wranglertjforum.com that gives the width between the mounting points on both a TJ and a YJ - it's 30-3/4" https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/yj-front-bumper-on-a-tj.72661/ so that will be the distance between the mounting points on the hitch. I had a hard time getting a good measurement off my KJ with the bumper installed so it could be a bit off but I measured 30-7/8" between the outer tow hook mounts so worst case you'd have to die grind or drill out the holes in the hitch 1/16" so not a big deal. I think it's more likely my measurement is 1/8" inch off and things would line up perfectly. As far as the front to back distance between the holes I have not been able to find any TJ or YJ dimensions yet but I guess if neither match the KJ you could re-drill or die grind the hitch. If anyone is in a position to verify any of these dimensions it would be much appreciated. Also, if you see a fatal flaw in any of this please holler.

I'm not ready to pull the trigger on this but I'm about 90% sure it would work. With a 20% off coupon at autozone.com (you need to sign up for emails) you can get the Draw-Tite for $139 and hopefully shipping is free so not a huge loss if it didn't work. I'm not in a big rush and I know someone must have done this if it's actually possible so will wait to see if anyone chimes in.

 

[Shankster]

Oh, and here is a write up (thanks Kirk) of installing the now discontinued Reese front hidden hitch on a KJ:

Front Hitch Install – Kirk's Web Page

As you can see this one uses 3 mounting holes on each side which would make it quite a bit stronger than the TJ/YJ one but everything else looks really similar. If I didn't feel comfortable with the 2 bolts per side I might end up welding some angle on to reach those rear 3rd mounting points.

 

[Shankster]

Actually I now think the 31408 Curt hitch would be a better match for the KJ:

https://www.etrailer.com/Front-Receiver-Hitch/CURT/31408.html?srsltid=AfmBOorNCgmHmfDgO3ROUn6oNyUl7zDywIxz7LAhEFdmyN7Ql_O4m7n2

I don't have any dimensions but guesstimating where the shackle mount hoops (or whatever they're called) are located (the center of each hoop looks to be about 4" inward of the centerline of the bolt holes), they won't be central in the bumper tow hook hole where ideally you'd want them but they should end up towards the inside edges of the holes in the bumper but still be easily accessible. On the Draw-Tite they'll be uncomfortably close to the outside edges of the tow hook hole and I bet you'd need to do some trimming of the bumper if you wanted to use them.

 

[Shankster]

Conrad's Auto Salvage in Mondovi WI has what looks like a Draw-Tite front hitch for $60 off a 2004 Wrangler - tempting at that price but think I'll hold out for a Curt if I decide to pull the trigger.

 

[Shankster]

Apologies for the stream-of-consciousness here but doing a lot of research and searching on this.

I found an old string on LostJeeps where they talk about putting a Curt YJ/TJ front hitch on a KJ:

LOST JEEPS • View topic - My New Front Hitch (PICS)

The guy said they had to drill 2 holes in the KJ frame to match up with the 2 rear holes in the hitch. Also he says he had to hack up his bumper and from the photos it looks really bad - I don't understand why he had to do that since it seems like there is plenty of room behind the bumper but I might be missing something? The shackle mount hoops look like they would not fit in the tow hook holes in the bumper based on what he's cut out of the bumper. That's the bad news - the good news is that the side to side dimension on the mounting holes is apparently exactly right.

At this point I'm thinking those shackle hoops probably need to be cut off (Curt OR Draw-Tite) unless you're prepared to take a sawzall to your bumper. I've contacted Conrad's Auto Salvage for a shipping quote on that hitch - If reasonable I'll probably go for it.

 

[2TALL1]

So here is the ARB bumper install instructions.
Check out the captive nut piece that slides into the front of the frame rails.
This type of thing might help you when installing your receiver hitch.
I’ve toyed with this idea also and was looking for a receiver hitch with the right width thanks for the information that you have acquired.

 

[Shankster]

So here is the ARB bumper install instructions.
Check out the captive nut piece that slides into the front of the frame rails.
This type of thing might help you when installing your receiver hitch.
I’ve toyed with this idea also and was looking for a receiver hitch with the right width thanks for the information that you have acquired.

Yep, those captive nut channels would be great to have. I wonder if you could buy them from ARB? I thought about fabricating something similar - my very basic welding skills could probably handle that.

 

[Shankster]

Quick update. I called Conrad's Auto Salvage in Mondovi WI about the used Draw-Tite front TJ/YJ hitch they have. They're obviously focused on counter sales and not mail order - they wanted $100 for shipping which seems unreasonable to me. At $160 total that's still the least expensive option out there right now but I think if I wait for Autozone to get it back in stock it should be under $150 with coupon and there won't be any risk of rust or it being tweaked.