Bump!!

 

I was concerned with the legal aspect of towing with an "unrated " bumper. What if something happens .... I'm liable .... Will my insurance company deny coverage? So I went w the PS version that retained orig jeep towing capability.

 

Funny enough, LOD actually told me theirs is towable up to the factory tow rating.

 

This calls for a good old fashion torture test. Who wants to offer up their Jeep for testing?

 

Just thought i'd give this thread an update.

Ive pulled my quad with the trailer + gear + fuel, About 1400lbs with no problem.

Ive also pulled my boat, 18Ft Action Craft with a 200 on the back + 45 gallons of fuel and fishing gear & trailer. i would guess it is somewhere around 2400-2600lbs.

Haven't had a problem yet (Knock on wood)

I did re-weld the hitch before it went to powder coat.

Poison Spyder hasnt let me down yet

 

But did they put it in writing?

 

COOL I guess I am one of the more ballsy fools on here and can actually "one-up" those who have commented on this post so far.

I have the Rockbrawler 2 on my 2012 JKU Sport with 3.73 gearing.

I sold a car back in July, and didn't hesitate to rent a flatbed from UHAUL and tow that b*tch 3 hours away to meet the buyer.

The trailer probably weighed about 1-2000lbs, and the car weighed around 2500-2700lbs

I can say with extreme confidence that the bumper is 10x more tow-worthy than the stock tow setup.

I towed about 4000-4500lbs total, and the worst part was the jeep looking like it was doing a wheelie the whole time, and the absolute sluggishness of the motor with 3.73s and that much weight behind it.

It is super possible to tow with. As someone mentioned above, It has 10 attachment points, that bumper ain't goin' nowhere unless you rip the frame out.

As for the bumpers construction, it has multiple vertical and horizontal gussets inside that attach the receiver hitch inside the bumper, and appears to be MIG welded all together with stacks of dimes as someone said. If i remember correctly, the internal gussets are 3/16th just like the rest of the bumper. The hitch itself might actually be thicker by a small bit.


In conclusion, you should have absolutely no worries about towing with the Rockbrawler 2 from PSC. It is one BAD ASS bumper. The only thing you need to worry about is spring rate in the rear to hold the load, engine power, and axle gearing. My 3.6 had enough power to comfortably tow that load, but it was downright SLUGGISH on 3.73 gearing with a load around 4000-4500lbs.

I'm sure Poison Spyder will see this eventually and chime in with the actual thicknesses and all, but that should be irrelevant after what I just told you, unless you're planning on towing a diesel truck equivalent load lol.

 

I'm glad you made it safe. no doubt the bumper is strong, but without it being tow-rated (or the quality control of those welds that goes along with them (poison spyder) being liable) you are either crazy, or have nothing to lose if you tow on a public road. Insurance would deny any claim, you would be bankrupt after the lawsuit, not to mention criminal charges if someone gets hurt or dies. TOW AT YOUR OWN RISK.

 

I also tow with mine. It's held up and I would put money on it that it is stronger than the stock setup

 

Well anyone who knows anything about welding/metalfab can easily visually inspect the bumper and know within seconds that it is more than strong enough. I have yet to see any poor quality welds from Poison Spyder on any of my parts or the others I've seen in person. They may not be the prettiest show quality welds done for looks, but again, comparing the bumper and hitch to the factory tow system, one can easily come to the conclusion that this bumper is well beyond the stock system in durability.

It does not matter that it is not "tow-rated" that is a formality in ways. They didn't have it certified as tow-rated because that would add a great length of time and money to their initial process of designing the bumper. And then they would have to be liable for every single possible towing failure related accident that could arise. Not being tow rated is their way out of those aspects.

The factory tow attachment bolts on with 4 bolts if I remember correctly, and into the weak, thin sheetmetal that the rear crossmember is made of. Anyone with common sense can tell that is weaker than the PSC system. A proper weld is also the strongest point of attachment to any fabricated metal.

If anything was to fail, it would be the bumpers attachment points into the thin, weak sheet metal frame/crossmember. Being that, the bumper attaches with 10 points, it is not going anywhere.

I would bet money on the proposition that if the JK had a powerful enough diesel motor to tow 10,000lbs, the bumper would be totally fine.

Yes, it is tow at your own risk, as is every tow job. Unless someone else (uhaul or someone) hooks your trailer up and accepts responsibility then it doesn't hardly matter if your stuff is tow rated. If it fails, you still have a big problem. Being cautious is always good, but being realistic and not over cautious is also nice.