Removing OEM hitch receiver for better departure angle?

highoctane

highoctane

Caught the Bug
Anyone thought of or even tried removing the oem hitch receiver on their JT to get a better departure angle? The OEM hitch receiver hangs down very low, and if I remove it it'll make a noticeable improvement in departure angle. Just by looking at it though it appears to be integral to the frame, and I may not be able to just simply remove it and drive it. I'm curious: do JTs that do not have the tow package have some sort of cross member in place of the hitch receiver cross bar? Anyone here have a JT that did not come with the tow package that can snap a pic of the rear frame area?

I have no plans to tow. I bought my JT off the lot and it was an option that happened to be equipped on my Jeep. I'd use my wife's '18 Suburban to tow if I had a need to.
 
Brute

Brute

Hooked
It might...but I use the hitch receiver on my Brute as a very effective skid and it has kept my bumper in good shape...
 
highoctane

highoctane

Caught the Bug
Brute said:
It might...but I use the hitch receiver on my Brute as a very effective skid and it has kept my bumper in good shape...
Click to expand...

The stock steel bumper may take a beating but I'm hoping eventually someone releases a good 3/16" or 1/4" thick steel bumper to the general public that I actually like and will handle being drug over some rocks.
 
twopullupeddie

twopullupeddie

New member
highoctane said:
Anyone thought of or even tried removing the oem hitch receiver on their JT to get a better departure angle? The OEM hitch receiver hangs down very low, and if I remove it it'll make a noticeable improvement in departure angle. Just by looking at it though it appears to be integral to the frame, and I may not be able to just simply remove it and drive it. I'm curious: do JTs that do not have the tow package have some sort of cross member in place of the hitch receiver cross bar? Anyone here have a JT that did not come with the tow package that can snap a pic of the rear frame area?

I have no plans to tow. I bought my JT off the lot and it was an option that happened to be equipped on my Jeep. I'd use my wife's '18 Suburban to tow if I had a need to.
Click to expand...

Mine didn’t come with the tow package, but I installed one on my own. There was a crossmember, that was exactly the same as the tow package crossmember, that had to be removed. The only difference between the two crossmembers is the 2” receiver that is welded to it. You are basically paying $300 for that little box that you put the tow hitch in.

I am not sure if you could get away with running the Jeep without it however. I didn’t pay attention to its importance to the structural integrity of the Jeep when I did the swap. To get an idea of the clearance gained you just simply remove the hitch receiver. I suppose you could cut it off and replace the crossmember.

Hope this provides a little more insight...
 
highoctane

highoctane

Caught the Bug
twopullupeddie said:
Mine didn’t come with the tow package, but I installed one on my own. There was a crossmember, that was exactly the same as the tow package crossmember, that had to be removed. The only difference between the two crossmembers is the 2” receiver that is welded to it. You are basically paying $300 for that little box that you put the tow hitch in.

I am not sure if you could get away with running the Jeep without it however. I didn’t pay attention to its importance to the structural integrity of the Jeep when I did the swap. To get an idea of the clearance gained you just simply remove the hitch receiver. I suppose you could cut it off and replace the crossmember.

Hope this provides a little more insight...
Click to expand...

Thanks. I’ll have to take a closer look at it when I get home to see if the crossmember is integral. I wish LoD Offroad would release a bumper with the receiver integrated into the middle of the bumper, like their JK Signature Series bumpers had.


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