by Jim "Ack" Cambron
When I was preparing for my first ZookiMelt back in '01, I built this towbar mount system for a unit I bought at Walmart. It should be adaptable to nearly any type of towbar mount.
Naturally you'll want to remove the stock bumper in order to install these mounts. The stock bumper is not strong enough to be used as part of a towbar mount -- it is too flimsy!
You need access to a drill press and a grinder (a hand-held grinder will do...) to fabricate this.
The drawing below does not show the fact that the front of the frame is not parallel to the ground. If you want the face of the angle steel to be perpendicular to the ground, you will need to hold the angle steel in place eyeballing for perpendicular before marking the mounting holes. It may be necessary to cut the arc off-center so that you will have enough steel around the mounting holes.
If your truck still has them, you can use the mounting points that are currently bolted on the front of the frame as templates for cutting and drilling the angle steel.
For better overall alignment, mark one angle piece, clamp or tack-weld the two angles together and drill the mounting holes through both pieces.
I flat-towed from Kansas City to Attica Indiana (900+ miles) and back without any problems. Later, I used this same basic mounting design to build a box-beam bumper. I welded the towbar pivot attachment directly to the front of the bumper and towed the Zuk to the '03 Melt and back, also with no problems!
Update:04-22-06
I welded the mounting brackets that came with my towbar to my bumper. Then I discovered that I may need a quick way to tow a Samurai should the urge strike me to buy a non-running one! Here is a set of new brackets that I welded together using the original frame-mounting pieces.
Now I can slap these puppies on a rolling Samurai (after removing the front bumper...) and haul it away without paying for a tow or renting a dolly!