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tow hooks? Help!!!!

C

cactijohnny

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Virginia
Hey
I am new to the off road scene. But i wanna put tow hooks on my xj. I am on a real tight budget and was thinking of making my own. I know rusty's sells brackets andi was thinking about basically copying the design. Get a think peice of steel and matching the holes with the bumber mount. But now is where i was thinking somthing different.
could i just make it a flat peice. no "L" shape? Just have it sticks out on the bottom far enought to be lower than the bumper. then i would cut a hole down low and put a D shaped shackle... Sorry i am really bad at explaining things. If this makes sense to anyone, do you think this is a good or a bad idea? any other ideas... please let me know. Thanks, Johnny
 
unless you can get something thick and can cut It to exact measurements and put holes through It for cheap I think Its a waste of time....your gonna pay a good amount Just for steel and the hooks alone will cost you 20 bucks....Rustys kit sell for $75, look on the boards for something used but unless you know what your doing I would Just buy It and get It done right the first time....
 
Terrible drawing, but do you mean something like this?
shackle.bmp

I'm no fabricator, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.
 
Make sure that whatever you attach your towhooks to bolts along the 'frame' in several places for quite a ways back from the bumper, otherwise the first time you use it to pull yourself out of a good stuck, you will rip the front end of your jeep off. Also, a 'really tight budget' is simply NOT compatible with building up a vehicle for wheeling, if you really want to do it right, save your pennies and do it when you can afford it...
 
Beej said:
Make sure that whatever you attach your towhooks to bolts along the 'frame' in several places for quite a ways back from the bumper, otherwise the first time you use it to pull yourself out of a good stuck, you will rip the front end of your jeep off. Also, a 'really tight budget' is simply NOT compatible with building up a vehicle for wheeling, if you really want to do it right, save your pennies and do it when you can afford it...
Click to expand...

X2.

Kim.
 
Look at the tomken tow plate that goes between the two frame rails, Has provisions for mounting tow bar but can also be used as tow point with shackles. The other option is the front receiver and another option a front bumper with D ring mounts but thats going to run about $300 for that.
 
cactijohnny said:
Hey thanks for the advice everyone. i was wondering rusty's tow hooks or a hitch?
Click to expand...

I would go with the hitch. I recently put one on and would recommend a hitch over hooks. With the hitch you can use it for many things like, bike rack, flat storage rack, place for winch in future, and many more things. When using the hitch for getting pulled out or pulling someone out in my opinion is more durable than hooks as you are pulling from both frame rails instead of just one. The hitch cost me 128.00. So it is only a few more dollars than the hooks but you get so much more versatility with the hitch. Hope this helps on your decision.

Kim.
 
alvarez919 said:
where'd you get the hitch from for 128?
david
Click to expand...

I got from a local Drawtite dealer. I called him and he ordered it from a Drawtite warehouse and had it for me the next day for 128.00. I thought it was a good deal. From Drawtite's web site they wanted like 136.00 delivered to my door which was not a bad deal but I just looked in the Green Bay area, where I am located, for a local dealer and got me the cheaper price.

Kim.
 
The hitch coves you for the rear....what about the front???
As a rule, you "should" have tow points at all four corners, but as an absolutely minimum you need them at both ends!!!

Watch EBAY and these forums for someone upgrading to a better/newer bumper. Many times you can get a great deal for a great price!! A buddy of mine just got a ARB bumper for hix project XJ, for 100$ off a local board. All it needed was a paint job and a can of rustolium took care of that!!!

CW
 
cwlongshot said:
The hitch coves you for the rear....what about the front???
As a rule, you "should" have tow points at all four corners, but as an absolutely minimum you need them at both ends!!!
CW
Click to expand...

There is a hitch for the front of an xj also. That is what I was talking about. I have a custom bumper out back so I got the hitch for the front instead of the tow hooks so I could have more uses for the front of my jeep. Here is a picture:

6jkieq.jpg



Any more questions let me know.

Kim.
 
85xjwoody said:
There is a hitch for the front of an xj also. That is what I was talking about. I have a custom bumper out back so I got the hitch for the front instead of the tow hooks so I could have more uses for the front of my jeep. Here is a picture:

6jknq8.jpg


Any more questions let me know.

Kim.
Click to expand...
 
The hitch in the front is also handy for moving trailers around if you're not too good at backing them up :D
 
Have you thought about searching through a junkyard or Pick and Pull in your area?

I've run across several Jeeps that have the factory skid/hook package and most yards will give you the whole shebang for 100.00 or less...just look around, and you should be able to find plenty in no time.

John
 
I dont normally think about front receiver hitches....guess you are right!!

There is a good amount of ground clearance lost. Where we play, one would never ADD anything that hung down. We like the rocks and they are filled with rock piranhas. ;) Them little buggers will rip anything off they touch!!!

CW
 
I didnt really loose any ground clearance in fact I think I may have gained some. When I installed mine I removed the air dam and trimmed the front flares to match the bottom of the frnders, it seemed to give me a better approach angle by opening up the front of the tire as little.
 
cwlongshot said:
I dont normally think about front receiver hitches....guess you are right!!

There is a good amount of ground clearance lost. Where we play, one would never ADD anything that hung down. We like the rocks and they are filled with rock piranhas. ;) Them little buggers will rip anything off they touch!!!

CW
Click to expand...

I barely lost any ground clearance at all with my hitch. it even acts as protection for the radiator and lower part of the engine. I would of never put it on if I was going to loose alot of clearance. I did some searching on the tow hooks and hitch and asked a few questions and that led me to get the hitch. I took the plastic trim off of mine because it is a trail only jeep so looks don't really matter except for the wood paneling.:laugh3: If the trim is left on the hitch is almost covered up completely.

Kim.
 
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