- Location
- Westminster, SoCal
There are always safety concerns and requirements for all of our wheeling trips and they can usually be adressed very quickly with a trip to a store to pickup required items (like first aid kit, extinguisher, tow strap etc). An item that is very important that does require some planning and work ahead of time (if not present at the moment) is a proper tow point.
What is a proper tow point? A proper tow point is a tow point that can take about 1.5 times weight of your rig and or more. Why? Because if you're stuck you have to overcome whatever has you stuck plus the weight of your rig to get things moving. Why is that important? Last year I nearly got a heart attack when I was helping someone get over an obstacle and they were strapped and their towpoint was a bit.. well, how should I say it... inadequate. I saw the towhook that was mounted with a single bolt to a rather flimsy bracket shift and twist and rotate
So, lets go what's a good tow point:
1. Class III hitch: front and or rear. Good choice of a tow point.
2. Stock tow hook brackets with tow hooks: front and or rear. Keep in mind that the brackets (both front and rear) have a brace going sideways for side pulls. Withouth those braces, the tow point is inadequate.
3. Aftermarket bumper of sorts: front and or rear. Keep in mind that while the bumper itself might have a great tow point, the way it mounts to the body needs to be secure as well. For front bumpers mounting to the front three holes on each side of the clip is not really secure: I've seen bumpers mounted like that ripped off the body.
There are many other ways to mount a secure tow point to a rig and I'm not going to go through all of them. If you have a question about your tow point post up and folks will be happy (including myself) to offer comments and or advice if needed. Btw, this thread is not meant to exclude anyone from participation in an event. It's meant to promote safety of the participant as well as those around him/her. Keep in mind that a ripped off tow point during recovery is extremely dangerous and can injure and or kill (we have a member that got injured during a recovery of someone elses rig when a tow point failed during extraction).
So be safe, have fun and make sure that your tow points are adequate (btw, the fact that it worked once does not mean it's adequate: if you have questions about it post up or pm me).
Remi
P.S. I forgot to mention: suspension, steering and drivetrain components are not approved tow points. This includes but is not limited to: axles, suspension shackles, leafs, coils, trackbars, tierods.
What is a proper tow point? A proper tow point is a tow point that can take about 1.5 times weight of your rig and or more. Why? Because if you're stuck you have to overcome whatever has you stuck plus the weight of your rig to get things moving. Why is that important? Last year I nearly got a heart attack when I was helping someone get over an obstacle and they were strapped and their towpoint was a bit.. well, how should I say it... inadequate. I saw the towhook that was mounted with a single bolt to a rather flimsy bracket shift and twist and rotate
So, lets go what's a good tow point:
1. Class III hitch: front and or rear. Good choice of a tow point.
2. Stock tow hook brackets with tow hooks: front and or rear. Keep in mind that the brackets (both front and rear) have a brace going sideways for side pulls. Withouth those braces, the tow point is inadequate.
3. Aftermarket bumper of sorts: front and or rear. Keep in mind that while the bumper itself might have a great tow point, the way it mounts to the body needs to be secure as well. For front bumpers mounting to the front three holes on each side of the clip is not really secure: I've seen bumpers mounted like that ripped off the body.
There are many other ways to mount a secure tow point to a rig and I'm not going to go through all of them. If you have a question about your tow point post up and folks will be happy (including myself) to offer comments and or advice if needed. Btw, this thread is not meant to exclude anyone from participation in an event. It's meant to promote safety of the participant as well as those around him/her. Keep in mind that a ripped off tow point during recovery is extremely dangerous and can injure and or kill (we have a member that got injured during a recovery of someone elses rig when a tow point failed during extraction).
So be safe, have fun and make sure that your tow points are adequate (btw, the fact that it worked once does not mean it's adequate: if you have questions about it post up or pm me).
Remi
P.S. I forgot to mention: suspension, steering and drivetrain components are not approved tow points. This includes but is not limited to: axles, suspension shackles, leafs, coils, trackbars, tierods.
requirements, will be brought up one more time before the event.
