Mounting a Rear tow hook?

Opinions wanted......have a crap load of those little thick stel plates that come with trailer hitches to run up inside the unibody. What if I put one of those in the unibody rail where each bolt would go through the tow hook, and then put another one on the bottom of the unibody rail (sandwiching the uni-rail between them) and then mounted the tow hook to that.

Its better than nothing. The factory tow hooks have a brace over to the rear crossmember to add strength.

Do you have a pic of one of these? Does anyone have a pic showing the factory setup?

So do you think this would be strong enough? I don't want to tear the unibody up.

This subject was thrashed around not too long ago, and I think I remember someone posting a pic of the exploded view from either a FSM or a factory parts catalog. Try a search going back maybe 3 months. I'm pretty sure it wasn't any farther back than that.

The lower, or "frame rail" part of the factory 2-piece bracket is considerably thicker and heavier than the nut strips, and use the nutstrip inside the frame to which to attach. So Jeep engineers, at least, didn't think what you propose was adequate. And remember, most folks who have actually used factory front tow hooks report that the brackets bend, so the Jeep engineers perhaps weren't conservative enough in designing tow hook attachments.

If you mount the hook (with nut stripes) directly to the frame, a tow strap isn´t gonna clear the bumper. Frame is quit a bit higher than the bottom of the bumper.
I made mine, with some 2 1/2" X 3/8" flat stock, pretty much matched the stock configuration. Was lucky, I had another XJ handy, with a stock rear mount to copy and improve on a bit.

Just re-read the original post. You weren't talking about factory nut strips, were you? You're talking about those square plates that come with aftermarket hitches that you have to pull through the frame with a fish wire?

Doesn't sound like a great plan to me. With a hitch, the load is distributed over 6 or 8 of those things. With a two hook, it's only 2. I wouldn't trust it.

Hey JeepGuy:

Eagle is right...I woudn't trust for it recovery. FYI - after much reading and fact-finding I have purchased a hitch for my front recovery point. I already had one on the rear. I like the hitches because they will beef up the uni-body on my 97 and give me solid points to hook too. Just don't like the idea of pulling and snatching on on side of the frame...possible diamonding(not sure if thats the correct word) of it.

My rear hitch is my tow point. I also have a receiver winch. That hitch has sure absorbed a ton of punishment. My biggest complaint is that it limits my departure angle. I've had multiple instances where I had to come a a ledge from a different angle because when I got the front tires up on it, I was sitting on my hitch and the back tires couldn't get to the ledge. I'm going to build a bumper and move the receiver up into the bumper. That means that I now have to think about protecting the spring hangers better.

The point is that once you start, there is no stopping. One mod will lead to another. A hitch can provide you dual function for fairly cheap. I find them at the pull n save all the time for $20-$30 The factory tow hooks are a bit more scarce. What ever you do, make it safe. Tow hooks kill more people than roll overs.

I think I'll keep my hitch. I don't want to hurt anyone and sure don't want to tear up my "frame". Besides my hitch keeps the rocks from attacking my gas tank and spring mounts.

I installed a hitch. Then bought a hook that fits into it. Works great.

shotstopper said:

I installed a hitch. Then bought a hook that fits into it. Works great.

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I got the shackle receiver for mine. It was a toss up between that and the hook. I figured the shackle gave me more room to work with. Besides, it's rated for 10,000lbs. The hitch has a pull limit of 9,000. i'll pobably buy the hook type for the rear receiver and use the shackle in the front. I do like both though.

I actually have both a hook version and a shackle. I use both depending on the situation.