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Tow Points?

C

Chattxj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Chattanooga,Tn
I plan on taking my jeep out wheeling for the first time with the new lift on it. I have not got any tow hooks yet, nor do i have a trailer hitch, and i was wondering what are some other places i could hook up a tow strap to the jeep if i get it stuck. thanks.
 
I wouldn't recommend hooking up to anything besides tow hooks of hitch. If you tie up to the axel you are only asking for trouble. Go to the junk yard and pick some up. You can buy aftermarket ones for around 80 bucks
 
Some people have used the front swaybar, but for what it's worth, I'd recommend waiting to wheel it until you have at least one real tow point. I know it's hard; I'm in the same boat.
 
Mambeu said:
Some people have used the front swaybar, .
Click to expand...

Some people are uneducated nards. Don't do it.
OK, there are probably some that have done this sucessfully....IMHO, there lucky.


Don't wheel if you don't have good tow points. I'm not so sure if I would even attempt to help you out if you didn't have good tow points. Not only would there be the potiential to trash your rig, but mine as well. Not to mention the possible flying shrapnel for bystanders to dodge. Why risk it??

Plain and simple, Don't wheel if you don't have proper recovery points.

My 2% of a dollar.
 
I see your point Haleyes. I have looked around junk yards for xj's with tow hooks, but no luck. I guess ill be going back to Rusty's to pick up some hooks.
 
Chattxj said:
I see your point Haleyes. I have looked around junk yards for xj's with tow hooks, but no luck. I guess ill be going back to Rusty's to pick up some hooks.
Click to expand...

Wise decision. I applaud you for it.:yelclap:
Always wheel responsably.:thumbup:
 
Custom 4x4 fabrications has them aswell. you can get them cheap through jeepin outfitters.

I've never heard of any problems with rusty's XJ hooks, but I know first hand that the welding on his ZJ hooks is sub-par. I yanked one right off of my friends ZJ, the welds didn't penetrate worth shit.
 
Rusty's welding is sub-par, at least every example I've ever seen.



And you can get pulled out by the front or rear axles. How do the tow truck drivers do it? Just remove as many obstructions as possible, and try to keep the pull straight on. I'll agree it's not ideal for every situation; the first time you're in two feet of leech infested water and you've bottomed out on the front diff and need to dig out from under it to get the rope around... Yeah, get tow-hooks.
 
While I will admit to being one of the lucky ones who has gotten away with towing from the swaybar, I strongly recommend against it. Did I mention STRONGLY recommend against it? I did it before I knew better, you no longer have that excuse. I do realize finding junkyard tow points for the XJ is difficult, and new ones aren't cheap but this is serious stuff. Poeple can and do die from using improper recovery methods. We recently had a close call in our club even with proper recovery methods and points being used. A broken tow strap resulted in an XJ with a busted hatch and windshield and a TJ with a stowed in grille. The driver of the XJ actually had something (either his rear wiper arm or the piece of dowel used to connect the two straps) graze the side of his head so he could easily have been killed. The damage to the TJ was done entirely by the piece of broken strap with nothing connected to it. Imagine what would happen if you ripped the swaybar off. We all want to get out there and get wheeling but safety has to come first.
 
dont waist your money on the ones from rustys, get the C4x4 ones from jeepin outfitters
 
last time I had to recover by putting a strap around my rear axle the brake line ended up getting messed up on the rear axle, but I didn't know it at the time. A few days later, right before I got on a major highway decided to check my brake fluid because although the XJ was stopping, the pedal was going down more than it usually did. The reservoir was dry, and then I looked back and saw that pulling from the rear axle had cut my rear brake line by pulling it out of the distributor block! Luckily I knew a guy that lived in the area and he came to my rescue with a pair of vise grips and some brake fluid, but if I had gotten on that highway without checking, who knows what may have happened!!

Anyways, good towpoints are key!
 
come on, don't attach to any steering parts, suspension, etc., for bein yanked out of a hole. you are just asking for trouble or pain. you could put the strap through the window and around your neck, but that might be painful also,he he... obviously kidding. get some real towhooks for sure.
 
well i can first hand vouch that you should never pull something out by the rear shackels they tend to mess up your leafs ( i know from experience)
 
Over the years lots of people have gotten pulled out by a strap around the swaybar, a shackle, or an axle. If the pull isn't too hard, and if you're lucky, this will work. If you are REALLY stuck, or if you are unlucky, then you will do so much damage to your suspension that the cost of a set of proper tow hooks will look like pocket change.

Put quite bluntly, going wheeling without proper tow points front and rear is just STUPID!!! They are dirt cheap compared to the cost of the damage you can do pulling yourself out by hooking onto any suspension part.

Get real tow hooks, or a receiver hitch, for both the front and rear of your rig BEFORE you go 4-wheeling!!!
 
I would actually vote to get a bumper with some clevis mounts. XJ tow hooks suck. They are upside down so straps like to fall off, they get caught on everything and they bend easily. Check out nates4x4.com you can get a bumper for not much more then tow hooks and brackets. But I agree get tow points.
 
DirtyMJ said:
Rusty's welding is sub-par, at least every example I've ever seen.



And you can get pulled out by the front or rear axles. How do the tow truck drivers do it? Just remove as many obstructions as possible, and try to keep the pull straight on.
Click to expand...

Incorrect. Axels are NOT an acceptable recovery point. You NEED proper recovery equiptment. Get hooks, hitch, offroad bumpers. Do not attatch to axel, do not attatch to sway bar, do NOT attatch to front/rear bumper.
 
Kingfish said:
What about bolting some 1/4" or 3/8" plate with a hole in it and a clevis to the front "frame rail" holes including using the front bumper bolts.
Click to expand...
If you look at the front bumper monts you will see that they are thin stamped metal. It will not be good enough to do the job. If you look at a tow hook bracket you will see that it has the 3 bolts at the bumper mount, platres through to the inside where a piece of angle boxes it to the uni-body and on the outside it runs back another 10" or so and has 2 more bolts. This helps share and distribute the load.

What everyone else is saying and selling is there for a reason. Could you just wrap on an axle, sway bar, factory bumper or some small 1/4" plate and have it work? Maybe-depends on the ammount of stuck you are. However, You could also do some serious vehicle damage too such as ripping an axle mount or the uni-body. All that because you didn't spen $75 on tow hooks. This is the main reason why you hear alot of people stress armor and recovery ( I stress this too) over 33s and a locker.
This is also why good wheeling good wheeling groups require recovery points. They can look over no lift because at least with recovery points they can help you out.
 
HPIM1300.jpg

Buy a front hitch like I did. It was like 130ish shipped. Its more expensive then the plain old hooks, but it connects both sides of the frame rails and really ties the front end together. I trust it more. And I can move a trailer around from the front if I ever need to. And it has some cool loops on the sides that are pretty functional.

I've pulled out a stock XJ with a stock XJ by connecting the shackles with straps on both sides. It worked no problem, but obviously a rear hitch would have been better.
 
GirlScout1 said:
Could you just wrap on an axle, sway bar, factory bumper or some small 1/4" plate and have it work? Maybe-depends on the ammount of stuck you are.
Click to expand...
So 3/8" plate then. I never said a small 1/4" plate, I said...
Kingfish said:
1/4" or 3/8" plate with a hole in it and a clevis to the front "frame rail" holes including using the front bumper bolts.
Click to expand...

GirlScout1 said:
If you look at the front bumper monts you will see that they are thin stamped metal. It will not be good enough to do the job.
Click to expand...
So the majority of the aftermarket bumpers are not good enough?


Not trying to be a jackass here, I was basically ASKING if an aftermarket bumper mount without the bumper would work.
 
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