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HiCountry Offroad XJ Tow Hook Brackets

C

comanche91

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Sweet Home Alabama
Has anyone tried these? Good idea as you do not have to remove the front bumper, but not sure how strong they would be. The 4 mounting points under the sway bar directly to the frame seem okay though..........

Tow%20Hook%20Welded%20-%20DS.jpg



Here's their web site:

http://www.hicountryoffroad.com/Products/Cherokee/Recovery/cher_recovery.htm
 
I'd like to see a set installed.

Edit. saw them. Why not offer a product with the hole for the d-ring welded onto the bracket itself? Seems it would be stronger that way than the 2 bolts connecting them together. All the bolts through the frame don't mean squat if you only have 2 at this connection.
 
Last edited:
interesting design. there are some pics of them installed on their website.

They are mainly mounted on the bottom of the "frame" rail, and the bolts are towards the back. Not sure why they didn't want to include the bumper mounts too, like all others do. Seems to have a good setup on the passenger side with a support bracket on the inside. However, with the bolts all way in the back and the forces all up front, they could shift a bit. I think they could be made to work well with a little modification, or by welding them on in addition to bolting.
 
After installing a set of tow hooks and brackets on my '99 this past weekend, I'd love to have installed something protrudes out further and accepts a D-ring or other recovery device.

The bumper is not that difficult to remove, but it does take some time. You'll get dirt in yer eye and bump the noggin, but it is not that difficult. The largest pain I had was having to trim the plastic trim to allow enough room for the new hooks. Seems like my setup (via eBay) is not genuine and the hooks are too close to the plastic fairing to allow a strap to be fastened.
 
Not sure if I like the design on them. I think that they could have been designed a little better. Try C4X4 Fab they have a pretty nice setup that is closer to the factory design but it stronger than the factory design. Just a thought.


Ray
 
They look fine to me. Nobody but a total idiot is going to hook a chain to their unibody Cherokee and hit it hard to pull somebody out. With discretionary use, these look to be fine. If you absolutely have to hit it hard, turn your jeep around and attach the strap to the class 3 hitch.
 
98stocker said:
They look fine to me. Nobody but a total idiot is going to hook a chain to their unibody Cherokee and hit it hard to pull somebody out. With discretionary use, these look to be fine. If you absolutely have to hit it hard, turn your jeep around and attach the strap to the class 3 hitch.
Click to expand...
Usually when I've needed to use my tow hooks (every time but once) is when I've been stuck; therefore, turning around is sort of hard to accomplish. I'm (possibly incorrectly) assuming it's the same for others.
 
Timber said:
Usually when I've needed to use my tow hooks (every time but once) is when I've been stuck; therefore, turning around is sort of hard to accomplish. I'm (possibly incorrectly) assuming it's the same for others.
Click to expand...

Haha, good point. Seems like I am always the one doing the pulling. Okay, now to revise my opinion... If you plan on doing any hard pulling on these, I would not get them. I would rather see a full bumper mount, instead of pulling on only one of the unibody frame rails.
 
I bought a front receiver hitch. Didnt trust the hooks.
 
Those brackets look pretty stout if you don't want to hassle with the front bumper. Also, if your really worried about strength in a "im really stuck" situation, carry a short 10" strap and thread it through the main strap and connect to both points for a more even pull.
 
BeJay1981 said:
Those brackets look pretty stout if you don't want to hassle with the front bumper. Also, if your really worried about strength in a "im really stuck" situation, carry a short 10" strap and thread it through the main strap and connect to both points for a more even pull.
Click to expand...
Unless you've got a good brace between them, pulling on both towhook points at the same time is a wonderful way to pull them both crosseyed.

Solid bumper with towhook or d-ring mounts is fine - trying to use the "frame" mounted towhooks is a recipe for ugly...

Jim www.yuccaman.com
 
Hey guys,

Thought people would like to know that the d-ring mounts these guys sell do take a 3/4" shackle now. Seems they originally designed them for 5/8, but updated the design for the larger shackle and forgot to update the web page. I emailed them about it last week, and not only did they tell me the above, they fixed the page.

I just used my NACFest winnings to get a set, and am looking forward to bolting them up to my existing Rusty's tow hook brackets. While it won't equal a front receiver (though I've been thinking about acquiring a piece of plate that I could sandwich between the bracket and the hook/dring mount to tie the two brackets together like a tow plate would), it should be a nice step up from plain hooks.

Rob
 
Yucca-Man said:
Unless you've got a good brace between them, pulling on both towhook points at the same time is a wonderful way to pull them both crosseyed.

Jim www.yuccaman.com
Click to expand...


I run the factory hooks, never pulled with both at once, but I picked up a factory tow bar off an XJ in the junkyard one day. It bolts to both hooks, and acts as a crossbrace, sort of....

Jeff

moved.jpg
 
FYI, the front sway bar mounting bolts are re-inforced inside the "framerail". The U shaped bracket and the steering box bolts all add up to what looks to be as good as, or better than, the stock tow hook brackets.

Rusty's has an adapter that replaces a standard tow hook with a bracket that accepts a D ring clevis.

A friend of mine welded two plates to some 1/4" thick 1"x1" square tube. The plates sandwhich between the stock tow bracket and the tow hooks. The square tube connects the two tow hook assemblies together like an extra crossmember. No more cross-eyed tow hooks.
 
Tim_MN said:
Rusty's has an adapter that replaces a standard tow hook with a bracket that accepts a D ring clevis.
Click to expand...

So does High Country - it's on their web page, right below the frame brackets themselves. Here's a pic from their site:

D-ring_kit.JPG



I went with these because they're $15 each, instead of $45 for the Rusty's one (wanted two). And yes, they DO take a 3/4 shackle - see my earlier post in this thread.

Rob
 
Tim_MN said:
Rusty's has an adapter that replaces a standard tow hook with a bracket that accepts a D ring clevis.
Click to expand...

I made these about 5 years ago for my XJ and I think Rusty copied me.
.
standard.jpg

standard.jpg

standard.jpg
 
Hey Tim, How often do you drag those shackles on rock and banks? With the shackle on there they look to be kinda low. Nice machine work by the way.
 
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