Everybody needs front and rear tow hooks!

[Chris S]

Two of the rigs I went wheeling with yesterday did not have front tow hooks. This had never been a problem for the driver of a stock XJ, since in four years of wheeling she had always been able to be pulled out backwards by her rear hitch. After yesterday front hooks went WAY up on her priority list.
She was climbing a steep, narrow gravel trail when she bounced off the "high" side bank and dropped her passenger side tires into the soft gravel at the very edge of a 70 foot bank. If she had front hooks we could have winched her forward back onto the trail, but instead she had to back up. Problem was that she was turned slightly sideways to the trail with her back end pointed over the bank, so in order to back down the trail she had to turn her front tires. This would result in her front passenger tire going over the edge. We wound up bringing another truck up beside her back end and then using a short cable to drag the back of her XJ sideways as she backed up. This let her keep her wheels close to straight and still end up back on the trail. At one point we had two people hanging onto the uphill side for balance and her passenger front tire was only grabbing the bank by the side lugs. It's probably for the best that she didn't get out to look, because I doubt she would have gotten back in again .
Anyway, the moral of the story is that front and rear hooks are needed, not just one or the other. This was an easy trail and should not have posed a problem, but one little mistake in tire placement and it became a long and hairy extraction job. With front hooks she would have been on her way with no worries in under 5 minutes.

[Flame]

Yeah, I agree Chris!!! We have a rule here, no hooks, no go!!!! Those people usually are the ones that don't have a rope or strap either. I have ruined two ropes because they were cut by bumpers because of having to go underneath to the axle to hook on.
Another thing, the other day I was wheeling with a guy that had bought a hook that slips into his 2 inch receiver. I don't know the brand but the hook was junk!!!! It straightened the first time he was pulled!!! Hooks are no place to go cheap!!!
One more thing, a friend of mine ordered her TJ with factory hooks. Are the front ones strong??? They don't look very strong!!!!

[Chris S]

I don't like the TJ factory front hooks, not because of strength of the hook, but because the hook is beside the bolts, not in line with them. This means that a straight pull will put rotational force on the bolts and can bend them more easilly than with a standard hook.

[brewmenn]

We gave the front hooks on my TJ some heavy duty testing over the weekend. I was hung up in some deep ruts and had to be pulled about 50 feet. For much of it the wheels were not touching the ground. I was sliding on the axles. Also, the jeep doing the pulling could not get much traction some must of it was done jerking it along a few feet at a time. The hook held up fine but due to the bolts not being in line the hook did get turned a few degrees.

[Lauti]

I also know such Jeepers. They really think "I never get stuck, I drive a Jeep, I don't need hooks!", that's ridiculous! They'd rather put chrome bumpers on their rigs, even if they have to remove their stock hooks.

A few weeks ago I refused to snatch or winch a stuck YJ off an obstacle because of that reason. He did not have tow hooks up front, because of a chrome bumper of style "New Yorker", but he had a winch, actually a baby winch, a teeny-weeny Barbie winch with a really thin cable on it and a arting to low for an ATV.
In the rear he had a tow bar with a ball, but no tow hooks. The winch hook would not have fit and the snatch strap would have slipped off the ball, because of the angle he was stuck. Finally he had to play MacGyver and with the help of my buddies' hi-lift and a 5m long tree, he could get the YJ unstuck.

[Flame]

Good call on not pulling on a ball!!!! I saw some guys using a strap looped on a ball and the stem of the ball broke. The ball became a projectile and hit the back of one guys pickup just below the tailgate and above the rear bumper. the bed is very strong right there but that ball dented the bed badly. It would have went right thru the cab and definately hurt or killed anyone inside. Another thing I won't pull with is a clevis that just uses a clipped pin!!! If the pin doesn't screw in, I don't use it!! It's incredible how much force a 2 or 3 pound piece of iron has when propelled by a stretched rope or strap!!!!

[Rusty]

Didn't David use a tow strap and a 2" ball on Goliath?

[Jeepaholic]

I wheel with a guy, my bro-in-law, who has no recovery equiptment at all. He figures because he has a rear locker and I have dual lockers and a winch, and a hi-lift, he has no worries. I just hook it to what ever I can and tell him if something on his truck bends, it's not my fault and if the calbe breaks, he's payin.
www.jeepaholic.freeservers.com

[Chris S]

All fine until something breaks off and kills somebody :(

[Howler]

Didn't David use a tow strap and a 2" ball on Goliath?
Yes but the ball slipped off the strap and hit Goliath in the head and Died instantly. :D

[moabjeeper]

I agree that there should be towhooks both ends. I only got them in the front but soon will get in the back. I have had to pull some of my buddies that dont have any but had a strong bumper. Its so much easier when you have tow hooks.

[Etnomaiab]

I am in the process of getting front and rear tow hooks for my YJ. I just got the rears but i still need the fronts. What tow hooks do yall reccomend i put on the front of my YJ? The only ones i can find that will fit the threaded holes are steel whore. Are they strong enough? Does anyone know of any front tow hooks for YJs that fit the threaded holes that are already there?

[derf]

One alternative to rear tow hooks is to put a receiver shackle in the Class III hitch receiver. I put one in mine and it's fantastic. I've pulled several people and have been pulled out backwards a few times since I got it. It's so much better than a regular hook. You put the loop of a strap through the shackle and it's not going anywhere, unlike a hook that can drop a strap when tension is let off.

[Jeepchickless]

I just got a T.J. and it has the factory tow
hooks on it, but I wanted to replace them
with ones like some of you mentioned that are
in a straight line with the bolts. I don't
like the rear tow hook either, so I wanted
to put some in the rear as well.
I have seen some peoples rigs that have these
tow hooks mounted on the side of the frame, just
inside the rear wheel well. Is this a good place
for them ? Or would it be better to mount them
on the bottom of the frame underneathe the bumper ?

Thank you,
David

[Yucca-man]

On the rear of the TJ, the hooks are usually mounted 'sideways' on hte frame. If you mount them under the bumper, there is a good chance you will drag them on the trail.

There have been a number of threads about this at rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys newsgroup, you should be able to find them with links to some good install sites by searching through deja.com

JIm Yucca-man
96 XJ

[Jeepchickless]

Thanks Yucca-man, that had everything I was
looking for.

David

[lonegpr]

You can also go to www.rockcrawler.com and see some pics of how to mount hooks on the rear frame of your TJ. Go to the Tech section to find this writeup.

[Jeepchickless]

Thank you lonegpr !


David

[JOKERAL]

Can't go wrong with strudy recovery points front and rear. On my TJ I have 4 hooks (2 front/2rear) and have since added front and rear bumpers that have D rings (2 front/2 rear) total 8 tow points.

Refuse to use someone elses inferior equipment.
Same goes for worn straps or those cheesey ones with metal hooks.

Jokeral

[Ridgerunner]

I saw an add yesterday that 4wheel parts wharehouse is giving away free hooks with purchase of a recovery strap. Pro-comp brand strap.

I have factory hooks front & rear on my TJ. My Xj only has front and a rear hitch I usualy use to pull on.

[Yucca-man]

Tiff just added a write-up I did on adding towhooks to my XJ. They require a little more than hooks and bolts because of the uniframe, so if you have a Cherokee or Comanche (possibly a Grand Cherokee as well?) check it out on ilovejeeps.com under Tech Reviews.

The install job ranks pretty low on the thrown-tools scale, busting a knuckle or two behind the bumper is the only real threat.

Lauti-I second the "good call" for not pulling on the towball. I had a picture somewhere of a Wrangler windshield after the owner tried to unstuck another vehicle by yanking on the towball. The ball and towstrap went straight through the windshield, right about where the driver's head normally would be. If they had made contact, death would be just about instantaneous...nuff said.

[thew_77]

I have tow hooks on the front and D-Rings weled to my rear bumper, and I love them the rings have saved my *** one several ocasons. The hooks havent been used offf road yet.

Just my $0.02

:cool:

[Warlock]

The one thing I don't like about rear mounted hooks, is that they are bolted to the frame at an angle. So you still have the rotational force working at the bolts.

[thew_77]

That's why I built the d-rings cause you have a secure tie point right there and they look realy cool.

:p :cool: