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Cheapest place to get front recovery hooks?

R

robhurlburt

NAXJA Forum User
Location
lexington,ky
None in the classifieds, and none on local craigslist. Looks like I am buying new, wheres the cheapest? Unless you have any suggestions on a cheaper front recovery point? I just want to get on the trail


Thanks!

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robhurlburt said:
Looks like I am buying new, wheres the cheapest
Click to expand...

Not necessarily the cheapest, but I'll vouch for the quality of Custom 4x4 Fabrication's hooks. We've installed them on three XJs and they've held up well; most importantly, they come with the frame reinforcement plates you'll need. I'd recommend getting the powdercoated set.
 
casm said:
Not necessarily the cheapest, but I'll vouch for the quality of Custom 4x4 Fabrication's hooks. We've installed them on three XJs and they've held up well; most importantly, they come with the frame reinforcement plates you'll need. I'd recommend getting the powdercoated set.
Click to expand...

I like mine as well, I figured why go cheap on something like that. I wouldn't want to be stuck and stay stuck because I wanted to save a little cash.
 
One more for C4x4.... I don't use their hook brackets, I've got their full front winch bumper and rear bumper & tire carrier. Aside from the usual powercoat flaking issues, they've built well and stout. I'd have no problem buying from them again.
 
I'd vote for C4x4 or the equivalents... those look an awful lot like the set I have, though I bought Rugged Ridge ones from discountjeepparts. I paid the same price (within a few bucks) so I say go for the C4x4 ones.

They have stood up well. I got my 96 stuck by attempting to drive over/through a 4.5 foot tall bank of packed snow and letting up on the gas at the wrong moment, went and got my MJ (fortunately was 200 feet away) and yanked it out. Absolutely 0 pull from the XJ since I didn't have anyone around to drive it, ended up using a snatch strap and yanking on it repeatedly, the hooks stayed exactly where they were supposed to.

Not so good for side pulls, but for straight forward/back they are excellent.
 
Looks pretty cool to me. Hell, it only costs about 30 bucks more than the hooks and brackets I got. If I was going to do it again I'd go with that kit.
 
robhurlburt said:
what do people think of this one to tie the front end together much like a bumper but at less than half the cost?

http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merc...e=IROR&Product_Code=IR-XTHM&Category_Code=XPA
Click to expand...

Not necessarily bad in concept - and I'll admit that I have no experience with that particular model. However: for a bit more than that costs, you could just do a front towbar with receiver. The advantage of that setup is that you can then use a receiver shackle, which ultimately is preferable (IMHO) for non-straight pulls - exactly the situation under which hooks like to bend (or break, if you're really going at it); it also gives you the flexibility of being able to use it for more than just recovery. The downside to the front towbar: I've yet to see one designed to put the receiver anywhere other than under the stock bumper, so you'll lose some approach angle.
 
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casm said:
Not necessarily bad in concept - and I'll admit that I have no experience with that particular model. However: for a bit more than that costs, you could just do a front towbar with receiver. The advantage of that setup is that you can then use a receiver shackle, which ultimately is preferable (IMHO) for non-straight pulls - exactly the situation under which hooks like to bend (or break, if you're really going at it); it also gives you the flexibility of being able to use it for more than just recovery. The downside to the front towbar: I've yet to see one designed to put the receiver anywhere other than under the stock bumper, so you'll lose some approach angle.
Click to expand...

I thought it was brilliant, all the advantages of the towbar without the horrible approach angle.

Of course hooks are less than preferable, but if used with care should present no issues.

My biggest issue is that it doesn't catch any of the bolts on he side of the frame that were designed for that load. Looks to mount using just the swaybar/factory skid holes and that's just a bit cheezy in my opinion.
 
The IRO front tow hook mount is stronger than the stock tow hook mount or any other copies such as C4x4. I locates high up and does not affect the approach angle like a front receiver hitch does. All recovery forces are distributed to both of the frame rails instead of just one. Side pulls will not bend this mount like the stock brackets or the c4x4 brackets. Everything IRO makes is Heavy Duty.


The IRO mount takes advantage of the reinforced mounting points for the front sway bar. No cheezy there.

Rusty's makes a D-ring Clevis mount that uses the same bolt pattern as a basic tow hook.
 
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go with something that ties the two sides together. the stock style such as C4x4 arent that strong against side pulls, or even ones at a slight angle. i have the stock hooks, which mount probably more securely than the C4x4 units and i bent them on the first pull...maybe C4x4 hooks are a little stronger material, but i would want something that ties both sides together.
 
Tim_MN said:
The IRO mount takes advantage of the reinforced mounting points for the front sway bar. No cheezy there.
Click to expand...

My opinion follows.

For $120 I'd rather that IRO spent the extra $5 per piece and had a bent piece of steel to grab the factory tow hook mounting holes that are deep on the framerail. Hell, they wouldn't have even had to bend it all as one piece, it could be another piece of metal that grabbed the factory bumper/recovery holes and then got sandwiched at the swaybar mount holes.

I do not consider the swaybar mounting holes to be "reinforced" the factory never intended them to be used for recovery, they're just nuts welded onto the back of a double thick piece of sheetmetal.

anyway I'm not trying to stir the pot, just that for the price point I think they could have been a better engineered product.
 
robhurlburt said:
what do people think of this one to tie the front end together much like a bumper but at less than half the cost?

http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merc...e=IROR&Product_Code=IR-XTHM&Category_Code=XPA
Click to expand...

I have a front rec. hitch mounted, but if I had seen this first, I might have gone with it. The hitch above looks just like mine. Must be a Drawtite
The swaybar bracket mounts are not the only fastener point. There is another bolt that requires the bottom of the front end of the framerail be drilled. Then, a 1/2" bolt is fished thru, and provides 3 mounting points per side. ( 4 on the IRO tow bar.)
 
87manche said:
I do not consider the swaybar mounting holes to be "reinforced" the factory never intended them to be used for recovery, they're just nuts welded onto the back of a double thick piece of sheetmetal.
.
Click to expand...

Inside the frame rail at the sway bar mounting points is an approximately 1/8" thick U shaped plate that is the same dimensions as the inner dimension of the frame rail. It is spot welded in place. If you look on the passenger side at the hole just above the sway bar, this plate is what is blocking the lower 1/2 of that frame hole.

This reinforcement is what the IRO recovery bracket mounts to. Since you are tieing both of the frame rails to together with the IRO bracket, any recovery forces are actually cut in half and they spread over a much greater area of the unibody than when using the factroy stock or C4x4 tow hook brackets .
 
Tim_MN said:
Inside the frame rail at the sway bar mounting points is an approximately 1/8" thick U shaped plate that is the same dimensions as the inner dimension of the frame rail. It is spot welded in place. If you look on the passenger side at the hole just above the sway bar, this plate is what is blocking the lower 1/2 of that frame hole.

This reinforcement is what the IRO recovery bracket mounts to. Since you are tieing both of the frame rails to together with the IRO bracket, any recovery forces are actually cut in half and they spread over a much greater area of the unibody than when using the factroy stock or C4x4 tow hook brackets .
Click to expand...

Nothing against IRO, but even with the bar that spans the frame, the forces are not 'cut in half' if you are pulling from a single hook. I like the idea, but I agree with others that the mount should extend to the side of the frame rail. The C4x4 hooks have carriage bolts that run through the frame rail. To break C4x4 mount you would have to tear the length of the bolt through a good chuck of frame rail. On the other hand, with the IRO mount, you would simply need to pull the nut through the frame. I'm not saying either would ever happen, but the C4x4 mount is definitely more stout.
 
The problem with stock and C4x4 brackets is that they do not deal with angled pulls very well. It is very easy to bend them unless, you are pulling straight ahead. The rear bolt holes for stock type brackets is sleeved, but the you are still putting all the recovery forces on one single frame rail. The IRO bracket spreads the pulling forces to both frame rails, the IRO square tube is not going to flex at all.

The IRO brackets uses the sway bar reinforcement which has much greater surface area tied into the frame rail than the single sleeved bolt hole for the stock brackets.

I have pulled at least a dozen sets of factory tow hook brackets at the junkyard and many of those were bent from side pulls.
 
I agree that in a side pull the IRO would transfer forces to both frame rails, but in a straight pull you're going to be putting forces just on the swaybar mount on one side.

I'd like to point you to our discussion here:
http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?p=245206661#post245206661

Something like those, with a piece of square tube between them would be perfect if you ask me. Or if IRO just provided a piece to go up and catch the factory recovery point. A U shaped sleeve/bracket that went up to the factory tow hook mount would substantially reinforce the whole thing.

My biggest issue with the IRO mounting style is that we have old vehicles, and I know that the swaybar mounts on my junk are not pretty. A bolt mounted in shear through the frame rail cannot be pulled out, whereas the bolts mounted in tension to the swaybar mount can, or can simply snap if there were overtightened.
 
My problem with the stock brackets is that the bolt may be mounted in shear, but the bracket it's holding down is only attached on one side. If the bracket was a U-shaped channel and was bolted on via both sides and the bottom it would be best, but I can't remember the shape of the lower inner corner of the frame rails, it may have a pinch seam.
 
kastein said:
My problem with the stock brackets is that the bolt may be mounted in shear, but the bracket it's holding down is only attached on one side. If the bracket was a U-shaped channel and was bolted on via both sides and the bottom it would be best, but I can't remember the shape of the lower inner corner of the frame rails, it may have a pinch seam.
Click to expand...

true, single shear is not the best, but I think I' rather a single shear 3/4 bolt than the tension load on the swaybar bolts. I can't recall the size for those.
 
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