Budget front recovery points?

[jakesmog]

I’m planning a little mild wheeling trip with my friends in a few weeks, and I’ll be taking my 2wd Eliminator out with a friend that has a 4x4 Pathfinder. I will inevitably get stuck in some shallow mud holes or a ditch. I have a D-Ring hitch in the back, but I’m not sure how to get good recovery from the front without a whole bumper. I’d like to eventually build a bumper or weld one of those DIY kits together, but my garage workshop area is likely not going to be situated in time to fabricate everything.
 

Basically, I’m looking for a way to get a non-lethal recovery point for my front that doesn’t require welding. I can cut up some steel and get bolts but my welder is not operational right now.

[GonzoTheGreat]

I had good luck with a harbor freight 2-bolt tow hook on my ‘88. I made a small backing plate and attached it directly to the bottom of the “frame” under the bumper. I used one breather hole, and drilled a second. It dragged me out of several messes no problem. It was a little tricky getting nuts on the bolts inside the frame, but it was doable, and it cost me like $5.

 

[coheed]

You could also get a set of these bumper brackets and add on tow hooks. If you can only find the brackets the harbor freight ones fit just fine. That's what I have on mine currently.

 

 

[eaglescout526]

8 minutes ago, GonzoTheGreat said:

I had good luck with a harbor freight 2-bolt tow hook on my ‘88. I made a small backing plate and attached it directly to the bottom of the “frame” under the bumper. I used one breather hole, and drilled a second. It dragged me out of several messes no problem. It was a little tricky getting nuts on the bolts inside the frame, but it was doable, and it cost me like $5.

 

I feel like getting those aftermarket brackets would’ve been simpler but this works too. Haha. 

[gogmorgo]

How much are you willing to spend? 

These work great: https://www.quadratec.com/products/12007_800_07.htm for a no-drill install that I trust a little more than the two bolt hooks directly to the frame. But they're not great for side pulls, and they interfere with your front air dam so that either needs removed or trimmed to accommodate. I've seen that style for sale from a few different brands, also generically unbranded on eBay. I've had some on my longbed for ten years now.

Ideally you want the frame horns tied together for the most strength. Like this: https://www.ironrockoffroad.com/product/xj-tow-hook-mount.html This particular one has the advantage of hooks that open sideways instead of downwards so your rope or strap is much more likely to stay in the hook without tension on it.

You can also get a front hitch, which not only ties the frame horns together also allows you to reuse all the recovery equipment you'd use in the rear. Maybe find a winch cradle to go in it. Lets you put other hitch-mount accessories up front.
My 2wd shortbed has an A-frame tow bar setup on the front for flat towing it (behind an RV, etc) that I've used for a solo recovery point, just hooked it to the back end of my ZJ and dragged it out into the street and parked both units without needing another person to sit in the MJ to steer or stop. I see them come up used in the usual places from time to time, or at junkyards.

But at any rate the front end is exactly the same as an XJ Cherokee, so any front recovery mounts for an XJ will fit an MJ too. And there's lots of options out there for the XJ, including lots of relatively easy DIY stuff.

[jakesmog]

I’m willing to spend the money to do it right, but I don’t want to spend it on something that won’t help me with the final bumper build I end up doing. If the Harbor Freight hooks can get me out of shallow mud or a ditch a few times without tweaking my frame, it seems like the most cost effective solution until I can make the proper version. Or if there’s some kind of front bumper tie in bracket I can use to attach hooks for now, but still use the bracket when it’s time for the build, that seems ideal to me. 

[gogmorgo]

That's a tough one. Most of the cheap easy bolt-ons are meant to go directly under the factory bumper, which isn't necessarily going to work out with an aftermarket bumper, but every bumper is different. I guess the advantage to the cheap tow hooks is you could then just bolt them on anywhere to your new bumper, including potentially on top where they'll be more useful.
I don't know if it was a kit or just something I saw on here, but it was a setup that was just a flat plate with holes drilled in it for the factory bumper bolts, similar to the tow hook bracket kit, but that poked through the factory bumper (you'd have to cut the hole) with a hole for mounting a bow shackle. There was also a tube welded between the two that sat inside the front bumper to tie the frame together. The beauty of this being you could then build your bumper off that setup and include the recovery points. But it is a bigger project.

Oh hey, found it! but unfortunately most of the pictures are broken, but some of them are reposted much further down the thread.

 

I wouldn't be as concerned about "tweaking" the front of the frame with those hooks so much as tearing the bolts straight through it. There's not a lot of steel down there in front of those bolt holes. I don't really see it as being any sturdier than just looping a rope around the front axle.

[Pete M]

your frame is made of sheetmetal.  the more tie-in brackets and tie-in points you use, the better. 

 

and NO yanking.  pulling only.  people have died from half-assed recovery methods. 

[jakesmog]

So in that case, I may be better off just getting pulled from my front axle, as opposed to getting pulled from a hook bolted to some sheet metal then? What do I risk happening getting pulled too hard by the axle? 

[MiNi Beast]

29 minutes ago, jakesmog said:

So in that case, I may be better off just getting pulled from my front axle, as opposed to getting pulled from a hook bolted to some sheet metal then? What do I risk happening getting pulled too hard by the axle? 

Bend axle. Best hook point if havent any. don't hook to tie rod drag link... best to get some solid hook points so that your not in a mud hole swimming to get a strap around the front axle. Never cheap out on recovery. 

[MiNi Beast]

cause you never know but you know you want it to work for the situation you may be in. 

[Pete M]

2 hours ago, jakesmog said:

So in that case, I may be better off just getting pulled from my front axle, as opposed to getting pulled from a hook bolted to some sheet metal then? What do I risk happening getting pulled too hard by the axle? 

 

 

stock control arms are also made from sheetmetal and each one only needs a single bolt to bend/break to super ruin your day.  get an aftermarket tow hook kit (like the factory stuff) with all the brackets and you should be good.   never pull from the middle of an axle or it could bend.

[jakesmog]

Okay! Just trying to be prepared for the worst. I’m all the more excited to get the right setup done right now.

 

In the meantime, is there a glaring issue getting pulled from the back by one of these? 

[Eagle]

8 hours ago, jakesmog said:

I’m willing to spend the money to do it right, but I don’t want to spend it on something that won’t help me with the final bumper build I end up doing. If the Harbor Freight hooks can get me out of shallow mud or a ditch a few times without tweaking my frame, it seems like the most cost effective solution until I can make the proper version. Or if there’s some kind of front bumper tie in bracket I can use to attach hooks for now, but still use the bracket when it’s time for the build, that seems ideal to me. 

 

It's the "without tweaking my frame" part that's the problem. The front "frame" horns are basically sheet metal. It won't take much of a pull to tweak one of them. That's whay the factory tow hitch kit includes reinforcing brackets, and even then they're not very strong for anything except a straight ahead pull.

[Eagle]

31 minutes ago, jakesmog said:

Okay! Just trying to be prepared for the worst. I’m all the more excited to get the right setup done right now.

 

In the meantime, is there a glaring issue getting pulled from the back by one of these? 

 

Depends on what it's in. If you have a good received hitch, that should work. If your receiver is just a box bolted to the bumper, you'll probably wreck the bumper.

[DesertRat1991]

19 hours ago, jakesmog said:

Okay! Just trying to be prepared for the worst. I’m all the more excited to get the right setup done right now.

 

In the meantime, is there a glaring issue getting pulled from the back by one of these? 

 

It may work in an emergency, but there are better designs out there.

 

Perhaps most importantly, that shackle doesn't appear to have a rating stamp.  It may not be safe for recovery use.

 

Try to find a mount that is machined out of a solid chunk of steel with no welds.

 

It's also better if the part inserted in the receiver has 4 holes so that you have the option of running the shackle either horizontal or vertical.  Having options is nice if you ever need to do an off-center pull or a pull across an elevation change.

 

Something like this:

Shackle Hitch Receiver, 2 inch 42000 Lbs 

https://a.co/d/6rAShbv