tow hooks

[89eddie89]

Ok so I am going to buy 2 tow hooks for my bronco this weekend..

Is the best way to bolt them to the frame?? And on the bottom side of the frame??

 

[Redneck86]

Yea man id putem on the bottom that where moat trucks havem.

im gettin some warn hooks for mine. plus there should alreay be some holes there that will work for them.

>-

 

[pinson27]

Ok so I am going to buy 2 tow hooks for my bronco this weekend..
Is the best way to bolt them to the frame?? And on the bottom side of the frame??

When it comes to retrieval hardware,it all depends on where your going,who(or whats),gonna be pulling,and how big your rig is......before you decide where and how to mount it.

 

[Broncobill78]

I've always attached mine to the bottom of the frame. Although it's not strictly required I've always been a big fan of using a backing plate when mounting tow hooks. It spreads the load and reinforces that section of the frame. Welding the hooks in place after bolting them also helps, but again, it's not a requirement. Mounting them on the side can sometimes make it more difficult to attach the strap and can make for an awkward pull, the bottom is a more accessable location.

If you have a receiver hitch consider making towing attachment. I like to weld a large shackle to a spare receiver and will just slide that one in when heading off-road. Being relatively high up & in the center it makes a great recovery point and is just as convenient when you're the pull-truck.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

I bolted mine to the bottom of the frame in the front.

I had to move the bumber up as high as I could so that the hook would sit flush, and I still had to grind a little notch in the bottom of the bumper. I also had to grind approx 1/8th in. off of the tang of the hook so that it would fit in front of the plate that holds the anti-sway bar in place.

There were two predrilled holes on my frame, and I was able to use one of them and had to drill another. I didn't take the time to see if I could get a set of hooks that had the exact right dimensions that would be a direct bolt in/on.

A 3/8th in. plate placed under the frame would have lowered the hook enough that I would not have had to cut the bumper. I could have used a short stack of washers, but wasn't sure if that would predispose it to failure.

I don't know if there are alot of options out there, I was in a hurry up mode, and just got the first set I could find and made them work.

Have fun,

joe

 

[Broncobill78]

I could have used a short stack of washers, but wasn't sure if that would predispose it to failure.

Yes it will & the taller the washer stack the more likely you are to see it go flying. While tow straps themselvs aren't very dangerous the hook on the end of it IS. Winch cables are the worst. If you've never been near one when it parted I can tell you for a fact that it puts you in touch with Jesus right quick.

 

[89eddie89]

So if I buy two 10,000 lb hooks and mount them to the bottom of the frame with 2 bolts holding each hook,

Would that be sturdy enough??

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Yes it will & the taller the washer stack the more likely you are to see it go flying.

Yeah... that's what I figured. That's why I cut the bumper to make it fit flush.

I also used a ball pien hammer to bend any sharp edges in so that there is no chance of cutting or fraying the recovery strap.

 

[89eddie89]

Where did you make the cuts on your bumper??

Can you get a pic of it maybe??

 

[Roadkill]

Here are some tow hook installation Photos. Clicky!

 

[89eddie89]

RoadKill,

Thanks for that info. man

Yeah that is what im trying to make my hooks look like.

What did you use to cut your bumpers with??

 

[Roadkill]

Using the mounting bolts as reference points, I measured and marked the locations for the cuts. Then I used a 2.5 inch hole saw (a drill bit with a round saw blade atached to it, available at Lowes, Home Depot, etc) and a angle grinder with cutoff wheel.

Fist I used the hole saw to make a hole where the top of the cut out is. Then I used the the cutoff wheel to cut straight down from the edge of the hole to the bottom edge of the bumper.

Edit:

There are other ways to make the cut, for example a jigsaw with metal blade or even a torch or plasma cutter. I just used tools that I already had in the shed.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

RoadKill did a nicer job than I... mine was quick and dirty, so I could get out and play.

I didn't remove the bumper, and made the cuts with a cut off grinder while lying on my side. Then I bent the tang up with a hammer.

 

[96GreenMonster]

mounted mine like most other people

DO NOT MOUNT THEM ON THE SWAY BAR HOLES!

 

[89eddie89]

Yeah that is what i am aiming for mine to look like.

But as of right now do you think I could just mount them to the frame and not cut the bumpers yet??

 

[Bebop Man]

Yeah that is what i am aiming for mine to look like.
But as of right now do you think I could just mount them to the frame and not cut the bumpers yet??

I picked up a couple of 10,000lb -rated hooks at NAPA. One hole was alread in the frame behind the bumper and I had to drill a 2nd one ('86 model). I had to notch the bumper right at the frame so the hooks could bold down tight. I suppose you could add washers or something else to shim them, but you'd need a good 1/2" - 3/4" of space. I was going to do that at first, then I figured notching the bumper was easier.

 

[89eddie89]

Yeah I was thinking about adding several washers under it so I could get it to hang lower for the time being..

 

[Roadkill]

I wouldn't recomend shiming the hook away from the bumper with washers. You will be adding a lot of leverage between the hooks and where the bolts go through the frame. Just begging to break something if you have to put lot of stress on them. Mayber if you could find a solid block of metal with two holes to use as a shim it would be a little safer, but it would still be weaker than bolting directly to the frame.

 

[89eddie89]

Yeah I figured that would keep it from being flesh up with the frame...

But I am most likely just gonna wait and end up cutting into the bumper and making room for the hooks..

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