What front tow hook brackets are you using.

Correct, the RC bracket wraps around the frame horn. The OR has a skid plate crossmember there that interferes with the RC bracket design.

Doesn't the OR already have black hoops there that Sheldon says are rated to 1.5x GVWR?

 

Yes, it comes with two frame-bolted hook points. I'm going to paint them red and charge myself $50.

Edit:
OK I'm going to do this now that I think about it. I actually think it would look good.

 

Yes, and I don't get why I would need to replace them. The rear end is a different story.

 

I’m gonna wait a few months until someone comes out with a similar set up but for $50. $200 is nuts!

 

^Just sell one of your Gallardo's lugnuts.

 

Hahahaha. Actually, they are steel lugnuts with slip-on plastic covers. A real pain in the ass!

 

I guess it depends on how forceful you expect your recovery to be. 50% margin is not very high if you are experiencing shock loads.
I'm having a look around youtube to see if I can find any examples of recovery point failures. So far, I've found "don't recover off your trailer ball hitch" (video prompted by an off-roader killed by the broken off hitch).

Edit: that's trailer hitch receiver, the hitch itself did not come off

 

Here's an interesting discussion of whether you can use stock recovery/tow points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or9rt8-Nx2k

 

I don't own a 4th gen - probably won't - but...... tow points that simply mount on two small bolts don't have my vote of confidence. Especially when they are that close together - yes those are small bolts, just look at the pins in your shackles. If you insist on using them, get a fairly long tree saver strap to join them and use two together - until something better comes along.

 

You aren't lifting the truck vertically on a crane using the recovery point. Here's a video on estimating recovery forces:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfCHKEeqrIw

To reach 1x vehicle weight, you'd have to bury yourself in mud to the hubs. 2x vehicle weight would be to the top of your tires, in which case you can put the two hoops together in a bridle.

Also keep in mind that GVWR on the 4th gen can be up to 6305 lb. 1.5x that is 9500 lb, right at the W.L.L. of many bow shackles.

 

There is no "super like" button so I just added this instead. Not enough people seem to be aware of it.

 

Grade 5 1/2" bolts have a shear strength of 12,800 pounds. 25,600 pounds per point is a massive amount of strength.

 

Not through the threads - and especially not when torque/tension is already using a good bit of the tensile strength. Planning on running them loose?
And how strong are the insert nuts? Do they have much engagement? Stuck in the sheet metal steel used to make that frame? We've all seen what rust can do - that box isn't sealed is it?

The big gorilla in the room is how much shock is going to be applied to the inertia of the stuck vehicle - applied through the attachment. Its the reason experienced off-road enthusiasts use elastic recovery straps or ropes. But its impossible for us to know what desperate individual will use a slack CHAIN or other rigid attachment. Those gentle winch pulls would always be welcome - but not always available.

 

Tooks some pictures and measurements of the stock recovery points on my OR.
hoops are 5/8" and double welded onto the 4mm mounting plate.
Bolts look to be 12mm (didn't take them out to check) I can't find the bolt-head marking (single radial dash) on any bolt ID tables so far. If someone were worried that much then the thing to do would be track down some 10.9 bolts (120,000 psi proof load, 150,000 psi min tensile strength).
Looks like a full hex nut is welded inside the frame stub.

Based on my decades of experience in listening to other non-engineers talk about engineering stuff about which they have no clue , I'm going to say that the failure point would likely be the bottom plate of the frame stub tearing off.

 

If that's the case then replacing those loops with something more robust doesn't increase the reliability of the recovery point, it only moves the failure to a more expensive part. They do not look janky or meek at all in their stock form.

 

<LIKE> I couldn't find this bolt grade marking either.

I will eventually change these when a better aftermarket solution becomes available, namely for vanity and ease of access.

I've seen some GEN 4s with one of these loop hooks on one side and a simple L bracket on the other.

 

Have seen that in some pictures as well. I think the lower trims are like that.
Need a recovery point that boxes in that frame stub. The Rough Country kit does, but I think they're a bit skimpy on the metal thicknesses and the longer reach will increase the stress if the pull is not straight forward. (Also don't fit the OR )

 

It seems like these are designed to fail at a certain point, which is why they're bolted on. What's the use of a recovery point that's SO robust, it lets you distort the frame? If you apply enough force to snap this recovery point, I'm not sure you wanna keep going with MORE force directly on a non-replaceable part.

 

Unless that means your truck is gonna get eaten by the sea… or roll off a cliff…
Or tractor beamed out into space by GM or Ford to probe for secret sauce.

 

My second gen has some little "box" structures on each side of the frame that extend down to an x-member (that appears to have no other use than supporting a thin factory shield for the engine). The box has four huge openings in the four sides. These boxes get the applied load of many shackle mounts that have been invented over the years. I took some careful measurements and had one of my "minions" prepare a CAD drawing allowing us to do a little FEA strength study (with the truck frame otherwise anchored). We then did ugly things to the box without wrecking a truck....... according to the numbers, each of the two boxes is good for about 10,000 pounds before becoming yielded and deformed. That ignores the x-member sharing load to the opposite side - but the load could also be lower than 10K and applied at high velocity. I have seen pictures on this site where the boxes were plainly damaged by impact - like running the truck (say 5K) into a rock - so I know they are a weak link. The eng study made me a believer in tying to both sides with a strap for any pull of unknown force.