Recovery Mod Help

Any particular reason? I've run the Curt shackle hitch on a few recoveries. The Factor 55 Hitchlink is rated for 9500lbs while the Curt shackle hitch is rated at 13000lbs.

I'll add the Curt hitch is solid steel and very substantial. It is larger in length than any of the aluminum shackle hitches I've seen and the two pin holes for 90 degree mounting is offset from each other.

 

While there is a very low chance of that metal shackle coming undone, I'd use a soft shackle instead.

All bets are off if a metal shackle fails at the end of a kinetic rope.

 

Get a kinetic rope and soft shackles....

Unless you know what you r doing, stay away from metal shackles and metal winch cable

 

i'm seriously re-thinking my Amazon soft shackles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmLTiJf95bU

 

My job has me working with professional riggers and cranes several times a week. Every time I see a shackle get installed it is hand tightened until seated, then backed off, then retightened to verify it's just touched off on the seat. Every one of the riggers carries a spud wrench to loosen after lift if needed.

I used to do a lot of off roading in my youth. Had an 82 Long bed sitting on 38" super swampers and we spent a lot of time in the mud. We came upon a mudhole on a trail one day and there was a group of guys and several vehicles blocking the way. They had just attempted a recovery on a 85 access cab SR5 that was stuck. They wrapped a chain around the center of the rear step and tow bumper, and then added a kinetic snatch strap to the chain with a shackle. They hooked it to a recovery point on the rear of a full size chevy truck. When the driver snatched the Toyota, the bumper snapped right in half, shackle and chain recoiled and went right thru the tailgate of the chevy and shattered the rear window right behind the driver. If the tailgate hadn't slowed the shackle down it probably would have killed the driver. I never looked at a recovery the same way after seeing that. Know your equipment, it's potential, it's weaknesses, and the proper uses for it. It may save your life some day.

 

It might go without saying - but if you don't have a "commercial" line dampener in you kit - always have something to use instead. I have typically used an old canvas tarp (saw better days on the road and had plenty of wounds) to saddle the line. And numerous times we've used some soggy old Carhartt coveralls or jacket from an oilfield job ....... just don't risk nekked.

 

Ok, I thought you were referencing an issue with the Curt hitch specifically. I agree on the soft shackles, but I'm ok with using the 6.5 ton WLL shackle.

 

What am I looking at. The ARB recovery point painted black? Cool. So it sounds like you're a believer? Haven't pulled the trigger yet.

 

Neither of which are rated for recovery.

ARB recovery point if you don't have an aftermarket bumper with recovery points.

 

All black everything is slick and all until its pitch black out and u cant see sh*t lol

 

u def dont wanna get real stuck and have to execute any sort of dynamic type pull on those little hooks. They're held on by a couple small bolts onto a very light reinforced part of the (sub?) frame

Theyre 100% fine for slow straight pulls...like onto a flatbed

 

I

I haven't read all the posts yet, but there is only one stock point on the front. The hook. The loop is NOT to be pulled from.

 

These trucks are body on frame. No sub frame lol

 

The stock tow-point isn't rated, though it can take a certain amt of pull. The driver-side loop isn't a pulling point, it's just there to use to tie down the vehicle during transport by cargo ship or on a road-bound car carrier trailer.

Using the stock tow point for anything beyond mild, low-load, & probably NON-snatch recoveries risks either frame damage or tearing it off completely.

The ARB recovery point is rated for 16,000 lbs max pull, from any pulling angle within the left/right turning angle of the front tires.

The ARB costs $$$, but as far as I can tell there really aren't any other properly-engineered, fully tested, and rated recovery points for the front end of Tacomas. Here's more info & analysis I wrote on this subject, elsewhere.

 

If I can't find that thing at night, I would be surprised, not even considering the headlamp and flashlights that are along.

 

It connects to more spots, esp the main frame rail. A definite upgrade over the OR Tow Hook.

 

Great info videos here - I am taking my nipple rings and tow hitch shackles off and stowing them so they don't rust even though I think they look "cool."

The other thing is; I do have a recovery strap and I am going to get a couple of soft shackles but I am never going to try a kinetic recovery without someone who really knows what they are doing. I have only had to be recovered once (October 2017) in soft sand and they used a recovery strap not kinetic but also not soft shackles.

 

There's no comparison at all. The stock tow hook has no published load rating. It's an 8 or 10 ounce hunk of metal with 2 bolts on it.

The ARB recovery point weighs 27 pounds and is fastened by lots of bolts in different frame locations & planes to stiffen it all up & make it worthy of a claimed (and no doubt tested by ARB) 16,000 lb pull.

 

I have used, and have seen folks use, both the left hoop and tow hook. For normal, easy recoveries. They work great and are equivalent. One is welded and the other is bolted. For bad recoveries such as mud, a connection to the main rails is needed.

In the end, the biggest deal is a smooth pull. A recovery strap or kinetic rope is what is going to prevent damage.

 

I know, but that rectangular tube running across the front end below the front bumper doesnt seem to be part of the actual frame itself, no?