Recovery Shackles Mounted

I had to buy some new straps and basic recovery gear and decided to mount two of the Shackles on the rear frame. The mounting area on the frame would be strong enough for an easy straight recovery, but the location is less than ideal. The strap angle would contact the bumper and possibly cause damage. I have a shackle hitch mount for basic recovery stuff. I ran out of storage space in the truck so the Shackles are basically just stored on the frame for easy access and it looks pretty cool.

 

So are you taking the shackles off for recoveries, or are you pulling from their current location?

 

I would move them, the mounting location on the frame would be sufficient for an easy straight pull, but the angle of the strap could cause damage to the rear bumper. It's just a cool place to store them. I don't live in a high crime area so I'm not too worried about theft and the shackles are not that expensive.

 

Except when they become a b**ch to remove

 

A light coat of anti seize and a good cleaning every so often will prevent that problem.

 

That and you'd have to dig them out of the mud from time to time. Not the worst thing though. Good idea overall did you put the coating on the shackles or did you buy them that way?

 

They came with the rubber isolators. You can find them on Amazon for approx $20 a pair.

 

I don't get the point of "storing" them there at all. Why not just keep them under the rear seat?

 

I don't have the room to store them inside the truck. Air compressor, straps, lights, first aid kit, shovel, recovery gear, tools, etc.

 

I like it.

 

I just moved my shackles inside the truck, kept in a mechanics bag with the rear hitch/shackle adapter. Glad I did, too. The both shackles required the use of a crescent wrench and mallet to unscrew. Had I needed them in the dark, off the side of the road, I'd have had nothing to open them with.

 

Where did you mount them on the frame? Were there holes to slide the pin through? People talk about the pins seizing up when left outside. Wouldn't antiseize on the threads take care of that?

 

Not sure about the anti-seize. We have gobs of road salt in my neck of the woods. Will anti-seize prevent rusting? I don't know...

 

I used to keep my shackle on the rear hitch mount I bought on year round, last winter did a number on it even with neverseez on the threads. I ended up cleaning it all off, recoating them with neverseez and just keeping them inside my truck bed in the pockets closest to the cab. One on each side, they're too heavy to bounce out. The salt/sand in the North east just kills everything.

To the OP - the swinging and vibration from the shackles will wear down the coating on the frame - thus allowing for an exposed spot for it to rust. As we all know Tacoma's don't shy away from any chance to rust - so just some food for thought.