Recovery Points

This question is for folks who use their recovery gear for recovery, not for its appearance. Now we're all here because we like our trucks and I'm not trying to judge anyone for how they want to decorate their Tacoma, but I'm interested in use rather than appearance here.

I see D-rings mounted on recovery points when I'm on trail and have always wondered, what's the reasoning behind it?

Growing up, my uncle who taught me how to wheel would always have me keep the recovery gear in the recovery bag except when we were using it or drying it out after using it. His reason was that you don't want any equipment to take any more weather than necessary. I've always done the same.

Even when I think they're a decent chance I'll need to recover myself or a buddy, I don't think I'd save any time by having the D-ring already on the recovery point. I still need to go to the recovery bag to get a rope or strap or chain or something and then unscrew the D-ring and attach the rope. I guess I might save a little time digging in the recovery bag.

Is there something I'm missing?

 

Mine stay inside the truck or recovery box. Once I’ve used them I’ll toss them in the bed or leave it attached if I think I’ll need it again soon.

 

I keep the shackles in the same bag as the rope. Gotta take the shackle off the mount to put the rope on anyway.

The shackle pin will wear away the powder coating in the bore of the mount if left in there for long periods.

I've loaned my shackles to others in my wheeling group more often than I've used them on my own truck, so there's another reason to not have them in the mounts.

 

Two shackles, snatch block, tree strap, tow strap, shackle adapter for receiver hitch, hi-lift slider adapter and leather gloves all in cubby under left rear passenger seat with some packaging foam to keep it from rattling. Location stays dry and easy to reach when back is full of camp gear.

 

That's a good point, I'd only been thinking about how it would be hard on the shackle, but it would be rough on the recovery point too.

 

I just started mounting them on the bumper (as seen with a custom isolator here) for wet season use.

a) 5 shackles is better than 3, and I was running out of room in the bag, so the bumper they went,

b) If I ever needed a quick tug from a winch hook, I'd be SOL because there are zero tow points without a d-ring, so I might as well have one installed,

c) generic d-rings are cheap and replaceable, and I like keep my go-to green pin shackles in the recovery bag (next to the soft shackles) for preferred use.

I personally think a bumper looks cleaner without hardware hanging from it (unless it's one of those $215 Monster Hooks of course)

 

That's fair, my recovery bag is pretty big (both a blessing and curse), so I haven't run into any space issues. I also keep a spare soft and hard shackle in the under storage bin so that I have something on hand even if I don't have my recovery bag with me.

Totally agree, but I realize that's just my personal preference.

 

I keep a shackle in the hitch when I'm not towing, have a 20 foot strap I've used in my truck box and a 30 foot foot strap so far unused in the cab. I also have another hard shackle in the truck box.
I admitably have been offroad twice in the last three years, I like the money my job pays but the hours are damn long.

 

I keep all mine in my gear bag. Seems to me that if you keep d-rings on your recovery points, you have two choices: tighten them as tight as you can, or ziptie them up to keep them from falling apart.

Neither seem like they would be convenient when you need to get them apart and use them. Plus to your point of leaving them exposed all year long (winter road salt..)

I know some people that don't intend on taking them apart, rather they just run a soft shackle through the d-ring. To each their own

I think the only exception to this is when using my rear hitch link. If I end up using that, I'll usually leave it there until the trip is over and I'm back on pavement.

 

Shackles and isolators look great, but us S.W. Ga rednecks like things hanging off the bumpers and hitches don't you know.

 

Because each recovery can be so very different .

Nothing gets attached till I figure just where it needs to go one must be careful when using a 60 Ton winch or 2.

That same mindset carries over to every recovery.

 

Totally, always good to give yourself a little time to think everything through.

 

I keep my front ones mostly for aesthetics, but I attach my rear one before I go off road.