ARB recovery point installed

Finally got the ARB recovery point installed on my 2013 Tacoma. Here are a couple of recent pics. I was contemplating to cover the openings in the lower frame ends with some of those fancy custom end caps all the cool kids have these days, but there is not much clearance to add anything else in that area.....and I did not want to stack more metal or washers or anything else between the ARB recovery point and the frame. It did ship with some washers to level things if needed, but I found that the ARB bumper + recovery point matched up purrrrfectly, no washers or spacers needed. After a few test runs, I quickly noticed the openings on the frame supports at each side collect a ton of mud and debris, so I am careful to spray it out good and I keep a fresh coat of Fluid Film up in there just in case. I have done a couple of double-line test pulls with my snatch block and shackles, and I confident this thing is strong like bull.

 

Looks good. Can you post some more up close pictures of the recovery point and how it interfaces with the ARB bar when you get time?

It sounds like the Y shaped bracket piece that comes with the bar can stay on the truck? Ive heard people say that that needs to come off which doesnt really make much sense

 

Sure thing. Here you go. ARB refers to those Y shaped brackets as "tension brackets" in the install guide which does not take into consideration if the Recovery Point will be installed afterwards.

 

Close up of ARB RP side view, with tension bracket removed.

 

Monster recovery point! Looks good in red.

 

close up of driver side ARB bumper with tension bracket left in place. I will keep this bracket here as intended, but I do not plan to reinstall the other one on the RP side.

 

straight on view of the ARB RP flush mounted to frame rails with no spacers, no bracket.

 

Fantastic ! Thanks for sharing the pictures and the update.

Question for you, if you don't mind. How difficult was it to install? I went with the BP fabricating one because that one pretty much fit my needs. I don't think I am doing full on recovery -- if anything pulling people out of snowbanks and such. But would be curious to hear how it went from an install perspective ... just in case I go down that path one day.

Tip of the hat to you ...

 

Ohh.... and thank you ARB for introducing me to the "nut on a stick". wow, that was the worst part of the job......

 

The bumper, you can solo but helps to have a friend helping. For the RP, I was able to install it myself in the driveway with minimal effort. That thing weighs about 30lbs, it could kill a small animal if you drop it.

 

I couldn't do the bumper. I just am not that skilled ... but I do know my limitations. Good to know on the recovery point, though. Looks good, too. It is the only one that I have seen that actually mounts to the frame. Fortunately, I plan on doing most of my tow / pull (most likely not "recovery" in that sense of the word) with the shackle-mounted hight receiver.

Appreciate it ... If I do upgrade at some point, I may even be able to do it !

 

Even if you don't plan on doing major recoveries, you still need a proper rated recovery point. The factory hooks and tie downs are not designed to handle extreme loads. After I installed my bumper and other gear, I stopped by a CATS scale a truck stop and got my official truck weight..... 5100lbs. If your truck is truly bogged deep, or you have logs or rocks or obstacles to get over during the recovery, then you can expect your working load at the recovery point to be wellllllllll over 5000lbs, more like 8000+. Single line pulls and single line yanks from another truck are risky and break stuff. The intention of the recovery point is to allow for double or triple line pull with shackles and snatch blocks, allowing for a 9000lb winch to perform 20,000lb + pulls through through pullies if needed, allow you to easily crawl you truck out of a rut or over obstacles for those "heavy winch pulls" instead of run and gun and tug on a snatch rope and hope it jerks you free without breaking something. That's my thoughts anyways, and all those Aussie guys on 4WD-Action 24/7 do the same, so must be good logic.

 

Awesome. Thanks for the pictures.

That thing looks solid! Im so tempted to get one. It just seems odd that you need to remove the tension bracket to install this. The bracket must be there for a reason, seems like not having it would make the bar weaker under a heavy winch pull.

 

Could that bracket fit over the recovery point piece?

 

Based on the pictures above I doubt it. Probably wouldnt be super hard to make one though now that Im looking again. Just seems silly the same company makes the same products and they arent compatible

 

The "tension" bracket is thin metal, it just keeps "tension" on the bumper during install and removal, the real strength in the bumper is from the frame mounts. And you are correct, a heavy winch pull could far exceed the bumper strength alone; so a proper double line pull using a snatch block at the recovery point will effectively reduce the pull weight at each location. For example, 15,000 lbs of pull are needed for a heavy recovery situation. Winch line is looped through snatch block #1 on a tree in front of you, which then comes back to loop through snatch block #2 connected to the ARB recovery point under the winch bumper on front of truck, and then on to another tree in front or side of you where it ends. Now you are no longer pulling 15k of force on just the front bumper, now you are pulling about 5-7k of force at each point in the line spread out between the front bumper winch feet AND the ARB recovery point, instead of putting all that force on the winch bumper by itself in a single line pull.

 

I ordered one of these recovery points earlier this week. I'm feeling a little sketched out about permanently removing one of the tension brackets.

I'm wondering the same thing. It looks like it might be possible with some minor modifications.

*EDIT*

Looks like ARB is cool with ditching the passenger side tension bracket.



Picture taken from here:
https://arbusa.com/toyota-tacoma-2016-on/bumpers-protection-equipment/recovery-points/

Don't mind the 3rd gen tag. 2nd and 3rd gens use the same recovery point, P/N 2823010.

 

Does this fit with a stock bumper? Any drilling required?

 

Anyone notice local frame deformation at the rear bolt (the hook bolt with the nylock nut). I'm getting a fair amount at 50 ft-lb (spec is 57)-picture shows a straight edge sitting next to the nut. ARB says not to worry but I hesitate to bend the crap out of the frame. I'm installing on a 2011 Tacoma.

 

Good-ness that is expensive. Why is everything always so expensive!

ARB website linked above says that it works with OEM bumper and ARB bumper.