Factory Tow hitch Hooks Broken?

Hey guys. I got my 2010 tacoma stuck real bad couple weeks ago in woods. Had to get it pulled out and while doing that broke my 2 tow hooks on the factory tow hitch. I want to get them fixed but dealer said i would have to buy a whole new hitch. Im going to be towing my 19foot boat this weekend and would like to put the chains there in case the ball came out. How would i fix it. Maybe weld them back togther maybe by a shop, idk lol. I was thinking just taking the hooks from tailer and hooking them to the under of the hitch since the tow hook loops are broken . Please give me advice. Thanks guys

 

You shouldn't tow a stuck vehicle out with those hooks, they're not made for that kind of load, get a receiver mounted shackle for stuff like that. As far as fixing your problem, are the chains long enough to wrap around the hitch frame itself as a temporary fix until you can replace the factory hitch? Otherwise, places like Uhaul could get you set up with a new hitch fairly quickly. I suppose a good welding shop could fix it for you if the only thing that broke was the hooks on the sides but make sure nothing else is bent.

Oh and...



EDIT: OP, next time use one of these and a good tow strap. http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/elite-off-road/90840-elite-off-road-receiver-hitch-shackle.html

 

Like the other guys said you shouldn't really ever pull from those. Safety chains on there only. However, that's easy to say when you're not stuck in the woods and it's getting dark or something and you don't plan to abandon your truck for a week while the UPS guy brings you the tow loop you walked home to order.

A strap with a loop on the end can work well with a trailer hitch pin in the receiver too. But you probably didn't have anything in the receiver either.

If it's just the hooks that got messed up you should be able to have them welded. Depending on the length of the chains just have a look around under there. You can see how beefy looking the factory hook points are (are aren't) so maybe you can find something else sturdy enough to hook them to temporarily.

I ordered my recovery loop with a big solid shank and large D-ring from e-trailer, was about $35. I keep it under the back seats by the jack all the time because you never know. If you're going to buy a strap, the recovery straps are much stronger than tow straps. Recovery straps have some stretch to them so they don't snap when they get taut.

 

Thanks for the infor guys. I was so stuck and I mean stuck I had to leave my truck overnight in the woods. Omg it was bad. I know I shouldn't have try to pull out from the hooks but after 6 hours of trying to get my brand new truck out from mud, anything would have helped. I don't think the tailer chains ate longer enough to go around the back side of the hitch but I'll check. The hitch itself is fine so no way I'm going to spend another 200 to fix it when just the hooks are broken. Next time I'll get a better d rings and stuff like you guys said. Thanks

 

Something I did before I got my receiver shackle from elite offroad was taking a recovery strap with loops in the end and feeding it through the receiver and looping it back over itself. I know it doesn't help ya now but maybe in the future if you get in a similar predicament.

 

Figure out a way to hook your trailer chains up PROPERLY. You can kill someone if that safety backup isn't there.

 

aidenhardcore,

2 things; 1st find a GOOD weld/fab shop to weld those safety LOOPS back on,maybe up grade ....2nd ...buy that dam receiver-D-ring set-up.....Amazon or a good local 4x4 shop will have them...better yet CHECK TW vendors...guess what, one of them sells them...

 

^So you provide him with Amazon but dont give him the vendor on TW that sells them? Nice. Maybe you should help out the vendor and the OP and not keep it a secret

 

Ok I'm just curious why people are buying these when they could just carry a wrench and take the ball out of there hitch and put the d-ring in?

 

Pfffft that takes effort

 

let me just ask you one thing..... where did you find woods in boston?