Installed Tow Hooks

[Zero]

I finally got around to installing a set of tow hooks I got from AlekG. I swear, half the mods on my truck have to be my bastardized creation that came from his storage hahahaha.

Anyways. I followed the HowTO on the OS for the bumper skin removal. Very easy to do. I gave my rad a good brush too, in order to get the bugs and stuff out.

I un-bolted the really long bolts on the bumper 1 side at a time . Lined the tow hooks up to the appropriate hole, and tightened them down as tight as I could without really reefin' on stuff. It felt solid when I was done.

I do however have 1 question. The stock tow hooks, use the stock long ass bolt in the bump, and also have a m10 bolt that is super short in comparison. On the passenger side, the small bolt actually felt like it threaded into the bumper and held the tow hook in place before I put the long bolt in. But on the driver side, there is soo much room in the hole on the bumper the bolt slides in and out. I checked everything and nothing was missing or broken. I guess it is just bad fit-ament on one side?? I got the long bolt in, then tightened the short one as much as possible. I know its seated up through its hole. But I dont think it is actually threaded to anything.

The tow hooks r sold. and lined up great. I just want to find out what the deal is with the short bolt. Is it just there so the hook cant twist? Because where the hole is there isnt much metal, so that why i cant see it supporting a huge amount of weight like the long bolt does.



All in all this took me maybe a half hour. The hardest part was getting the old clip on nuts off the bumper so I could get the tow hook flush to the metal.

I didnt take any pics. This is a pretty straight forward mod. There is only one place they can go hahaha.

[The Roadie]

This is a pretty straight forward mod. There is only one place they can go hahaha.

You know that does NOT stop folks on the OS from asking for a STEP BY STEP HOW-TO with PICTURES and a PARAGRAPH ON THE BACK OF EACH ONE.

It's like they demand a book with cheat codes for everything in life.

Rant over - I'm sick of the concept of a total step-by-step instruction document for obvious stuff like this. Congrats. Respect. You possess the attribute of worthiness.

Envoys never had the hook option. Can't answer your question. I'm useless.

[Zero]

Ahhh the Roadie seal of approval hahahaha.

I know , I know I should have taken pics. I will take some pics of it installed to clarify the bolt situation. But honestly, if someone is trying to put on a set of tow hooks and can figure out where to get the info they need to know how things come apart....well then they should be paying someone else to do it or teach them.

Your not useless Bill, someone just had to stump ya once in a while to keep you on your toes hahahaha

[Philberto]

Yes, the small bolt is there to prevent twisting, since thagt little pin doesn't really do shit except align the hook. It actually withstands a lot of shear force, so it is more important than you may think.

[TB_KSV68]

Ah yeah..

When I put mine on about three years ago, was not impressed, but had to have.

The beef is in the long bolt through the frame. The roll pin is for location and the small bolt helps , but is for anti-twist.

The ROADIE gave me a solid tug on a rocky uphill with one hook, whilst on our jaunt to MOAB last year. Worked out just fine. No plastic damage. BONUS

I have since bought a short nylon strap that projects out front about 4 feet in a "V" fashion and divides the force to both hooks and towards the frame. Would not trust the outside hook curve for a hard pull at all.

All said and done, they are better than nothing and good to have. Use your head, you will be OK, until we all get custom bumpers loaded with goodies.

Happy Trails and offroad safely.......MIKE

[The Roadie]

MIKE! Good buddy!!!! Where ya been?!?

[Trail X]

Sounds like you made a mistake... but without pictures I can't be sure.

The small bolt should be threaded from the INSIDE of the bumper, not the outside. It does hold the hook on... it doesn't act just as a pin.

[Zero]

S O B !!!!!!! I threaded it through the bottom through the tow hook. I totally didnt even think of doing it like that. Ill make sure to fix it.

I wish I found a pic like that during my search.

[Trail X]

Sometimes the easiest things can surprise you.

I posted this on the OS in Barton's radiator skidplate thread... I don't know if it was ever migrated over here.

[Philberto]

Massive thread cleanup completed. If you guys would like to debate the merits of synthetic winch line as a clothesline, just repost in the chat thread.

[HARDTRAILZ]

Anyone tried to run stock tow hooks with a body lift? I think you have to cut off that one bolt hole.

[Zero]

Ok, they are installed properly now.

[TSAdventurez]

Anyone tried to run stock tow hooks with a body lift? I think you have to cut off that one bolt hole.

That is what I am trying to figure out now. Any one have any input?

[Mudwheelin]

I just installed mine back on with the body lift. I couldn't put the second small bolt in because that part of the bumper has been cut. So right now there just more for looks until I figure out a solution for it. I thought about running 1" steel tubing in behind the bumper and attaching them to that.

[bartonmd]

Anyone tried to run stock tow hooks with a body lift? I think you have to cut off that one bolt hole.

That is what I am trying to figure out now. Any one have any input?

Or... ... ... You could have asked the guy who is making the skid plate for you, to hold the tow hooks...

With the radiator skid with the stock tow hook mod, like the pictures I sent you, the stock tow hooks don't mount to the bumper any more, so it will be a completely different answer than someont without one of my skids. They mount to the skid. So, it doesn't matter what you do to the bumper, and you are actually able to use the stock tow hooks... HOWEVER, the stock tow hooks use the stock bumper bolts to hold them on, so you'll either need to figure something else out on mounting the bumper, or you'll need to source some REALLY long metric bolts...

From the "what I make and prices thread," there's this picture of Kyle's 3" body lift TB with the stock bumper and the rad skid.



So if you lift the bumper cover up and don't cut it, the tow hooks will be right behind the plastic, 3" below where they were, stock. My suggestion would be to either cut out the bottom of the tow hook cutout in the bumper, or to do like some have done (Phil, maybe?) and cut where the green on Kyle's is, from in front of the wheels, around to and including the bottom of the tow hook holes.

Without a radiator skid or something otherwise custom done to mount the tow hooks, you cannot mount them with a body lift, and expect to pull anything with them. The front bumper support, with the body lift, is ONLY strong enough to hold the bumper cover from moving in the wind. It is NOT meant to pull on in any way, shape, or form!

Mike

[TSAdventurez]

Thanks mike sorry I didn't ask in the first place :p
My plan is to runyour skid plate with a 2 inch zone body lift and stock front bumper.
Thanks for the explanation

[Mudwheelin]

With the radiator skid with the stock tow hook mod, like the pictures I sent you, the stock tow hooks don't mount to the bumper any more, so it will be a completely different answer than someont without one of my skids. They mount to the skid. So, it doesn't matter what you do to the bumper, and you are actually able to use the stock tow hooks... HOWEVER, the stock tow hooks use the stock bumper bolts to hold them on, so you'll either need to figure something else out on mounting the bumper, or you'll need to source some REALLY long metric bolts...

So if you lift the bumper cover up and don't cut it, the tow hooks will be right behind the plastic, 3" below where they were, stock. My suggestion would be to either cut out the bottom of the tow hook cutout in the bumper, or to do like some have done (Phil, maybe?) and cut where the green on Kyle's is, from in front of the wheels, around to and including the bottom of the tow hook hole.

Even if you cut 3" down, your still not going to be able to mount the tow hooks properly. The small bolt has no where to screw into. So it would be much better to fab up your own tow hook assembly rather then cutting your bumper. Or just forget all of that and order a skid from mike.

[bartonmd]

With the radiator skid with the stock tow hook mod, like the pictures I sent you, the stock tow hooks don't mount to the bumper any more, so it will be a completely different answer than someont without one of my skids. They mount to the skid. So, it doesn't matter what you do to the bumper, and you are actually able to use the stock tow hooks... HOWEVER, the stock tow hooks use the stock bumper bolts to hold them on, so you'll either need to figure something else out on mounting the bumper, or you'll need to source some REALLY long metric bolts...

So if you lift the bumper cover up and don't cut it, the tow hooks will be right behind the plastic, 3" below where they were, stock. My suggestion would be to either cut out the bottom of the tow hook cutout in the bumper, or to do like some have done (Phil, maybe?) and cut where the green on Kyle's is, from in front of the wheels, around to and including the bottom of the tow hook hole.

Even if you cut 3" down, your still not going to be able to mount the tow hooks properly. The small bolt has no where to screw into. So it would be much better to fab up your own tow hook assembly rather then cutting your bumper. Or just forget all of that and order a skid from mike.

What I had said before was because he has already ordered a skid from me, with the factory tow hook mod, so the tow hooks mount to the skid, instead of the bumper, and are still at the bottom of the frame, even though the bumper is up 2-3".

Mike

[Mudwheelin]

Oh, sorry Mike. My reading comprehension wasn't with me there lol. Its kind of funny, because the whole time I was typing that, I was thinking "I wonder why Mike doesn't know that". Lol sorry dude. My bad.

[bartonmd]

Oh, sorry Mike. My reading comprehension wasn't with me there lol. Its kind of funny, because the whole time I was typing that, I was thinking "I wonder why Mike doesn't know that". Lol sorry dude. My bad.

LOL, no problem...

Mike