Platinum Member CallumCB Posted May 3, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted May 3, 2020 Hi All, I’ve got a Jeep Grand Cherokee 2014 model. I’ve got a detachable tow bar for the back but I can’t find any recovery points/ tow hooks! The front seems to have the kit to have the tow hooks screwed in but nothing on the back. Has anyone had any fitted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman Iain Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 (edited) I’ve got a 2017 Grand. Also with a detachable towbar fitted. As standard, there’s a recovery hook on the near side. When the towbar is fitted, the structural centre beam across the rear is unbolted, and the towbar metal bolted in its place. On mine, the towhook was removed at the same time, the new metalwork didn’t have a hole in the right place for its original mounting. It took a bit of fiddling about, and a few minutes with a drill, but I drilled a hole in the new crossmember to match the corresponding hole in the unibody. Once done, bolting the towhook back in place took minutes. Its not not the easiest thing to get in pictures, but I’ve tried. Edited May 3, 2020 by Fireman Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman Iain Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 If you haven’t got the hook, you won’t have anything on the rear of the Jeep. A towball is not suitable for recovery, and the metalwork is tucked up behind the bumper, so you can’t attach directly to the bar. The rear towhook (when fitted) is a proper recovery point, it’s plenty strong, but the front screw in towhook is definitely not. It’s ok for pulling a broken down vehicle onto a tow truck, but should not be used for being towed/pulling other vehicles out if stuck in mud or similar. I still can’t believe Jeep didn’t fit proper recovery points on the front, although I think they did on the Trailhawk. I use my GC off-road a bit, and will be doing so more and more, so I’m very much looking for some proper front recovery points. Mopar are constantly out of stock, the only others I’ve found are Chief Products which would need to be imported from America or Australia. At a crazy cost compared to equivalents for Land Rovers, which I’ve owned in the past before this, my first Jeep. Anyone any suggestions? I have thought of knocking my own recovery points up, they’re simple enough things, but in the modern age of liability, if something went wrong and a bystander got hurt, they wouldn’t be rated or tested..... Likewise for underbody protection, and even rock sliders, if anyone knows a source that won’t break the bank, I’m all ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators stewart Posted May 13, 2020 Administrators Share Posted May 13, 2020 Hi Iain, Over here in Australia I have seen the following front ones that are properly rated too https://www.murchisonproducts.com.au/shop/chief-products-wk2-grand-cherokee-recovery-point On the rear we have the square hitch receiver that can take a recovery shackle as the pic below : Not sure if this type is legal in the UK? All this stuff in Australia has to be ADR approved (Australian design rules) Which is sometimes a pain but does make sure things are properly rated and safe I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators stewart Posted May 13, 2020 Administrators Share Posted May 13, 2020 4 minutes ago, PDB said: Snatch recoveries best to use a bridle as in Stewart's pic. Thanks Paolo It's really important on a monocoque vehicle (most Jeeps now except Wrangler ) Helps prevent twisting the Chassis when doing high stress recoveries so highly recommend the Bridle setup ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman Iain Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Yes. And no. There’s a school of thought that says bridles are good as they spread the forces between 2 points on the unibody. That’s fine if the bridle is long enough, the longer the better. Short bridles cause a side load load on the recovery points, which can lead to distortion, dimpling and weakening of the metal. Pulling in line, or as close as possible, reduces the problem. For the same reason, always try and recover from straight ahead/behind, not pulling from an angle. I haven't found a sensibly priced front recovery point yet, I’m too tight to pay almost 200 quid for a couple of pieces of powder coated steel, with some holes bored through, which is what they amount to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators stewart Posted May 13, 2020 Administrators Share Posted May 13, 2020 5 minutes ago, Fireman Iain said: Short bridles cause a side load load on the recovery points, which can lead to distortion, dimpling and weakening of the metal. Pulling in line, or as close as possible, reduces the problem That goes without saying ! It's always best but very often not possible to get a direct straight line pull having done many training exercises with the 4 wheel drive trainers association in the USA I fully understand this, but many members will not know this and it's great you have highlighted this in the post. 6 minutes ago, Fireman Iain said: I haven't found a sensibly priced front recovery point yet, I’m too tight to pay almost 200 quid for a couple of pieces of powder coated steel, with some holes bored through, which is what they amount to. I suppose if you import them from USA or Aussie yes maybe you would be at £200 by the time you ship and pay import taxes! However these are more than just a couple of bits of metal this stuff has to be Engineer Certified. This costs money along with certified recovery gear, obviously people are in business to make some sort of profit pay staff thereby creating Jobs also return on their investment in research and design ? I guesses the Chinese could copy them and make out of some substandard steel too? I don't think it's about being tight more about how you value your safety and those around you ? After all the Jeep you drive was extensively engineered and safety tested for your safety ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators stewart Posted May 13, 2020 Administrators Share Posted May 13, 2020 4 minutes ago, PDB said: What do we mean by 'rated' (my pet hate)? Is the 'rating' the breaking strength (always preferred to determine your own design factors) or the working load limit? What design factors were used to determine the working load limit? What should the design factor be? Yeah Ok agree should have put working load limit!! on this product it is 4500kg WLL (Working Load Limit) [Engineer Certified] with 8100kg MBS (Minimum Breaking Strength) [Engineer Certified]! As most recovery gear we use WLL but it's nice to have that large factor between WLL and Braking strain that way we maybe don't push it to the limit in theory ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman Iain Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 2 hours ago, stewart said: I suppose if you import them from USA or Aussie yes maybe you would be at £200 by the time you ship and pay import taxes! However these are more than just a couple of bits of metal this stuff has to be Engineer Certified. This costs money along with certified recovery gear, obviously people are in business to make some sort of profit pay staff thereby creating Jobs also return on their investment in research and design ? I guesses the Chinese could copy them and make out of some substandard steel too? I don't think it's about being tight more about how you value your safety and those around you ? After all the Jeep you drive was extensively engineered and safety tested for your safety ? I know all that, but this is my first Jeep after years and years with Land Rovers. It’s come as a bit of a surprise that parts and accessories can cost 5 times more than I’m used to paying. I’ll have to bite the bullet and buy some at some point, I know. But I’m a Yorkshireman, and spending money hurts.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member frosty Posted May 13, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted May 13, 2020 4 hours ago, Fireman Iain said: I know all that, but this is my first Jeep after years and years with Land Rovers. It’s come as a bit of a surprise that parts and accessories can cost 5 times more than I’m used to paying. I’ll have to bite the bullet and buy some at some point, I know. But I’m a Yorkshireman, and spending money hurts.... import the parts yourself from the USA, I have been doing that for 18 years of jeep modifications, it is very easy and you will save a fortune, there are many " off road specialist companies" that will charge you a fortune for imported parts, that you can import for half the cost, also jeeps are quite simple vehicles to modify, primarily because of " you tube", if you do not want to get you hands dirty, there are many jeep garages that are not main dealers, and charge a quarter of the labour rate, you can find the names on this site, and many others, these garages will fit the parts you supply ( as long as they are suitable), usually they are very experienced jeep trained mechanics. if you want any advice, message me. 08973563163 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member frosty Posted May 13, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted May 13, 2020 correction 07973563163 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman Iain Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 I finally got some proper front recovery points for the WK2, imported from Off-road Animal in Australia. Bit of a faff about as UPS lost the first lot and took 7 weeks to admit it. After they’d refunded the seller, they sent another set out, and somehow, both parcels arrived at the same time. So now I’ve got 2 pairs, does anyone want one?? They were dead easy to fit, and, as pointed out above, I’ve now got properly engineered recovery points front and rear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators stewart Posted August 17, 2020 Administrators Share Posted August 17, 2020 Looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member CallumCB Posted August 19, 2020 Author Platinum Member Share Posted August 19, 2020 Yes yes yes!!! I’ve been searching for front recovery hooks since getting mine! Let me know! My number is 07543648034 or can catch me on Instagram- JeepInWanderland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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