need a hook

[geeves]

Ouch

[quack]

so now i ask what have other mus got in the rear?

[geeves]

I wonder how many people are under there Isuzus right now studying there rear hooks.
A second look at Daisy's one shows the original 10mm bolts so the bracket broke at quite a low stress. Also the damage on the other vehicle when compared to other tow hook accident pictures doesnt suggest that the snatch tow was overcooked. There may of been a hidden crack in the mount but all the edges look clean. Until today I would of been happy with this mounting but now ??
There is someone selling brackets on trademe that bolt to the 4 holes in the center of the rear cross member but now you can see how the rear cross member is attached. James did major structural changes to allow his center mounted hook to be safe but if this involved welding it also should mean a trip to the certifier. James would be best to answer how he got round this.
On mine the tow hooks are integrated into a towbar which mounts to both these brackets and the bumper mounting bolts on the side of the chassis making 4 12mm bolts on each side. This might be a starting point but now Im thinking how do I make it stronger.

[quack]

yeah im hopping that this was just down to a hidden crack, as this has broken the welds and ripped out a bit of the chassis rail, so i this case even if the bracket was copped off and a hook placed were it was through the chassis rail it still would of failed and that would of been called a "legal" hook.

think i might have a bit of a clean up around the bracket area and check for any hidden cracks.

i took my towbar off as it was a low rider and got cort up on everything offroad.

maybe a good sulition would be to get a bracket made up that bolted on were the standard hook bracket is and were the bumper bolts on, like the towbar. then were would be 4 12mm bolts holding the bracket on.

[quack]

ok dug out the old towbar, is been made of 8 or 10mm steel so nice and strong.

this is basicly what im going to do:



the yellow is the bracket that ill cut out of the old towbar, and will be held on by 2 12mm bolts were the bummpers bolt on and sandwiched between the hook and the standard bracket with the two 12mm bolts. there for there will be 4 12mm bolts holding the hook on, sound good ;D

[jer0]

I made it out of 8mm angle iron, its bolted on with 3 12mm ht bolts as well as the 2 stock captive nuts for the rear bumper. I may re-do it soon and just weld some 10mm angle iron on the side

[quack]

looks good jer0 so all up there is 3 bolts holding the bracket on and the two for the hook?

ive cut my bracket out and i must say its very grunty! only thing is tho is that the factroy bumper bolts which i thought were 12 are only 10mm...

will the 10s be ok as these are extras? maybe i will have to remove the bumper and drill them out to 12mm only problem is that the bumper is tac welded in place...

[blumu]

I've finally had the chance to look into adding some recovery points. Starting with a rear hook:

Quack when you drilled out the back did you need to make a new hole? From what I can see the stock holes are a lot further apart then the ones on the hook... I'm sure three holes that close together isn't going to be very strong.

Geeves how much did you pay for your tow bar? I've got one but with no hooks on it, easiest way might be to upgrade.

Does anyone know if the lights on the rear bumper are needed under the Australia Design Rules? The option I'm thinking of using would be to cut out holes where the lights are and put hooks behind. Might even be possible to put the lights back on and remove them when I need to get pulled out. This would basically be like jer0’s design, but with the hook bolting directly on. I’m not too keen on following jer0’s design exactly as it would mean removing the bumper for good (and I’m guessing that’s not legal)

My third option is the hook that bolts in the middle of the crossbar idea, has anyone actually fitted one here? Being a square tube means having to use the captive nuts as its impossible to get new ones in with out cutting and welding at least half the crossbar (which I guess is possible, but not preferable). What I was considering though is putting a hook on the rear step, but also adding some more support (like jer0’s design but sidways) screwed into the four centre captive nuts. Only problem is this would really need bolting underneath the crossbar (which is impossible) or the force would all be on a weld and a bend.

Any ideas? Everything seems to involve some modifications.

[quack]

ill have some pics of my new bracket i got made tomoro, it is super strong and is 10mm mildsteel and bolted onto the chassis with 12mm ht bolts and a 10mm plate on the inside of the chassis with the ht nuts welded captive, it then bolts onto were the factory mount is two.

yeah the original had an exta hole.

[geeves]

Towbar dont know the cost as someone elses insurance paid for most of it.
Lights under ADR not sure but the importer wouldnt of fitted them if he didnt have to. Over here there is a rule about the angle that the tail light must be seen at Mine sould fail but never has. That rear cross member has nice bolt holes for a pintle hook but the cross member itself isnt very strong I wouldnt trust it.
I had to take my rear hooks off last weekend to bash a few things back to shape and found all 4 12mm bolts had bent There all straight and shinney new now.
I think a good rule of thumb is that if your unsure about your hook then it is not up to scratch Risking a hook failure is playing very high stakes.

[blumu]

I'm starting to wonder if what looked like the hardest option will actually be the easiest...

My girlfriends Dad is a certified welder and so I could get him to do some serious mods and add whole new brackets for the hooks. I was against this to start with but I figure if I go totally over the top with reinforcing etc it would have to be at least as good as the stock area on the back and an angled hook on the front... hopefully.

This means more time lying on the ground trying to work out a design though

[suza]

I have just finshed making up my frount tow hook mounts for my 92 bighorn. These come of the chassi rail were the bumper mount is useing the same bolts and then ties across to the bullbar mount to give it extra strenght. I used some 80 x 80 x 10mm angle. and this has worked out quite nicely. Off over the long weekend to see how well they work.

[quack]

has anyone got any tips on removing factory captivenuts? were im adding my bracket the nuts look to have quite a good tack on them and cant get a grinder in there. theyre only 10mm so i wont to get rid of them and slide some 10mm plate with nuts tack onto it.

blumu would deffently been keen on some pics or plains you got for the hook:)

suza you got some pics

[force]

try a cold chisel dont go to hard out

[suza]

No pic's(don't have a digi camera yet) or plan's we just made it up as went. I am down the Lake maybe we could catch up some where and you could have a look?
The rear one I have mounted a central hook off my tow bar mount, this works for me as it is built very heavy. The other way we looked at doing the rear recovery point was through a pintel type mount my bighorn has the facilty for this but I decided against this as the cross member looked like it would need stregthening.
A word of warning about mounting the hooks under the veichle is that they can get badly damaged and are a pig to get at once you are bogged.

[muvit madness]

hi blumu
in answering your ? about using the rear crossmember for a recovery point
i bought a pintle hitch from the local 4wd megastore which bolted straight
onto the captive nuts & used high tensile bolts for about a years worth of
4wding with no probs whatso-ever before i had changed it to a recievers
shackel which is placed into the hayman & reece tow bar? this works excellent
too. good luck.
muvit

[quack]

ok just come up with an extreamly effective way for tow hooks and highlift pionts in the back (i think)



the red is going to be 100x70 angle, 10mm mild steel. there is 12 captive nuts along here although i think they are 10mm but maybe the middle 4 are 12mm?

going to get ht bolts to suit and bolt it on and then atcatch the hooks to the flat.

the bummpers will still beable to stay might just need a little trim in the rite place ;D

what does everyone think?

[geeves]

A tempting answer wich might work. However take a look at the way the rear crossmember attaches to the chassis and you will see the weakness.
James in CHCH strengthened his maybe he can put some info here on what needs to be done

[muvit madness]

here's what i did with mine if you like fabworx theres plenty of pics from start to finish, i'll post a new thread in 4x4modifications if you like to see how it was constructed?