Tow Straps

[gssixgun]

With the purchase of the wife's Jeep Cherokee "LIMITED" two winters ago and the realization that if you don't buy a freaking "Trailhawk" you don't get Tow Cleats/Hooks, I have had to rethink what to keep on the Kubota to pull her and the neighbors out of the snowbanks and ditches.

I have never owned a 4 wheel drive that didn't have tow points to pull the damn thing out before. Yea Jeep

I have had a 20' Tow Chain with a couple of 4' cinch chain for pulling out trees and vehicles since I bought my first Kubota L185 back in 2007

Now I have to worry about yanking the damn plastic facias off and trying to find a spot to attach to

I just got in a 3"x30' strap plus a few different D rings to help attach it

I have also learned that running the strap/chain around the backside of the bucket under the lip and then to the vehicle to keep it low to the ground so you don't rip off a "bumper".

Things we have to learn in our old age


Anyone else having fun with this stuff

 

[SidecarFlip]

Seems as though every winter I get to pull various cars and trucks out of the ditches that line the sides of the roads out here in rural Michigan.

I always use a synthetic tow strap with sifficient capacity (I use a 10 ton rated strap) attached to the tractor drawbar with a 10 ton rated screw shackle and I alwas have the unfortunate person hook the end of the strap to whatever they think will be sufficient;y stong enough, always cautioning them not to use a tie rod as it always causes wheel alignment issues as the tie rod bends....lolAxles work, so does the frame but again, I never hook the strap to any stuck vehicle, ever. No point in winding up with a liability issue.

and... I alwaus collect 50 bucks prior to pulling them out. I feel 50 bucks one, teached them a lesson and twp, pays for my time and 50 bucks is cheaper than a tow truck, lots cheaper.

Snatch straps (tow straps) are wonderful. Just like a huge rubber band, jerks them roght pot.

Be sure to tell the 'vivtim' tp put the steering tires in the directio of the pull and hang on.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re:...Now I have to worry about yanking the damn plastic facias off and trying to find a spot to attach to

not me... I don't bother 'helping', even 50 ain't enough to interest me. Also if YOU hookup and do damage YOU'RE in trouble...

As for the JEEP, just buy the hooks, install yourself..... though usually you're pulling from the trailee hitch out back....

 

[gssixgun]

re:..

As for the JEEP, just buy the hooks, install yourself..... though usually you're pulling from the trailee hitch out back....

Yeah it doesn't work that way But sure would be nice if it were that easy

 

[Jim Dandy]

Seems as though every winter I get to pull various cars and trucks out of the ditches that line the sides of the roads out here in rural Michigan.

I always use a synthetic tow strap with sifficient capacity (I use a 10 ton rated strap) attached to the tractor drawbar with a 10 ton rated screw shackle and I alwas have the unfortunate person hook the end of the strap to whatever they think will be sufficient;y stong enough, always cautioning them not to use a tie rod as it always causes wheel alignment issues as the tie rod bends....lolAxles work, so does the frame but again, I never hook the strap to any stuck vehicle, ever. No point in winding up with a liability issue.

and... I alwaus collect 50 bucks prior to pulling them out. I feel 50 bucks one, teached them a lesson and twp, pays for my time and 50 bucks is cheaper than a tow truck, lots cheaper.

Snatch straps (tow straps) are wonderful. Just like a huge rubber band, jerks them roght pot.

Be sure to tell the 'vivtim' tp put the steering tires in the directio of the pull and hang on.

Flip
$50. What happened to paying it forward my friend.
James

 

[johnjk]

I had a surveyor (young kid) get stuck on my property when we were staking out the house. Told him where to stop, that it was muddy and since he had an Econoline with 2WD and almost bald tires, he would get stuck if he went further. I drove back in with 4WD, no issues, turn around to see him sunk to the frame rails a good 500 feet past where I told him to park it. ID10T. He was freaking out about losing his job. Told him to get to work and I'd go get a snatch strap.

Didn't charge him but made him hook it up and sign a waiver releasing me from all liability. Took a bunch of pictures to CMA. Put the old truck in to 4 low, locked the diff and walked it out of that mess. I stayed off to the side in the deep grass out of the mess he made and had no issues at all.

The only extractions I've done with my B3200 is to get my own 4 wheeler out of a deep mud hole, one of those I should have measured first moments and pulled/lifted the neighbors zero turn out of a very wet ditch. My bucket hooks worked great for both.

We got about a half inch of snow on New Years Eve and around 6PM on the way back home some guy managed to spin out, bounce around in a ditch and then wind up against a power pole. Already had someone there waiting and they waved us on by. New truck too. Ended up way too far out for me to pull him and judging by how his front tire was canted, he needed more than an extraction strap

 

[SidecarFlip]

Flip
$50. What happened to paying it forward my friend.
James

If it was a neighbor maybe, but neighbor or not, they hook their vehicle. Clowns in the ditch pay up front. No pay, no pull. Call the local tow cpmpany and pay the 150 buck tow charge. My M9 in 4wd can really pull. Pulled a ton stake truck out of the ditch last year like a cork in a wine bottle.

Far as the Jeep with no yow hooks goes, Pretty easy to install aftermarket hooks. Get the chrome ones, they look snazzy.... until they rust. Bolt right to the sub frame ears.

Liability is and always will be an issue, why I don't ever hook a vehicle. Vehicles today are pretty flimsy.

'Friendly as I get.

 

[gssixgun]

Far as the Jeep with no yow hooks goes, Pretty easy to install aftermarket hooks. Get the chrome ones, they look snazzy.... until they rust. Bolt right to the sub frame ears.

No really it just doesn't work that way, if it were only that easy

 

[GreensvilleJay]

gee ,I looked it up, DLD the instructions,about 20 bolts to deal with, couple trim pieces and maybe 2 hrs time....not exactly 'rocket science'.... the 300 Canucks is a ripoff though....

 

[SidecarFlip]

No frame ears on the front? Must be unibofy. Build them cheap, sell them steep.

 

[freewheel3]

With the purchase of the wife's Jeep Cherokee "LIMITED" two winters ago and the realization that if you don't buy a freaking "Trailhawk" you don't get Tow Cleats/Hooks, I have had to rethink what to keep on the Kubota to pull her and the neighbors out of the snowbanks and ditches.

I have never owned a 4 wheel drive that didn't have tow points to pull the damn thing out before. Yea Jeep

I have had a 20' Tow Chain with a couple of 4' cinch chain for pulling out trees and vehicles since I bought my first Kubota L185 back in 2007

Now I have to worry about yanking the damn plastic facias off and trying to find a spot to attach to

I just got in a 3"x30' strap plus a few different D rings to help attach it

I have also learned that running the strap/chain around the backside of the bucket under the lip and then to the vehicle to keep it low to the ground so you don't rip off a "bumper".

Things we have to learn in our old age


Anyone else having fun with this stuff

Your Jeep has a small plastic plug on both bumpers that you pop out and install a temporary tow hook that is available at your dealer. Pop the plug, insert the hook and give it a quarter turn to lock it in place. I think mine cost me $40 if i remember right.

 

[gssixgun]

Your Jeep has a small plastic plug on both bumpers that you pop out and install a temporary tow hook that is available at your dealer. Pop the plug, insert the hook and give it a quarter turn to lock it in place. I think mine cost me $40 if i remember right.

No really it doesn't and No really they don't

They stopped that in 15 or 16

HOWEVER

the 17 (ours) does have the rear pop out, none in front for a screw in Eye bolt

However there is no eye bolt available from Jeep, working at a car lot at the time allowed me to try a few.
I found that a Subaru eye bolt will fit it and I have one

These are easy to find on eBay for about $9


When I posted this Cheap fix on the Jeep Cherokee forum I was ridiculed by all the "Trailhawk" experts that this is NOT for recovery..

The Jeep service manager (a Friend) told me to be very careful using that point for recovery and only a straight back pull if at all


I realize many out you find this hard to accept that a Jeep Cherokee is not equipped for this simple 4x4 requirement I also found it hard to accept

There is no fix beyond putting an otherwise "useless" tow hitch on the rig

It isn't just the Jeep, many of the newer CUV, SUV 4 wheel drives have issues like this

 

[freewheel3]

No really it doesn't and No really they don't

They stopped that in 15 or 16

HOWEVER

the 17 (ours) does have the rear pop out, none in front for a screw in Eye bolt

However there is no eye bolt available from Jeep, working at a car lot at the time allowed me to try a few.
I found that a Subaru eye bolt will fit it and I have one

These are easy to find on eBay for about $9


When I posted this Cheap fix on the Jeep Cherokee forum I was ridiculed by all the "Trailhawk" experts that this is NOT for recovery..

The Jeep service manager (a Friend) told me to be very careful using that point for recovery and only a straight back pull if at all


I realize many out you find this hard to accept that a Jeep Cherokee is not equipped for this simple 4x4 requirement I also found it hard to accept

There is no fix beyond putting an otherwise "useless" tow hitch on the rig

It isn't just the Jeep, many of the newer CUV, SUV 4 wheel drives have issues like this

Weird, mine is an 18 and I purchased the hook from my Jeep dealer.

 

[gssixgun]

Weird, mine is an 18 and I purchased the hook from my Jeep dealer.

Can you PLEASE post a pic I have been looking for a Jeep part for over 2 years


Found it,, Thanks been some time since I searched for it..

Have you ever used it ???

 

[freewheel3]

Can you PLEASE post a pic I have been looking for a Jeep part for over 2 years


Found it,, Thanks been some time since I searched for it..

Have you ever used it ???

Only once. My daughter overshot our driveway and slid on the ice over the shoulder. (My jeep but she OWNS it lol) So, I made her get the hook, tow strap and shackles that I have in my, er her, emergency kit and hooked it to the back of my MX5000 and pulled her out.
No damage or injuries other than her pride.

 

[200mph]

Not certain if it was mentioned earlier, so I apologize if that is the case.

Many cars come with a retrieval eyelet that is typically located near the spare tire. Pop out the small square plastic cover in the front or rear bumper, install retrieval eyelet and pull from there.

 

[gssixgun]

Only once. My daughter overshot our driveway and slid on the ice over the shoulder. (My jeep but she OWNS it lol) So, I made her get the hook, tow strap and shackles that I have in my, er her, emergency kit and hooked it to the back of my MX5000 and pulled her out.
No damage or injuries other than her pride.

Good to know that it at least can be used.. I haven't had the opportunity to use it since I found one to fit

I am going to go compare it to the Subaru one have and see if there is any difference in measurements worth investing $40

Do NOT mention it on the Jeep Cherokee forum hehehe They don't want to hear it..

 

[Sparky73]

Shooting down everyone's advice saying "No it doesn't work that way..."

Here's something that will absolutely work. Install a Piranha Toothbar on the bucket. Ease up to the bumper (front or rear doesn't matter), scoop the toothbar as far as possible under the bumper, lift and pull it out. Guaranteed that'll work!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: Here's something that will absolutely work. Install a Piranha Toothbar on the bucket. Ease up to the bumper (front or rear doesn't matter), scoop the toothbar as far as possible under the bumper, lift and pull it out. Guaranteed that'll work!

hmm, it's a recipe for a very pricey disaster !!

ANY kind of 'bump' and oopsy, greenbacks will be flowing out of your wallet. Relying on gravity to securly keep a vehicle on a bucket ain't a good idea. Maybe it'll work on flat,level,dry ground but not in Winter, on snow-ice, rough terrain.
There's also the real problem of 'snagging' or 'snipping' ,something off between the $$ plastic bumper and the ?? frame.

 

[troverman]

A new "Jeep" "Cherokee" is a far cry from the old one that ended in 2001. They aren't really 4x4, either...the engine is transverse and just uses clutches and couplings to direct the power to the rear when necessary. Perhaps it can "lock" the clutches but there never is a real, mechanical connection. In reality, a new Jeep Cherokee is just a front-wheel drive unibody crossover like everything else, with a rear AWD feature. Nice enough vehicle and goes well in snow, but nothing you'd really want to go offroad in. Even the Trailhawk or whatever they call it, with red tow hooks. Leave that to the Wrangler, which are excellent off road but don't nearly as nice on the road as a Cherokee.

The tow eyelet it not terribly strong and I second the mention of only pulling straight with it. You can bend them and never yet them out again.

The proper way for recovering a vehicle without tow hooks is using j-hooks and a chain yoke with a shackle to a strap back to the recovery vehicle. The j-hooks securely connect to the lower control arms and can pull without damage. You can buy these yourself for not a massive amount of money; its what the tow truck companies use.

I prefer using a snatch strap with some elasticity. It lessens the shock load on both the recovery vehicle and the one getting pulled out; the kinetic energy helps get the vehicle unstuck as well.