Tow Strap

[ZBTstang]

1055656

Stupid Question....... After this storm I realize im in much need of a tow strap. Heres my stupid question. Where can I hook to on my jeep? I have the trailer hitch package on my jeep, but how could I secure the strap that? (the trailer hitch is currently in). Also how much can I pull with a 4 cycl? Would it be safe to pull a car out of the snow? And where should I hook to other cars?[addsig]

 

[mujaman]

1055657

as far as hooking a tow strap to your jeep... any way that you can fasten it onto the trailer hitch (or any part of it) will be appropriate. if theres nothing to hook to... just wrap the strap around it and hook it back onto itself. check the front of your vehicle also as it might have towing points up there. as far as hooking onto another vehicle... anywhere on the chassis is acceptable. just make sure you don't fasten it to part of the bumper or a steering component or anything like that... stick with chassis rails only. check your jeep manual to see what the 4 banger is capable of towing. if you don't have a manual i'll check mine and tell you. i actually spent all day sunday driving around our neighborhood with my I-6 jeep pulling people out of ditches and up hills with my tow straps. they work great as long as you use them properly! good luck~[addsig]

 

[Tug-n-pull]

1055659

Recovery Points are the first mod to do to your Jeep. Put a set of tow hooks on the front and rear is good to. Loop over the hitch ball on the back or go to the frame if you have to. You can pick up a set of heavy duty hooks at any of the off road stores or on line. As for the other guy heck just hook to anything that looks like it wont pull off when the work starts. hehehehe! Yes you can tug n pull on cars that are stuck. It is not the motor that will limit you ability to pull but rather the traction. Just hook er up shift her into 4lo or 4hi and go baby! Have fun and don't under estimate the 4 banger. It is a great motor. You will learn to love or hate it with time. I am sold out on the 2.5 L high output AMC 4 banger. but then agian I am ez to please. tug[addsig]

 

[far_right]

1055662

get a strap w/o hooks!!![addsig]

 

[ODAX]

1055675

tug i have seen a recovery hook that slides into the reciever on your towing package. slide it in put in the pin and pull......odax [addsig]

 

[ZBTstang]

1055690

ODAX where did you see it and where can I find it?

and Tug how would I hook it up to a car w/o hooks.

Also, I dont have an owners manual but ive heard that a 4 banger can tow up to 1000 pounds, but I dont really carry a scale around and how much is that realisitcly. [addsig]

 

[RayOvac]

1055691

1000lbs is roughly about 1/4 of what your jeep weighs...so that pretty much limits you to something like a very small trailer with some junk on it hehe. But for recovery it wouldnt really matter since you arent going to tow the persons car 100miles or anything...[addsig]

 

[Green97TJ]

1055692

when it comes to pulling out other people, i figure its their problem to figure where to hook it to their vehicle. that way if it breaks something its their fault not mine. But then again im a cynic and maybe an a$$, so whats that prove :-D anyway heres my question, are the tow hooks that jeep puts on the front bumber worth havin, or do i need to get something else up there? if so, what?[addsig]

 

[jeepmaster]

1055693

NO HOOKS, my friend had one go through his windshield and it ripped the SH** out of his interior, just mauled the passenger seat. i can only imagine what hed look like right now if it had hit the drivers side. [addsig]

 

[ZBTstang]

1055695

My question again, what kinda strap can you get that will secure without any hooks?[addsig]

 

[mujaman]

1055703

i checked a jeep cherokee manual and the 2.5 is rated at over 5,000 trailer capacity... so believe me you would have no problem pulling a car (or something heavier) out of a ditch or something like that. if you want to fasten on to a car with no obvious attachment points (like most), just crawl up under it and fasten the strap around the chassis rails. make sure you don't attach to suspension components, any part of the exhaust, bumpers, etc. i wouldn't worry about using a strap with hooks. i have towed everything from trees, to trailers, to cars, and have always used either a strap or chain with hooks and have never had a problem. hook it on securely and nothing will go wrong.[addsig]

 

[Joopin]

1055706

after this big storm I realized I should have had tow hooks on my YJ, I will be getting some from quadratec.com asap. You can also get those hooks that go into the reciever of the towing package at quadratec... someone asked about that. Anyways what is the difference between tow hooks and recovery points?? As for the towing of the cars, I don't know about the 4 banger but my I6 pulled my dads 88 BMW out of a huge snowbank monday... I say go for it. The 4 probably loves the abuse just like the 6! [addsig]

 

[Tug-n-pull]

1055709

Strap with loops? go undere the car to be pulled run the strap around something hard. Run the strap throuhg it's onw loop and pull it through. take the other loop and loop it over yout hitch ball!

Strap with hooks? Hook up to your safty chain loop on you hitch. hook other end to or around something hard on the to be pulled car.

Hooks are a bad thing! They can kill you.

My question again, what kinda strap can you get that will secure without any hooks?

Tug how would I hook it up to a car w/o hooks

:roll: tug[addsig]

 

[far_right]

1055720

basicly what tug said is
w/o hooks are for pullin unstuck
w/ hooks are for towing[addsig]

 

[jeepmaster]

1055732

if you have to use straps with hooks or a chain or something, throw a jacket or a blanket over the strap or chain, that way if it snaps it wont lash back as much and some of the force with be taken out of it.[addsig]

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

1055745

Never, NEVER, pull with a strap attached to a hitch ball. The ball has been known to come loose and become a projectile.

If you have a 2" receiver, you can slip the strap into the receiver and insert the hitch pin into the loop to hold it.

Make sure you have a class III rated receiver to do this. Anything less is dangerous, and will bend the rear crossmember if the receiver is lower than the receiver mounting points.[addsig]

 

[BigBlackJeep]

1055764

Ok- for the front at least with my Jeep, I just wrap the chain/tow strap around the front bumper. For the back, below the door there are two holes that are halfway under the body. These work great for towing with. I have used them on a number of occasions and haven't failed me yet. I have towed many a vehicle using these points.

Also, even though the trailer towin capacity is 5000lbs, remember that is rolling weight. When you are trying to yank out a vehicle that is stuck, the amount of force you are putting into it is a lot more than that.

All i use is a tow-strap from Wal-mart that was only around $20. It has worked great and I have never had a problem with it-

Also, I keep a couple chains in case some added length is needed. But make sure you keep an eye on the chains because if it breaks, it becomes a projectile- I much prefer using a tow-strap since they allow some stretch and thus you can use the elasticity of the strap to aid in pulling someone out.[addsig]

 

[MudderChuck]

1055785

A couple of things that have worked well for me over the years. I keep a selection of 3-4 foot pieces of nylon rope, 1 ton rated. Tie it around whichever point you´ve decided to tow from, and cut the ends ( the knot) when your done. Then you don´t have to mess with knots, and rock hard loops and such. If you figure your gonna need more than a ton, double the rope. Home Depot usually sells heavy rope be the yard, saves freezing your fingers off, and saves your tow strap, on sharp metal peices.
A tow strap, bare, with loops is the safest. If you have to use a chain, nuts, bolts (hardened) and WASHERS, seem to work best.

Make your own hookups, when things go wrong, you got nobody to blame but yourself.

A buddy of mine just bought a new hood for my pick-up. He insisted he make the hookup to his car. When the chain (we needed the extra length) gave way and dented my hood and roof (don´t ask me how it missed the windshield), he asked how expensive is that going to be to fix. I said empty your pockets, he came out with the washers I gave him. I naswered I´ll send you the bill. I think I´m gonna forget the old chain. I´ve got a roll of 5/8" cable in the garage for next time.

I´ve seen alot of guys pull there bumpers off. And rip tow hooks out of the frame. "D" shaped tow hooks, designed to bend, work best.

If you install a hook. don´t forget to put a peice of flat steel behind it (inside the frame), a little longer than the hook base. This really reduces pulling them out by the roots. And holds much better than washers.

I was a recovery specialist in the military, I´ve unstuck a few 50 ton tanks and such.[addsig]

 

[dingus]

1055805

heh, yeah... tow straps are worth their weight in gold. yesterday i yanked my buddy out of a snow drift after he had been there shoveling for 20 minutes. i was like "need me to yank you out, i have a rope?" and he's like "are you sure that little jeep can pull my boat-of-a-car out? (he had a chevy lumina or something)... i just laughed and hooked up the rope. i had 'er in 4wd-high-full time, and even on some snow and ice i had him out in 10 seconds. (i have the 4.0 liter motor) it was fun to watch the roostertails come up off my spinning tires!

-nate
PS. that was my first time using the strap... and i loved it! [addsig]

 

[ZBTstang]

1055818

So again ill ask another stupid question... Where would it be safe to hook it to on a car that doesnt have a hook up point like most jeeps do. Would it be safe to tie it around an axle? Im not really to sure how I could secure a toe strap to a frame or what not. Im really not as stupid as I seem :lol: Just not very good with car technical stuff yet[addsig]