Recovery Hooks/Points

Anyone recommend a recovery point that bolts directly to the frame? I see people putting shackles on the Toyota tie down points but even toyota says those arent recovery points those are simply tie down points for shipping. I saw there are bolt on hooks for the Tacoma but I cant seem to locate any for the 4R

 

quick search shows some information, one thread of which is

https://www.4runners.com/threads/4runner-recovery-points.25162/

 

Where did Toyota say that, may I ask?

 

Didn't some smart person do an analysis of the loops and come to some conclusions about this?

 

i think most people are coming up with this deciphering the language used in the owner's manual.



i'm sure captain has better insight on those hooks due to his career experience, so i'm assuming they aren't ideal prob due to their construction and the hardware used to bolt them to the frame. i've used the front tow hooks for a small bump out of small trouble (mud/snow). i'd do something different if i were really stuck and needed a big or long pull to get the truck out of trouble, mostly for the sake of safety and avoiding things flying around.

 

I wish the language were more definitive. After a quarter of a century you’d think they could have reworded it to be less ambiguous. Hard surfaced? Does that mean paved? Or is it meant to exclude mud and sand? If they meant to exclude off road recovery, would it have been too much of an effort to say “these towing eyelets are not meant for off-road recovery?”

 

After all the research and some engineering assessments by an engineer here on the forum, my take away was that those aftermarket recovery brackets were in fact weaker than the original recovery points particularly in a side-pull type situation.

 

"Hard surfaced"

I wonder how many people have encountered this exact situation and erred to the 51% side, and said Efff it.

If you can document it in a manual, One would think it could be drilled down a little more technically in regards to ability.

Just my .02 cents.

 

Saw a Tacoma winched out of a ditch. 2 winches pulling forward using the tie downs, one sideways on the frame. Came right out. Have been and have used kinetic rope with mine and others, no issues so far. I generally use a bridle and soft shackles to even out the load, but they seem fine….just my 2 cents though.

 

Some install a front receiver hitch which are handy if you use a portable winch or need to drag your truck out the bush, Curt makes one.
https://trail4runner.com/2020/06/16/curt-front-receiver-hitch-review-install-5th-gen-4runner/

 

The limitations stem from towing with the automatic transmission in neutral and the engine not running, and not from the mechanical strength of the hoops.

 

i can see that. that's pretty much par for the course for most cars and flat towing.

i wonder how much hard tugging the hoops up front can take.

 

That hitch bolts to the frame with the factory crash bar bolts (which are too small for pulling) and clamps on the factory tow hoops. It's a weaker recovery point than putting a bridle on the two hoops.

 

I wouldn’t want to find out. I doubt they would outright break off. But they aren’t in line with the frame. I’d be worried that the radiator support crossmember would bend with a heavy pull. Especially when stuck, or with kinetic pulls.

 

Tie the vehicle between two big trees and tighten the strap with a Porta-power

As for how to quantify recovery forces:
Rule of thumb for pulling forces on level ground:
1x vehicle weight when buried to the hub
2x vehicle weight when buried to the top of the tire

Additional derating factors apply on inclines or if there's a tire- or suspension failure.

 

FINALLY WE HAVE A SMART PERSON

 

Here are some with an option that actually ties them to the bumper.

https://truenorthfabrications.com/products/4th-5th-gen-4runner-recovery-points


I wouldn't hesitate to use the stock tow hooks for a tow recovery, or winch recovery, with some discretion. However, I would not use them for a kinetic recovery.

 

My problem with all these options which add a rated eye right next to the factory tie-downs is that they put the recovery points in the wrong place. It’s almost worth getting a winch bumper, even without a winch, just to have proper recovery points in the proper place.

 

Front hitch is a good recovery idea, but like buddy said, apparently what it mounts to on the Runner isn't ideal - may be less strong than factory eyelets.
I recommend a combination.
I bought 2x Apex Overland front recovery points, like new off local guy. Next is center winch bumper. I believe that combo will be sufficient for myself and stronger than our factory tie downs which I researched. God willing!

 

And from what I gather, one tie down is bolt on, one or two bolts I believe, the rest look welded.

Good resource here
https://www.4runners.com/threads/factory-front-tie-down-points.24828/

 

The Tacoma’s loops are a different animal. Not as robust as the 4Runner’s.

I’m probably wrong, but doesn’t every low profile winch bumper bolt up there?

I’ve been putting a lot of thought into this. I think the welded loops are stronger than all get out. They aren’t just welded to the front face of the cross member. They go all the way through the cross member and are welded all the way around on both the front and the and back. As for the crossmember being cantilevered a few inches below the rest of the frame - I can imagine a situation where that might happen, like snatching from hip-deep type 2 mud, but I gotta believe in that situation you’re approaching the failure point of a lot of links in that chain. I emboldened those two words as an acknowledgement that they don’t mean the same thing as “know”.

ETA: I wonder what the purpose of these two members is. Could it be to prevent the potential bending of the crossmember mentioned above? I’m too lazy to take off the skid plate to get a good look at it.

 

Hip-deep type 2 mud is bad news no matter what. I’d say aerial recover is your only hope in that situation. Then again, suction forces would probably overload the rotor-head assembly of the winching helicopter, and the whole mess would come down on top of you.

Seriously though, hard kinetic pulls are where I would be concerned. The factory loops are welded in good, agree. But corrosion can be horrible in that area in particular.

On a factory fresh truck it might be passable to put a little more than flat surface towing forces on it. In the end however, Toyota says they are suitable for towing on hard surfaces…so user beware.

Actually, even with technically perfect recovery points, every recovery situation has the potential to impart forces that will break all sorts of things. Especially for amateurs that aren’t used to thinking of how forces can stack up and multiply.

 

My take is to reinforce the radiator support and at the same time reinforce the skid plate.

 

Those brackets are an attachment point for the skidplate, but don’t think it’s to reinforce the skidplate. The skid plate already rests directly on the engine crossmember.

The bend in those brackets make me think they are solely there to help absorb and control frontal impact forces in a collision. In other words, it looks like that radiator support member and the brackets serve as part of the crush zone. Another reason to want to avoid hard pulls in that area.

 

I believe that's where mine bolted on. I've used it a bunch of times so far without issues.

 

My warn bumper bolted directly to the frame. They required removal of the crash bar, and the crush cans the crash bar is mounted to. I believe most aftermarket winch bumpers mount directly to the frame and don’t mount to the crush cans.

I think @3JOH22A (below) was saying the front hitch receivers mount to the crush cans, not the frame directly. And then they are tied into the tow loops…maybe to make up for it? It’s hard to say if a front hitch mounted in this way is suitable for kinetic recovery, or towing/winching…probably worth checking directly with the manufacturer if I had a need to know.

 

I installed these. Very robust.

https://www.apexoverland.com/shop/Apex-Front-Recovery-Points-p111923535

 

Oh, I misunderstood. I had to remove the crash bar as well.

 

I chose the add=

If I went that far, my next step would be mounting a snow plow.

Regarding use of the front loops, what convinced me to go for the Apex Overland bolt-ons was photos of older frames that weren't badly rotted in general, but whose disease was worst at the corners by the loops. Hopefully I'll never have cause to understand the shortcomings of my chosen solution.

 

I’d never trust an aircraft that has to scratch and claw its way into the air.