5th Gen rear recovery

Hey guys, so recently I started thinking about what would happen if I or someone else needed help being pulled out of a sticky situation and wasn’t sure whether I should use the under carriage “tie down points” or the hitch with a factor55 and a d ring. I won’t be getting a rear bumper or winch any time soon so I wanted to know what the safest and most reliable route would be. Thanks!

 

The hitch works just fine.

 

I agree with whippersnapper, the hitch is fine. Unless someone installed a second tie down, there is only one and it is on the left. I actually added a second one on the right.

 

Gotcha! Thanks guys! Yeah I saw the left and right tie down but read that they aren’t meant for that so hitch was my other option

 

You don't even need the hitch recovery point. A hitch pin with the looped end of the strap thrust through it works fine. The only "concern" with that is chafing the strap on pulls that aren't perfectly straight - but I don't worry too much about that.

 

$36 AUTOBOTS Tow Hitch Receiver 2", 45000 Lbs Break Strength Shackle Hitch Receiver with 5/8" Hitch Pin, 3/4 D Ring Shackle, Towing Accessories for Truck Trailer Recovery Off-Road Black&Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DXZPCM2?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

 

You can get a decent shackle hitch receiver and hitch pin from someplace like Harbor Freight or Ace Hardware for ~$25-$30. As pointed out above - just the looped end of the strap around a hitch pin would work fine for a relatively easy/straight pull. But, for a non-straight pull on something that is stuck pretty good - a shackle hitch receiver would be better. I usually carry two shackle hitch receivers with me - one for my vehicle, and one for the other vehicle that I am pulling, or is pulling me. I don't off-road - at least not to the extent that I would need hardcore recovery gear. I've got a good tow strap, hitch receivers/shackles, couple of soft shackles - enough that I could pull someone out of a snowy ditch or off a pile of snow. I've got a couple of sons that do some dumb shit like I did when I was their age - I recently pulled my son's car off a pile of snow that he got high centered on while trying to back over. What I paid for the very basic recovery gear I keep in the back of my 4Runner was way less that what it would have cost to have a tow truck come pull him out. And it was well worth not having to get under the vehicle, laying in the snow at 5 degF, and try to dig him out.

 

That's funny, I actually carry two hitch pins for the same reason; just my cheaper version of thinking it through to rig up the second vehicle...

 

Yep - doesn't require a lot of thought if pulling on a hitch, from a hitch. Honestly, I'd probably shy away from pulling someone's vehicle, that I don't know, out of a ditch unless I could hook up to a hitch, or obvious other recovery point. I wouldn't want to make a decision on what I could hook onto and pull on, without breaking it, for someone else's vehicle. Once you start making the rigging of the recovery gear more complicated - you better know what you are doing. Especially if you are attempting dynamic/kinetic recoveries. You better understand what you can/can't pull on safely and what the weakest link in your rigging is - and what will happen if that weakest link fails.

 

Oh for sure, I'm not pulling out strangers. That's a "them" problem.

 

My rule on pulling someone else out is they hook up their end (I'll pay attention to make sure I don't think anything is going to come flying at me). Any damage is on them, they hooked it up. (And yes, I have pulled plenty of strangers out of snowbanks).

 

Yeah, I'd probably try to help a person in a snowbank or snowy ditch who was otherwise stranded. Your advice about having them hook up their end AND paying close attention to avoid anything really stupid is dead on. I think we are talking about slow/steady pull, static, roadside recoveries. Assuming you have adequate traction - it doesn't take much to pull someone from a snowbank/ditch. Pulling out a vehicle that is up to its hubs in mud is a whole different deal.