Damage using tie-down loops during a recovery?

We’ve all heard it. Don’t use the loops under the bumper for recovery. Get some aftermarket recovery points, preferably rated, or a winch bumper. I know the owner's manual says the loops may be used for towing short distances on smooth ground. I’ve heard all the warnings, but what I haven’t heard is accounts of actual incidents of damage. So if you’ve experienced any then sing out!

If you haven’t experienced any damage using tow loops for recovery, kindly do not sing out.​

 

I’ll just bump this topic once because the holiday weekend may have prevented some folks from seeing it.

 

I appreciate you posting this. I would have assumed they were safe.

 

One of the annoying things toyota does on 4wds. Just like the wheels wells being so small and requiring so much work to get just to a 35

 

I have not personally experienced it, but I have personally seen a 5th Gen with one of the 2 on the front ripped off. They said it broke trying to pull it out of a mud pit.

 

Do you know if it was a tow/winch recovery or a kinetic recovery?

 

It's like they don't even want us to take them off road.

 

Thanks for this thread Cap. Please add the pic of the cut out tie down loops from the other thread.
I too am quiet interested in pics of damaged tie down loops and first person accounts rather than hearsay.
The only thing I've come across is a pic of a pulled off rusty tie down loop being used as a marketing warning from one of the many dedicated tow point websites I've been researching.

 

This was probably 1.5 years ago, at that point I didn’t bother to ask.

 

Toyota's idea of "off road" is dirt roads for glamping. Even those dirt roads, when shown in commercials, are accompanied by fine print "off-roading is inherently dangerous, do not attempt"

 

Ok. I was just curious, because I figured they might hold up for a tow/winch pull with some judgement, but I certainly wouldn't use them for a kinetic pull.

 

^Why? The whole point of a kinetic rope is for the rope to stretch and damp out the impact of the pull.

If you mean a running start with a stiff strap (as shown in an Australian YouTube video to fake tow ball failures), that should be avoided regardless of the quality of the recovery point.

 

Simple, when it’s a kinetic pull, you are putting much more force on the loop compared to a simple tow/pull that uses only traction. The manual states those loops are suitable for towing short distances on relatively flat/firm ground.

 

^This has been discussed ad nauseam. The manual statement caters for the automatic transmission not liking being flat towed in neutral with the engine off.

I've seen a couple of Toyota engineers putting red shackles in the stock tow hoops on their personal 4Runners, but that's neither here nor there

 

Exactly what @McSpazatron said.

And, I agree with your last statement, except that there's nothing fake about tow-ball failures. Anyone who uses a chain or tow strap for a kinetic recovery is risking serious injury or death.

 

The loop restrictions are only about dingy towing long distances? I don’t think I’ve seen that brought before. I have to double check, but I thought flat/dingy towing was covered separately in the manual.

And the shackles on the loops…not sure if that’s a joke or if you’re suggesting engineers doing it makes it ok?

 

A fellow on another forum hit a hidden stump and dented the front crossmember. He decided to fabricate a new one, and decided to re-use the loops. So he cut them out of the damaged crossmember. I found it interesting that the loops are so well reinforced inside the crossmember. The loops are >⅝ of an inch in diameter. They pass all the way through the front crossmember. They are welded all the way around, front and back, for a total of 8 inches of weld - and that excludes the other two inches for the lateral reinforcement inside the member.

I think of it like this: for any individual situation, and regardless of the recovery method used, it will take x amount of force to free a stuck vehicle.

While we acknowledge that no method of recovery is particularly safe, some are safer than others. All require special knowledge and good judgment. None are idiot proof. Winches are the recovery solution with the most control and safety. Only one vehicle is moving, and at a slow measured rate. The forces involved are limited to the winch’s pulling power and to the recovery vehicle’s resistance to being dragged. The winch is also the most expensive solution.

The strap introduces a new variable. Now two vehicles are moving. Properly used, the strap is attached to both vehicles, then the recovery vehicle inches slowly away until the slack is removed from the system, and then, with sufficient torque and friction, the stuck vehicle is gently pulled free. As with the winch, sometimes torque and friction are insufficient to free the stuck vehicle.

The kinetic rope introduces yet another variable. Momentum. Which means unpredictability. Because suddenly all sorts of things matter that weren’t a factor before. Yes, a kinetic rope allows the recovery force to be introduced more gradually, but the force being introduced is coming from the momentum of a 2½ ton vehicle. The forces involved can be huge. The kinetic rope doesn’t limit the maximum force applied. It only moderates the rate at which it is applied. In my opinion the kinetic rope is the recovery method of last resort. But kinetic recoveries sure are fun to watch. :-D

I posted the same question on 3 different forums a week ago. @Agent_Outside is the only one to have knowledge of a failed loop. Between the dearth of other responses, and the photo above that shows how serious Toyota was about attaching those loops to the vehicle, it is my conclusion that the factory loops are adequate for recovery.

 

I've seen Matts Offroad Recovery using these factory ones on 4Runner recoveries on different generations of 4Runners. Even fat grandma Lexusus.

 

For what it’s worth, it was a rust belt region daily driver. I didn’t like crawl under the thing to inspect it, but it had rocker panels still in tact.

 

For recoveries from the rear of the vehicle Matt uses a tow point that he insets into the square tow receptor. Interesting. He talks about it at 3:53 in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn_68TD0ow8