Using Stock Bumper Tow Eyes For Recovery?

[Capt.]

Anyone actually used the stock bumper tow eyes for a recovery? I'd appreciate hearing of your experience.
See attached photo.
Thanks, Capt Mitch

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[Bandit’s Lair]

Yep. They work. I’ve used them on the older models and the newer (JK). They work. Not sure on hard yanks but on a slow steady pull they work just fine. I’m actually looking for a second one for passenger side.

 

[Capt.]

Thanks, appreciated

 

[HooliganActual]

I'll second the Bandit as well. The rear bumper hooks are perfectly fine. I've not had to use mine but I have winch pulled on other people's JLU's and Gladiators that had the same hooks.

To head off the obvious next question: the front hooks are fine too. I personally don't like that style of hook and prefer something that allows a more positive connection. I "augmented" my front bumper with some shackle mount points that pass through the bumper and bolt to the frame horns:

 

[Freems]

Frame mounted with good hardware, never heard of or seen one damaged. I personally have been mean to mine, they’ve never let me down.

 

[HooliganActual]

Frame mounted with good hardware, never heard of or seen one damaged. I personally have been mean to mine, they’ve never let me down.

Agreed.

Here's a question (for anyone really)...I have thought about swapping mine right to left, so that the hook opening faces away from the centerline of the vehicle.

I always look at it and think that if you were to hook up a bridle to pull someone, then there is a risk that a loop could pull off the inward facing hook.

Now personally I stopped agonizing about it and have a Factor 55 Hitchlink in my receiver all the time; so any pull I do from behind will come from there versus the hooks...but it always makes me wonder if those hooks should be swapped...

 

[Freems]

I’ve got one of those stretchy yank‘em rope that I’ve gotten aggressive with on a 45 degree recovery a couple of times (playing in the mud)figured if it was going to jump off it would be during that event, nope, it stayed right where it was supposed to stay. i think your idea is sound. I just changed out my rear stock bumper to a aftermarket with a swing away tire carrier.

Jason, if you didn‘t live so damn far away I’d mail you the ones I took off my OEM rear bumper.

 

[NC_Overland]

Yup. A few years ago, when I still had my stock bumpers, I yanked hard, flooring it in 4low when I buried a 4wd tractor in my backyard. The hooks held up great.

 

[legacy_etu]

Agreed.

Here's a question (for anyone really)...I have thought about swapping mine right to left, so that the hook opening faces away from the centerline of the vehicle.

I always look at it and think that if you were to hook up a bridle to pull someone, then there is a risk that a loop could pull off the inward facing hook.

Now personally I stopped agonizing about it and have a Factor 55 Hitchlink in my receiver all the time; so any pull I do from behind will come from there versus the hooks...but it always makes me wonder if those hooks should be swapped...

Yeah, I've thought the same thing about reversing them for the same reason. Figured they work good so far so why bother till it presents as an issue.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

Jason, if you didn‘t live so damn far away I’d mail you the ones I took off my OEM rear bumper.

No worries!! I haven’t hit the pik a part yet. Need to grab some air cleaner box bolts and was thinking a tow hook or 2. If the Jeep Spirits are smiling on me maybe I’ll find a steel Rubi Bumper out there that isn’t smashed to crap.

Yeah, I've thought the same thing about reversing them for the same reason. Figured they work good so far so why bother till it presents as an issue.

I can’t see anything wrong with switching them and it’s probably a good idea. I’ve been in situations where it would have been nice to have an attachment point for stabilization but the hooks were faced wrong to make that happen. Usually make do with a soft shackle around a hoop or a slider.

 

[legacy_etu]

No worries!! I haven’t hit the pik a part yet. Need to grab some air cleaner box bolts and was thinking a tow hook or 2. If the Jeep Spirits are smiling on me maybe I’ll find a steel Rubi Bumper out there that isn’t smashed to crap.



I can’t see anything wrong with switching them and it’s probably a good idea. I’ve been in situations where it would have been nice to have an attachment point for stabilization but the hooks were faced wrong to make that happen. Usually make do with a soft shackle around a hoop or a slider.

Agreed, I don't see it hurting anything. Its just I have enough other projects that require my attention .

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

I pulled my grandmother from a 5' snow filled ditch with the rear hook this winter. Snatch strap and d-ring shackle (on her hook, not mine) with no issues. It's more about HOW you use them than how often. I just used the padded loop end on my rear hook.

Did the same pulling a GMC Sierra 1500 off the road after their tranny went last month. Again, how you do it is the key.

Here's a short video pulling grandmother out. I didn't have the rear camera installed yet unfortunately.

 

[smlobx]

I used my hooks to pull an F-150 stuck in about 2 feet of snow near the North Rim of the GC. The biggest problem was that the Ford didn’t have any tow points!

As for reversing the tow hooks I’ve often wondered about it too.

 

[S JEEPN]

Those rear hooks are designed to handle more than you need never had a problem with anything falling out of them under load or distorting them. I have hooked a heavier vehicle to the back and winched from the front with no issues along with using them for a recovery strap. They are designed to be efficient to hook and unhook from and keep the shackle or loop in If you need to pull to the side use the other hook. They may face the openings together to prevent running a line across between them or looping through both of them and back instead of using a Y to prevent the increased load it would cause. The fronts seem like a good design plenty of capacity and without a load gravity holds the loop on and like the back a lot more efficient to hook and unhook than a closed point would be.

 

[BlueScapegoat]

Agreed.

Here's a question (for anyone really)...I have thought about swapping mine right to left, so that the hook opening faces away from the centerline of the vehicle.

I always look at it and think that if you were to hook up a bridle to pull someone, then there is a risk that a loop could pull off the inward facing hook.

If you were only to hook a strap to one of them though, which I think most people probably would in a recovery situation, and say yank the jeep backwards in the mud, the direction of the shift of the ass end of the jeep will actually shift the loop to the closed side of the hook. So I think they make sense the way they did them for most people that don't put thought into these things.

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