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Tow bar & recovery options

  • Caelite
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17 Dec 2017 03:07 #187562 by Caelite
Tow bar & recovery options was created by Caelite
Hey lads

Needing to fit a tow bar on my Jim. Also see it as an opportunity to fit a set of 'proper' recovery shackles. Anyone know what options there are out there for a good tow bar with mounting points for shackles? I've checked the wiki but it only appears to list self fabricated options from Bosniak and a couple of other guys, is this still the only way of fitting recovery ? I can't weld to save myself. I've noticed the Jimnybits HD recovery point, but they don't seem to mention if you can fit a tow bar on around it.

CAE.

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  • Lambert
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  • The quickest Jimny in Harrogate...(that I own)
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17 Dec 2017 05:42 #187563 by Lambert
Replied by Lambert on topic Tow bar & recovery options
Ermintrude has a witter detachable bar and it is ok. Zebedee on the other hand has a Towtrust fixed bar and that is a much better thing,less like a plow on the back and generally heavier and stronger looking. If I were buying again it would be a Towtrust.

As for combined tow and recovery I think it is not an off the shelf option it will require some custom work.

Temeraire (2018 quasar grey automatic)
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  • 1066Boy
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17 Dec 2017 07:41 #187567 by 1066Boy
Replied by 1066Boy on topic Tow bar & recovery options
Mine has the Suzuki towbar with the detachable tow ball. Its nice and neat so it don't get court up offroad. For recovery I have
just fitted a small tow loop/strap to one of the mounting points. Works well and its cheap. :)
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17 Dec 2017 09:21 #187570 by Busta
Replied by Busta on topic Tow bar & recovery options
Unless you're in 4ft of mud and being snatched by a hooligan in a unimog then there is no problem recovering using the tow ball. Even better if you have a clevis hook. Or, if you can operate a drill and a spanner you could always fit some M12 lifting eye bolts through either side of the towbar. They are rated at 2,500 kg each which is more than any Jimny towbar.

www.gsproducts.co.uk/12mm-120mm-stainles...long-shank-eye-bolt/

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17 Dec 2017 10:13 #187572 by facade
Replied by facade on topic Tow bar & recovery options
If you are being recovered with a snatch rope, if something is going to break, you want it to be your end, then your towball goes through his windscreen, rather than the other way round. :whistle:

A 50mm towbar is rated to 3500kg, if you like you can fit a ring type, or a combi like I have with jaws that you drop the ball through as a pin.

Don't like snatch ropes, I've seen then cause damage, and youtube is full of snatch recoveries leaving axles behind in the mud.

If it suddenly breaks, go back to the last thing that you did before it broke and start looking there :)

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17 Dec 2017 13:14 #187573 by Caelite
Replied by Caelite on topic Tow bar & recovery options
Yeah, personally not a fan of snatch recovery either unless it is really necessary, the good thing about the Jimny is I doubt it will ever be necessary, the plethora of green ovals you see recovering at every UK pay and play have more than enough weight to drag you around like a ragdoll. :side:

With that being said, you should NEVER recover by a tow ball, they are not designed for the type of load presented during recovery, even with a weight rating well in excess of your vehicle they can still easily fail, and when they do they tend to rather dramatically, there has been cases of tow ball failure resulting in injury and even death to people in the immediate proximity.

Will look into the suzuki detachable, I've seen a pic of yours before 1066 and I really like how it looks with the electrics relocated into the bumper. Will take a look at the witter and see if towtrust do a removable.

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  • Venter
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17 Dec 2017 18:12 #187583 by Venter
Replied by Venter on topic Tow bar & recovery options
I've just bought and installed a Tow-Trust bar. As I wont be towing anything for a while, I haven't attached the electrics or the neck / hitch part, so it's just the thick bar running parallel to the axles. Reason I've half-arsed it is that it's there for the time being as a recovery point. I've got no eyes/hooks, but if it comes to it I'll attach a strap to the bar using a tensionless hitch, which is probably the safest knot/hitch in this context.

And snatch recoveries are just something to stay away from as a general rule. They are effective, but the risks are just too high. A friend sent me a video clip of a guy getting hit in the face during a snatchpoint failure, and disturbing doesn't even begin to cover it. I've always though I've got a strong stomach for stuff like that, but that's a clip I'd just rather not have opened.

But if you anyone is interested and aren't familiar with it, google 'tensionless hitch', it's something that will come in handy for people doing what we do...

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17 Dec 2017 18:42 #187584 by jackonlyjack
Was that the video with jeep-broken screen-hospital bed
because that made me never want to be stuck :sick:

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17 Dec 2017 19:01 #187585 by Venter
Replied by Venter on topic Tow bar & recovery options
Yip, in what looked like South American mud. Thought it was just a clip on a straightforward recovery, went downhill fast!

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17 Dec 2017 23:01 #187589 by kirkynut
Replied by kirkynut on topic Tow bar & recovery options
Look at Dixon Gate tow hitches. Perfect for towing and recovery!

dixon-bate.co.uk/products/gb/130-bradley-jaws

Obviously cheaper from other sources.

Kirkynut

The underdog often starts the fight, and occasionally the upper dog deserves to win - Edgar Watson Howe.

My Jimny Thread Here: www.bigjimny.com/index.php/forum/8-my-ji...on-continues?start=0

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18 Dec 2017 13:03 - 18 Dec 2017 13:20 #187595 by Busta
Replied by Busta on topic Tow bar & recovery options
The trick to a safe recovery is use common sense. If you don't know what you are doing, get some training. I've recovered my Jimny and loaded trailer with a tractor many times using just the tie down points that others manage to tear out of the chassis. I am happy using the towball for recovery because I know I'm never going to put the shock loading on it that a snatch recovery does. I'm used to recovering tractors, and when you have 10 tons on either end of a strop, with the amount of traction a tractor generates you will break things very quickly by snatching!

I'd wager that far more people are injured in winch recoveries than by failing towbars. But mostly people are injured by being idiots and getting caught up in the manly-man atmosphere that vehicle recoveries seem to create.

19 tons and 230hp pulling this one out. To give you an idea of how far in it was, the rear tyres are near enough 6ft tall.


Using a long cable enabled us to use the hard surface of the track to get enough grip for a safe pull. Traction is much safer than momentum!
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18 Dec 2017 18:08 #187605 by facade
Replied by facade on topic Tow bar & recovery options

kirkynut wrote: Look at Dixon Gate tow hitches. Perfect for towing and recovery!

dixon-bate.co.uk/products/gb/130-bradley-jaws

Obviously cheaper from other sources.

Kirkynut


I have the one called JAW-E40TC-3500K, the ball is on top of the pin, so I keep the ball & pin part out, and then you can read my numberplate. It is a towsure bar



the 5 tonne ones have 4 bolts

If it suddenly breaks, go back to the last thing that you did before it broke and start looking there :)
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