Thoughts on towbar hitch receiver recovery points

A towbar is fine for sensible recovery use. An adapter for a receiver hitch is better.

​​​​​​You don't need any more unless you intend on getting stuck on purpose and then recovered by people that have no idea what they are doing.

The consensus on the web is towbar with receiver hitch is Ok.
Using the tow ball is not recommended unless it's a very light recovery.

As it's difficult to quantify "light recovery" and you are at the purchasing stage, I would go for a towbar with receiver hitch and get a recovery fitting for it. Best of all worlds then.

You cannot judge "light duty". Recovery points need to be attached to the chassis rails with the bridle as close to the rail as possible. Forged steel hooks with spring steel retaining clips are best. For a Jimny an 18mm 3 strand nylon rope is adequate. 24mm is overkill as you will find that the Jimny is not heavy enough to stretch it and excess speed should not be God. 3 strand is ok as long as you do not kink the rope. If you do you will create a weak spot that can destroy the rope. A kinetic energy recovery rope (KERR) is 8 strand plaited and cannot be kinked. This is why people pay extra for it. 3 strand will do the same job at a third the cost, just don't kink it and don't try washing it in your washing machine. The action of the washer untwists the ends and it comes out looking like a bad hair day! Use an old sweater with the rope pushed through the arms. This will deaden the rope and stop it flailing about if something breaks. People have died when things went pear shaped. The British Army forbid the use of a KERR on anything other than an armoured vehicle. They know how dangerous it is!

Roger

I'd be interested to know how you propose to attach a rope to a forged hook bolted directly to the chassis of a Jimny without having to either remove the bumper each time or perform to some kind of permanent surgery to the bumper to allow clear access?

Your second suggestion is spot on. Remember that doing it right is preferable to doing it to look pretty. I repeat, any form of recovery needs to be thought through carefully and the first thing you check is the viability of all the physical connections on both vehicles. A few strings back I asked about a slimline bumper on a Gen.3 to be told that it was a standard bumper which had been cut down to a new, slimmer design. If you want to fit proper recovery points then do the job properly and modify anything that gets in the way.

Roger

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