Recovery points???

Mounting recovery point tabs to the front bumper of a CJ.

The front bumper is VERY stout (channel iron with some extra plate reinforcement). I want to put 2 recovery point tabe (about 1/2 or 3/4" thick tabs) on the bumper.

The tabs have a flat edge (where they get mounted). My friends doing the welding: he has a great deal of professional welding experience and professional equipment. He also has a fair amount of 4x4ing experience.

He suggested just welding the tabs on the front plate. He was confident the welds would hold up to anything I can dish out. Obviously it'd be better if they went through the plate to something behind the bumper (or anything that makes them more 'integrated' into the bumper/frame).

What are your thoughts? Would it be 'ok' but not optimum? Is he a bit too sure of his abilities? Is it just flat out stupid?

 

Lots of people say not to weld on tow hooks. I welded mine on and have gotten along just fine. Make sure the weld burns in well to the back side of the channel. I put them out close to the frame horns and also beveled the edges to have more room for the weld to burn into the hook. They came from a Ford Super Duty. Just my .02.

 

If he's good, and not using a 110 volt welder, you should be OK. If it will give you some peace of mind, you could weld and bolt a pair of these on.

 

I have both ways on my two jeeps. On the one that is butt welded to the bumpers I could see the tow point getting pulled out of the bumper. I don't think the weld would break, I think it would rip the section right out. On my other jeep, the one I built the bumpers on, The tow points go through the bumper and are bolted right to the frame. I will pull the frame apart before those come loose. I have a lot of pics if you want.

 

Or you could try these here:
http://www.r-p4wd.com/site/products.htm

I've got them on my rig and really like them. Can use them for a tow bar as well. These are the ones that have been on the Warn Jeeps in the advertisement pictures over the years. Of course I occasionally do side jobs for them so have an "in"
Nickmil

 

Well, I went with just welding them on.

He used either a mig or tig, not sure which. His shop does a lot of fabrication and muffler work, so they have excellent, high quality, new welding equipment and this guy has done literally a boat load of welding over the last 20 years. He said he was very happy with how the welding went, and said I should be good to go for pulling and tugging.

I think I'll test it on some downed trees first, give it a few tugs and tow them around some just to make sure it'll be ok.

Q: So I have 2 points, about 12 to 14" apart. Would it be better to hook to just one when pulling, or spread the load between them both using a Y configuration?

The Y seems stronger, but would put a slight lateral load on the two points, rather than sticking with mostly a head on load.

 

Bolt in place, then weld.

 

I avoid the Y thing to keep from putting the side load on. Every situation will be different though. I have put loads on the tow points much higher than just dragging some down trees around. Try a live tree with a good tree protector if you really want to test it. Or better yet pull very close to a telephone pole or something as strong, chain off to it and your tow points, then take a high lift jack and put as much load on the tow point as possible with the jack. I use that method to straighten bumpers, body work or frame pieces that are bent. That still doesn't mean that you can't break one off with a jerk to the point. With my winch and snatch block I can (and have) put a 16,000 pound pull on a single tow point. I have a small winch compared to many.