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Is anyone running the Kaon recovery hooks instead of the Warn version? Thinking about giving them a go but I wanted to make sure there wasn’t some complaint or reason why I don’t see them.
Had Kaon been available years ago, I would have gone with theirs over the ARBs. ARBs are crazy strong, but without my own serious grinding on them to create a rounded inner edge, they’ll cut right through soft shackles. The Kaon comes with rounded edges both inner and outer…and tgey also have a larger hole…allowing standard shackles easier insertion/looping.
Both seem super pricy (remember Kaons show their price in Australian dollors, so not as bad as they appear), but I’d say go for the Kaons.
I was taught the radius needs to be 1.5x the rope diameter (by a I4WDTA instructor). I know that isn't an answer, but it gives the basis to find one.And still, no one is addressing the strength of the frame horn, the potential for damage of the frame if one of these contacts a solid object off-road, or the actual strength of the stock hook.
Where are the failures?
And, if the stock hook fails, will it’s construction mean one side of the loop stays connected reducing the number of flying chunks of metal?
Is the radius of the stock hook acceptable for soft shackles?
I remember talking to someone at Slee when my lift was getting put on years ago and asked about the hooks up front. I recall him “not Christo” saying that those are only tie down hooks for shipping and nothing more. I don’t see what the issue would be to add true hooks. Maybe shoot Slee a call since they know more about Cruisers then most of us.And still, no one is addressing the strength of the frame horn, the potential for damage of the frame if one of these contacts a solid object off-road, or the actual strength of the stock hook.
Where are the failures?
And, if the stock hook fails, will it’s construction mean one side of the loop stays connected reducing the number of flying chunks of metal?
Is the radius of the stock hook acceptable for soft shackles?
I remember talking to someone at Slee when my lift was getting put on years ago and asked about the hooks up front. I recall him “not Christo” saying that those are only tie down hooks for shipping and nothing more. I don’t see what the issue would be to add true hooks. Maybe shoot Slee a call since they know more about Cruisers then most of us.
I was taught the radius needs to be 1.5x the rope diameter (by a I4WDTA instructor). I know that isn't an answer, but it gives the basis to find one.
I asked Toyota for more info on the recovery hooks:Except that the owner's manual explicitly states that the central vertical portion is for vehicle tie down, not the emergency towing hook that protrudes forward, and explicitly prohibits flat-bed trucks from using the rear emergency towing hook for tie-down.
LX570s come with one recovery hook and the other side absent.. but they still have the actual tie-down hook there for vehicle shipping.
It does say the towing hooks should only be used for short distances at low speeds on flat hard ground.. but from a liability perspective they can't say "yank the cruiser out using these" because people will interpret that as using a chain is ok, etc.
Ultimately they are designed to handle a certain amount of force, and I presume toyota is smart enough to have that force be lower than what will damage the frame.
Plus as I mentioned, they may be designed to fail in a way that keeps the parts of the hook attached to the vehicle so less large chunks of metal are flying through the air at speed. That part is speculation. But the way they are constructed suggests a failure mode that would allow this. One weld could fail and the other stay intact, with the bend straightening out letting the strap go but the hook stays on the vehicle.
The issue to "add true hooks" is they may be stronger than the welded inserts in the frame, may be stronger than the bolts that hold them on, and DO stick out past the frame with a solid object that can contact rocks and bend the end of the frame in a way that won't happen with the stock hooks.. which may be good enough for recovery. Except no one has actually analyzed the stock hooks to see what they can do.. they've only offered bigger-is-better products claiming to solve a problem that so far no one has really had.
Except..
This. An actual reason the stock hooks may not be ideal.
Doesn't mean I don't want more info about how strong the stock hooks actually are.
And since this doesn't get talked about much.. take a look at the stock hook system. The tie-down portion is important to maintain the strength of it. That thick steel plate sandwiches the thinner steel plate base of the hook between it and the frame, dispersing load and making the whole system much stronger.
It’s good to go to the source, at least on the surface. Thing is the answer will be what their attorneys will allow them to say, not how strong they actually are.I asked Toyota for more info on the recovery hooks:
As per the Owners Manual the front and rear tow hooks are used to hook the vehicle to tow truck or pulled for vehicle recovery, the hook is holding the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating : weight of the vehicle plus weight of the cargo plus occupants and additional vehicle equipment) which should not exceed 7275.0 lbs.
Also early model LX570s did come with 2 front recovery hooks, mine has 2.
**Edited a bit as I didn’t realize I hit send earlier…I know the topic has been beaten to death but until I see a finite element analysis of the frame and recovery locations - bolting something stronger than the frame to it just seems counterintuitive to me.
I get that the recovery gear will likely fail first, but bolting a 1/2” solid piece of steel to something that’s not even 1/4” thick to some tack welded threaded connections does not make sense.
I have also yet to read a report of a failed stock recovery point.
Just thinkin here… No claim of being right or anyone being weong. With that in mind… Can anyone point to a “too strong” recovery point incident on a *200 series* that ruined the fame?
…I can’t either.