I have a 2022 GX460, and just purchased after market recovery points from Bbg4x4 for the front. However I’ve seen some IG posts with people hooking up shackles to the stock tow/strap points. Is that sufficient enough or do I need aftermarket recovery points bolted into the chassis? I’m guessing those stock points are not good enough for snatching? Thanks for the help!
Aftermarket Front Recovery Points, are they needed?
- Thread starter easton85
- Start date
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As referenced in the owners manual excerpt above, the OEM tow hooks are only intended for low-speed flat towing. Lexus would have estimated the capacity of these hooks and then determined the maximum service loading using a factor of safety (I'm an engineer, albeit not a structural). Low-speed flat towing is a much lower load than recovering a stock vehicle, and the 50 mile limit is probably based on fatigue strength of the welds for the hooks.
Compare the front tow hooks to the rear OEM 6,500-lb rated tow hitch. The tow hitch has a massive steel tube and something like 8 M12 or M10 bolts holding it to the frame. It's not welded to the frame like the tow hooks, it's bolted to the frame and ties the two rear frame rails together. A loaded GX can easily weigh 5,000-6,000 lbs, so it's easy to see the difference in the amount of attachment points and robustness between the hitch and tie down hooks.
See the side-by-side pics below of my SRQ Fabrication recovery points ($120 upgrade) vs. the OEM tow hooks. The SRQ points have 8 separate bolts into the frame (3 on the front, 3 on the sides, 2 on the bottom), per side, and are made out of 1/4" steel. The frame is only 1/8" steel. I don't have the ability to run a finite element analysis to estimate the failure strength (and mode of failure) of the recovery points, but the D ring would probably fail (4.75 ton rating) or the frame itself would probably fail before the recovery point let go.
Look, reading the owners manual is fine and all, but realize that in addition to engineers, Toyota has thousands of lawyers, and they are obsessed with liability.
I used to have a 2008 RAV4, and the owners manual literally said that the trailer hitch should be removed when not in use. And they were not talking about the ball mount, but the actual hitch itself (true story, you can look it up in the OM on Toyota.com), presumably to restore proper crash crush performance. There is no way that they are going to encourage owners to go yanking on recovery points in anything but the most timid way possible.
I am more interested in reports of actual failures of the factory recovery points than owners manual legaleze. Reports from 4Runners or FJ Cruisers would be of interest too, seeing as they have the same setup.
I used to have a 2008 RAV4, and the owners manual literally said that the trailer hitch should be removed when not in use. And they were not talking about the ball mount, but the actual hitch itself (true story, you can look it up in the OM on Toyota.com), presumably to restore proper crash crush performance. There is no way that they are going to encourage owners to go yanking on recovery points in anything but the most timid way possible.
I am more interested in reports of actual failures of the factory recovery points than owners manual legaleze. Reports from 4Runners or FJ Cruisers would be of interest too, seeing as they have the same setup.
Interesting article
trail4runner.com
5th Gen 4Runner Recovery Points - A List of Recovery Point Options
Recovery Points 101: What Is & What Is Not a Recovery Point on the 5th Generation Toyota 4Runner - A Complete List of Recovery Points
trail4runner.com
Wouldn't be that hard to test with the right equipment. I studied structural engineering and one of my jobs in my late 20s was traveling the country performing stage and venue rigging inspections, and annual load testing. Yes I am more qualified to comment than the average tow truck driver. We had calibrated scales up to 25k lbs that fit in a suitcase. Sometimes points did fail. Really no different than rigging a recovery, except it was vertical instead of horizontal. With failures, sometimes chunks of the ceiling would fall out too. You learn to stay away from the loaded points.
You could nut-up, rent a heavy scale and test your own factory recovery points to see where they break? ...Trust me it is much cheaper to just buy rated gear in the first place and not worry about it.
You could nut-up, rent a heavy scale and test your own factory recovery points to see where they break? ...Trust me it is much cheaper to just buy rated gear in the first place and not worry about it.
For the amount of time we've all spent arguing on recovery vs. no recovery points we each could have installed a set of real recovery points by now for less than $200 
. Most GX's that see heavy off-road trail use are going to already have these, or an off-road bumper which usually has integrated recovery points. Sure, there are many folks who do use the OEM tie-downs for recovery and note that they "haven't failed yet", but that does not mean they won't fail in the future (especially with the core support being the most rust-prone area on 120 and 150 platform vehicles). Either way, they are being used well outside of the design intent from Toyota, and the consequences of failure are high in terms of damage to the GX (and potential injury).
. Most GX's that see heavy off-road trail use are going to already have these, or an off-road bumper which usually has integrated recovery points. Sure, there are many folks who do use the OEM tie-downs for recovery and note that they "haven't failed yet", but that does not mean they won't fail in the future (especially with the core support being the most rust-prone area on 120 and 150 platform vehicles). Either way, they are being used well outside of the design intent from Toyota, and the consequences of failure are high in terms of damage to the GX (and potential injury).
r2m
Richard
The testing would get kind of expensive unless you were some popular YouTube influencer and companies were supplying their products for free for an independent study on load rating.
Also there are some pretty big differences in how the steel responds based on how fast the loading is, how long it is maintained, and the angle against what the loading is applied at. Moreso than tie-down pull-out, it also looks like loading the tie-down will apply a pretty substantial moment to the radiator support, as the tie-down is located a few inches below the frame. The moment may could damage (i.e., bend) the core support before the hook let go. This is less of an issue with an aftermarket point as most of them are bolted to the core support, front frame horns, and sway bar mounts (very limited moment being applied to any one component).
If we have a structural engineer in our midst it's probably not a huge effort to prepare a finite element model and simulate the loading (which is what Toyota would have done during the design process).
Interesting, though ultimately their discussion mirrors this one, with "I have never seen any factory tow points fail under yanking and shock loading kinetic straps/ropes (and I have seen about 10+ years worth now) but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen." Prior to my GX I previously owned an FJC for 6 years and did not see or hear of a failure of the tow points.Interesting article
5th Gen 4Runner Recovery Points - A List of Recovery Point Options
Recovery Points 101: What Is & What Is Not a Recovery Point on the 5th Generation Toyota 4Runner - A Complete List of Recovery Points
Please understand I am not necessarily advocating that the front loops are good to go, just searching for the truth. If nothing else, I'd rather not hang an additional 50 pounds of metal on the front of the vehicle if not really needed.
Oh boy isn't that the truth. Influencers are mind boggling. I'm amazed at how many boneheads follow and praise some of these channels. I was watching one dude who started marketing his own line of off road jeep coffee.
And the reality is recovery is done in such an uncontrolled situation 99% of the time.
r2m
Richard
Another thread like most talked about not seeing failure as well but really would come down to how often used in the vehicle's lifetime.
I don't think mine weighed anywhere near 50 lbs though. I purchased mine years back when no domestic options so had to purchase out of Australia.
I purchased the same ones from this 2015 thread. I figured I would do less damage to the plastic bumper with these on but we'll see. Have I had to use them? No
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