Best way to attach strap to front bull bar? (1 Viewer)

[e9999]

OK, I'm experimenting with a custom heavy duty elk/roo/push bar up front.
That thing is very heavy duty. It is held by 6 12x1.25 bolts directly attached to the frame (I use the nuts welded on the frame, some of which are originally used for the tow loops.) The body of the bar is made of heavy tubing plus a lot of 1/2" plate, and the mounting members are 2x2 rectangular heavy tube. So that thing is way sturdier than all the little bling bling brush guard, no comparison.

Now, given the mounting -I'm using all the tow loop nuts- I don't have tow loops in front any more. I could conceivably drill the mounts and install a tow loop back but that'll be 3 hours or drilling probably (did I say heavy duty bar?) and would weaken the bar.

I'm thinking of finding a way to attach a recovery or tow strap to the bar itself close to the mounts. Should be close to even with the frame mounting surface. Bolt wise, it should be much stronger than the OEM tow loop (6 vs 2). But the issue is how to attach the strap. I can't readily use a shackle directly at the mount because the bar is too wide there, and I don't want to attach it to one of the uprights or smaller tubes cuz they are not as strong. I could use a tree saver strap around part of the bar, padding the strap with something to prevent chafing. Or attach the strap directly to the bar mount somehow. Or use a chain around one of the mount bars.

What's best?
Other ideas?

E

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

I think you're over-thinking this. Wrap the strap around one of the bars you feel comfortable using (hard to picture w/o seeing it, maybe you could post a pic) and loop the strap back through itself. Personally I would find a way to make a shackle mount, but that's your call.

Ary

 

[e9999]

I think you're over-thinking this. Wrap the strap around one of the bars you feel comfortable using (hard to picture w/o seeing it, maybe you could post a pic) and loop the strap back through itself. Personally I would find a way to make a shackle mount, but that's your call.

Ary

I'm always overthinking stuff, I'm told...

Don't know about just tying the strap to the bar, though, it has some straight edges.
Could drill a hole for a shackle, but that would in turn weaken the mount if it's a big hole. And a small one would only handle a small shackle...

E

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Eric-I would use EXTREME caution engineering this yourself. The forces involved in recovery are huge, especially if another 6000 pound 80 series is jerking you out of the mud. 6 bolts does not sound like much for a whole bumper. Even the ARB on the front of my 60 has 12 one half inch high grade bolts holding it on.

If you are absolutely confident in you bumper setup, Man-a Fre sells these:

http://www.man-a-fre.com/parts_accessories/shacklerec.htm

that might just work to attach the 3/4 inch "D" shackles used in recovery. You might consider seeking out the services of a real fabricator like Luke Porter and run your ideas by him. Post a pic of your proposed set-up.

 

[Safado]

Dude, that sound ugly as hell.

If you're using the existing mount locations for the stock loops, just use a 3/8 longer bolt and double up. Or weld d-ring mounts onto some of that 1/2" plate.

Post pics if you got any...

 

[NorCalDoug]

You could bolt a couple of these on. Make sure to get the backing plates too. Similar to what Andy posted, but you can choose to purchase them singley (is that a word?) rather than in pairs.

 

[Beowulf]

>> The body of the bar is made of heavy tubing plus a lot of 1/2" plate, <<

How much is this thing going to weigh? Pics?

-B-

 

[e9999]

Eric-I would use EXTREME caution engineering this yourself. The forces involved in recovery are huge, especially if another 6000 pound 80 series is jerking you out of the mud. 6 bolts does not sound like much for a whole bumper. Even the ARB on the front of my 60 has 12 one half inch high grade bolts holding it on.

If you are absolutely confident in you bumper setup, Man-a Fre sells these:

http://www.man-a-fre.com/parts_accessories/shacklerec.htm

that might just work to attach the 3/4 inch "D" shackles used in recovery. You might consider seeking out the services of a real fabricator like Luke Porter and run your ideas by him. Post a pic of your proposed set-up.

well, may indeed not be as strongly mounted as a full ARB, but keep in mind that the OEM tow loops only use 2 bolts, so seems like this would be stronger than those loops -if there is no weird torque and all, but that can be handled by choosing the right location for the strap-

E

 

[e9999]

Dude, that sound ugly as hell.

If you're using the existing mount locations for the stock loops, just use a 3/8 longer bolt and double up. Or weld d-ring mounts onto some of that 1/2" plate.

Post pics if you got any...

can't use the loop, no room
yes, could weld on

 

[e9999]

>> The body of the bar is made of heavy tubing plus a lot of 1/2" plate, <<

How much is this thing going to weigh? Pics?

-B-

don't know how heavy it is. Probably well over 100 lbs. It makes the front sag 3/4"

Will try and get some pics

E

 

[e9999]

what's the smallest shackle I could use safely with a snatch strap?
(truck still pretty much stock but bigger tires and the roo bar, though. so what, close to 6K lbs?)
E

 

[polarweasel]

what's the smallest shackle I could use safely with a snatch strap?
(truck still pretty much stock but bigger tires and the roo bar, though. so what, close to 6K lbs?)
E

Going for the minimum in recovery gear is a REALLY BAD IDEA.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's continue. Most people seem to use 3/4" shackles. Those are rated for lots of weight. Overkill is good with the forces involved in recovery. As an example, ARB's D-shackles are rated for 10K pounds, and are ten bucks at MAF.

Oh, and my 60 (OME HD kit, 33" muds, and a Ramsey 8K winch) weighs in at 4900 pounds. That includes half a tank of gas, me, and the dog.

 

[e9999]

here is how the roo bar attaches to the frame. It's simply bolted on underneath the frame rails with 3 bolts on each side (may add U-bolts later on for added strength).

It seems that if I attach a strap to the front of the bar, either directly or with a shackle, at the same elevation as the bottom of the frame, that I should be in good shape.

Waddya think?

 

[e9999]

more photos in a separate thread

 

[e9999]

Going for the minimum in recovery gear is a REALLY BAD IDEA.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's continue. Most people seem to use 3/4" shackles. Those are rated for lots of weight. Overkill is good with the forces involved in recovery. As an example, ARB's D-shackles are rated for 10K pounds, and are ten bucks at MAF.

Oh, and my 60 (OME HD kit, 33" muds, and a Ramsey 8K winch) weighs in at 4900 pounds. That includes half a tank of gas, me, and the dog.

I said "safely"!

The issue here is that a big shackle would require a big hole in the mounts, which would weaken the mount, so I would have to compromise. 3/4" is pretty small, that should work, but 10K is not that much for a snatch maybe?

 

[e9999]

I'm starting to think I may not do this after all.
In theory should be plenty safe if done well, but maybe not worth taking a chance?
Life is too short...
E

 

[Beowulf]

E,

You're sending mixed messages and it's impossible for us to give rational advice. On one hand you say this bar is not for off-roading and it's purpose is protection against bambi. Then you say you want to use it for safe recovery, implying extemely stuck.

On 80's, most people use a 3/4" D-shackle attached to the factory loops. Many of us with Slee armor use 7/8" shackles attached to the front and rear bumpers using Christo's well designed recovery points. Shackles are rated using WLL which is for overhead loads, so a 7/8" shackle is desiged to constantly support 13,000 lbs overhead. Design limit for shock loads is something like 50,000 lbs (I think it is 4xWLL.) Since the 3" straps most 80 owners use are rated at 30k, the D-shackle is not the weak link.

Hooking any kind of recovery point to that home made monstrosity is going to be dangerous; assuming you need 30k of force to get recovered. If you only need a slight tug or just to be pulled off a rock then you should be fine. Hook the strap anywhere. In the case you are seriously buried and need a major recovery effort then rig up something that pulls from your frame and not that bambi bar.

My 2c

-B-

 

[e9999]

E,

You're sending mixed messages and it's impossible for us to give rational advice. On one hand you say this bar is not for off-roading and it's purpose is protection against bambi. Then you say you want to use it for safe recovery, implying extemely stuck.

snip

-B-

Yes, it's a Bambi bar mostly. Doesn't mean I would not go offroad if I have it on. So the question was really about the fact that if this bar is on I don't have tow loops any more in front, so what to connect the strap to if stuck? Was being proactive in figuring it out before going out there. As far as connecting to the frame directly, I don't know how to do that.

I guess what throws me about this discussion is that the tow loops are held with 2 bolts. This bar and others are held with many more bolts, yet it is widely said not to connect the straps to the bullbar. That does not make sense if somebody is careful where to connect the strap, I would think.

E

 

[billybob_98]

i went to an 18 wheeler truck parts store and bought two weld on D ring shackles. They were welded on to Three in oil field pipe, something like schedule 40 i think, very very thick. this pipe ran infront of the the framerails and was attatched by two flat half in plates that were bolted to the outside of my frame with four grade 8 bolts on either side. the plates ran three inches past the frame and were weld to the pipe's ends. then i had a chevy 2500 hd warn winch plate for the 12000 warn, which was welded to the top of the pipe and the top edges of the plates. the winch plate sat two inches on the frame rails and the rest on the pipe. there were two more bolts from the bottom of the winch plate thru the top of the frame rails. so my d rings were level with the frame and secured very stongly with thick metal and ten total bolts. also there was no room for the bumper to bend or flex since it sat snug on the top, front, and sides of the frame. also this design strengthened the front frame against bending or getting messed up. here's a pic of the bumper. hope it helps. the d rings have held up awesome against some serious yanks and pull loads.

 

[billybob_98]

i also added side oil pipes for protection and put them high enough for clearance so i could get my tires right up to big rocks or stumps. then i used schedule 40 pipe for the light guards and the top bar. the runner plates for the top bar are diamond plate half inch steel plates welded to the inside of the sides of the warn winch plate. the bends in the light guard rails had to be bought pre molded b/c the pipe was too thick for most pipe benders. everything was fully welded around all mating surfaces. this bump is somewhat ugly, but very stout and very practical and useful for my needs. i had four piaa lights mounted, two off road and two driving, one set sat in the upper l and r corners of the inner frame. and the driving lights were temp. mounted in the top winch bolt holes on the front of the winch plate, since i had no winch at that time. but i drilled holes for them to sit on top of the top bar right next to each other center with the truck. i also had a set of kc fog/ driving lights smaller rect. shaped the sat in the inner corners of the l and right side outer framing. they covered up a part of the turn signals but were inside enought to not hide the bulb. they sat just under the high beam rect. and looked pretty sweet.