I thought they were for looks....
Land Cruiser vs Ford Escort (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter zipastro
- Start date
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tucker74
Moderator
I just posted that picture for reference - I saw lots of Euro-spec Land Cruisers with hook-style hitches like this mounted to those cross members.
Tucker
Tucker
Charlie,
Physics aside?? As in you think I'm not grasping the physics here? Get a grip, man. Two objects colliding experience the same force. The stronger one deforms the weaker one. What's not to like about this?
Tucker,
A hitch ball attached with 2 bolts is, well - I guess kind of a hitch. And I guess someone could kind of tow with it, too.
Physics aside?? As in you think I'm not grasping the physics here? Get a grip, man. Two objects colliding experience the same force. The stronger one deforms the weaker one. What's not to like about this?
Tucker,
A hitch ball attached with 2 bolts is, well - I guess kind of a hitch. And I guess someone could kind of tow with it, too.
- Thread starter
- #45
Yep, thanks for asking. only a slight sore neck for about 8 hours. She is now even more sold then ever on the LC quailty. I have talked about the repair options and she likes the way the rear bumpers with the "doo dads" look.......I explained that with the doo dads we really need the matching front bumper, oversized tires and lift if we want to be good quailty posers.
zipastro said:
LOL! Now you're thinking. I've been planting seeds for months now that hopefully will sprout next year...
Brentbba said:
I've been gone all weekend but I'll disagree with you. The crossmember is not needed to mount a Kaymar (as I have one also) and not always wanted as some bumpers require them to be removed. So if I were to go with a Kaymar I would not spend the money to have it replaced. I'd have the frame shop straighten out the frame and then bolt up the new bumper.
alia176
SILVER Star
I think Doug's Pig and the Chicken comment will probably show up in future threads
Back to the issue at hand...I agree with the above assessment regarding the frame being out of alignment in that area. After the cross member is cut off, the two frame horns will probably spring back to shape and a new Xmember can be welded on. As it stands now, any aftermarket rear bumper holes won't line up with the chassis holes.
This is the perfect time for a 4x4Lab's (or similar) rear bumper.
In any case, I have a set of plastic wrap arounds for sale should you need them!
Ali
Back to the issue at hand...I agree with the above assessment regarding the frame being out of alignment in that area. After the cross member is cut off, the two frame horns will probably spring back to shape and a new Xmember can be welded on. As it stands now, any aftermarket rear bumper holes won't line up with the chassis holes.
This is the perfect time for a 4x4Lab's (or similar) rear bumper.
In any case, I have a set of plastic wrap arounds for sale should you need them!
Ali
The 4 holes on the rear bumper are perfectly adequate for towing suitable trailers with pintle hooks such as the NATO type which is what they are designed for.
http://www.dixonbate.co.uk/html/pintles.htm
They can be found on many vehicles used by NATO. It is usually used to tow military type trailers that have towing eyes that are mounted higher than on most civilian trailers. This type of hook also has the ability to spin allowing articulation off road and can also help prevent the trailer from overturning the towing vehicle in the event of a capsized trailer. It has to with stand forces in excess of those normally found when driving on the road.
It is not designed to mount a drop plate unless it is supported by some sort of triangulation running to the frame to offset the leverage that would be imparted. This would cause a twisting force on the rear cross member because of the lever arm or moments of force and would most certainly damage it. It is used for a strait pull, and there for no lever arm or moments of force are applied other than those it was designed for.
The standard type tow bar attachments are hardly any stronger; when used for towing or snatching, the one in my shed has only 4 bolts to mount the bar to the frame these from memory are of a smaller diameter than the 4 used on the rear cross member used for pintle mounting . I should imagine that any force large enough to bend that cross member with towing would most probably tear off a normal tow bar and I have in fact seen a tow bar partially ripped off a chassis during snatch recovery that is one side of the bar came off and twisted it. Not my vehicle I may add as I always use the NATO pintle mounted to those 4 holes on the cross member with the appropriate grade of bolts for such proposes
http://www.dixonbate.co.uk/html/pintles.htm
They can be found on many vehicles used by NATO. It is usually used to tow military type trailers that have towing eyes that are mounted higher than on most civilian trailers. This type of hook also has the ability to spin allowing articulation off road and can also help prevent the trailer from overturning the towing vehicle in the event of a capsized trailer. It has to with stand forces in excess of those normally found when driving on the road.
It is not designed to mount a drop plate unless it is supported by some sort of triangulation running to the frame to offset the leverage that would be imparted. This would cause a twisting force on the rear cross member because of the lever arm or moments of force and would most certainly damage it. It is used for a strait pull, and there for no lever arm or moments of force are applied other than those it was designed for.
The standard type tow bar attachments are hardly any stronger; when used for towing or snatching, the one in my shed has only 4 bolts to mount the bar to the frame these from memory are of a smaller diameter than the 4 used on the rear cross member used for pintle mounting . I should imagine that any force large enough to bend that cross member with towing would most probably tear off a normal tow bar and I have in fact seen a tow bar partially ripped off a chassis during snatch recovery that is one side of the bar came off and twisted it. Not my vehicle I may add as I always use the NATO pintle mounted to those 4 holes on the cross member with the appropriate grade of bolts for such proposes
Gold Finger, thanks for the great info on the pintle hitches. I never understood (or had given much thought to) their advantages before.
Does anyone know the towing weight capacity of the pintle mount on the 80?
Thanks,
Ed
Does anyone know the towing weight capacity of the pintle mount on the 80?
Thanks,
Ed
Zip,
I will stay out of the pintle debate as I don't have any expereince with them.
I will interject as the resident auto body damage estimator, Your rear frame rails likely have damage to them. The likeliehood that the rear cross member could be replaced without having some frame repair time on the vehicle is slim to none. You also want to drop the spare tire from its location and make sure it did not shift forward into the panhard bar for the rear axle. I have seen two hits on 80's and one on a 100 where the spare tire mount shifted into the rear axle.
Dont let some guy in at a dealer ship body shop write you a half assed sheet as you drive in. get the frame measured, at the very least on a laser bench. Some of the more popular brands are the shark, the genesis, car-o-liner. any of these systems will diagnose frame issues that may have transmitted forward of the immediate crash area.
From the limited pics you gave I would guess that you will not need a lot of repair time on the frame rail ends on the vehicle. But if you don't have it PROFESSIONALLY analyzed (no the walk in estimate does not count) You are making a mistake in my opinion.
Dave
I will stay out of the pintle debate as I don't have any expereince with them.
I will interject as the resident auto body damage estimator, Your rear frame rails likely have damage to them. The likeliehood that the rear cross member could be replaced without having some frame repair time on the vehicle is slim to none. You also want to drop the spare tire from its location and make sure it did not shift forward into the panhard bar for the rear axle. I have seen two hits on 80's and one on a 100 where the spare tire mount shifted into the rear axle.
Dont let some guy in at a dealer ship body shop write you a half assed sheet as you drive in. get the frame measured, at the very least on a laser bench. Some of the more popular brands are the shark, the genesis, car-o-liner. any of these systems will diagnose frame issues that may have transmitted forward of the immediate crash area.
From the limited pics you gave I would guess that you will not need a lot of repair time on the frame rail ends on the vehicle. But if you don't have it PROFESSIONALLY analyzed (no the walk in estimate does not count) You are making a mistake in my opinion.
Dave
- Thread starter
- #53
Recycle!
After thinking about it a awhile I decided to try Luke at 4x4 labs for the parts. Each time he upgrades a cruiser he cuts off all of the parts I just happen to need. Today I got a big heavy box with the rear crossmember, aluminum step AND a factory receiver hitch to replace the "multiplier" hitch destroyed in the accident.
You may ask, How much did Luke want for all of the leftovers delivered to me? I will just say it was a great bargain. Anyone else looking for a receiver hitch might want to check with him.
After thinking about it a awhile I decided to try Luke at 4x4 labs for the parts. Each time he upgrades a cruiser he cuts off all of the parts I just happen to need. Today I got a big heavy box with the rear crossmember, aluminum step AND a factory receiver hitch to replace the "multiplier" hitch destroyed in the accident.
You may ask, How much did Luke want for all of the leftovers delivered to me? I will just say it was a great bargain. Anyone else looking for a receiver hitch might want to check with him.
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- Thread starter
- #54
<<<>>>
I only use mine for tow ropes...Gold Finger said:
I tow my boat with mine, no problem. But TiredIronGRB, where did you get the loops for the safety chains....I just have to hook mine to the back side of the crossmember. I originally thought they would reach the factory tow hooks. 
But I only have 2 miles to get to the lake anyway and the ball/hook combo I have can lock the pintal closed ontop of the trailer tounge which would prevent the tounge coming off the ball.
But I only have 2 miles to get to the lake anyway and the ball/hook combo I have can lock the pintal closed ontop of the trailer tounge which would prevent the tounge coming off the ball.
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Worth nothing, get a new bumper; Hanna, Slee, 4x4, take your pick.
Sam
Sam
- Thread starter
- #59
PKP80 said:
Yeah sure..... I should spend a $1000+ on a cool bumper so my wife can show it off to her friends at the office and they can ask dumb questions?
Bear80 said:I tow my boat with mine, no problem. But TiredIronGRB, where did you get the loops for the safety chains....I just have to hook mine to the back side of the crossmember. I originally thought they would reach the factory tow hooks.
My wife calls mine the "turd" comming out of the back. Oh well, its saved my arse a time or two. And a standard pintle is rated at about 5 tons-though the X-member is less than that I am sure. But to its defense that X member is VERY strong for lateral pull, maybe so much so it is oddly disproportionate to its tongue capacity. Likely due to the l\=/l design.
