2020 Ram 1500 Rebel - factory front hooks - recovery

[arod412]

Then they don't know what they're doing and should do some research before off-roading where recovery might be required.

Sometimes you can quickly access just one side if the other side is slightly submerged, or blocked. Also...when getting a recovery strap, you just get one cable. Like you said, ideally, rear is where to pull, but depending how you are stuck, might not have a choice.

You can carry all the gear and precautions you think you might need...but sometimes, you might get in a situation, that one hook is all you have, and you would need to go backwards. I’m still a bit new and learning, but you just never know what could possibly happen, and still plan for most of it.


Owner of a 2020 Ram Laramie, 16 Dodge Charger scat pack and my wife 21 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara

 

[Kdixer]

Use a short strap to connect to both hooks for equalization( the strap and hooks are rated for more weight that way) and a long rope tied with the equalized rope for the vehicle recovering you. Always works better to get pulled from the middle... never use a tow hitch ball to pull either because you can hit a bump and have the strap fly off.

This is potentially a bad idea unless your short straps accommodates an appropriate angle of pull. If you break a force down into vectors, parallel with front bumper being "x" and perpendicular to the front bumper being "y", force "x" will most likely exceed tow hook rating and quite possibly the short strap rating.

Straps are de-rated when not pulled in line from one end to the other. You can Google "sling angle chart" to see what I am talking about.

 

[RamRebelSteel]

This is potentially a bad idea unless your short straps accommodates an appropriate angle of pull. If you break a force down into vectors, parallel with front bumper being "x" and perpendicular to the front bumper being "y", force "x" will most likely exceed tow hook rating and quite possibly the short strap rating.

Straps are de-rated when not pulled in line from one end to the other. You can Google "sling angle chart" to see what I am talking about.

View attachment 80688

Hmm very interesting. That is advice an old timer gave me but that actually makes sense now that I see the scientific aspect of it.
Maybe a 15' rope will do

 

[saylor]

i unstuck my old 1500 with the front hook. dude in a 900 polaris with a winch. we just put the metal clasp on the hook and went both of us on the gas up and out.

. . .

having added this westin bumper guard, I just removed the OEM tow hooks from my 2020 1500. there is 2 bolts per each hook. one bolt is stubby and bolts into the frame right by the hook.
the other bolt is about a foot long and has a keeper on it and the bolt stabs thru a frame rail and goes who knows where straight upwards.

...

anyone want to buy some OEM tow hooks I have a pair LMK.

 

[millerbjm]

I have soft shackles for the front tow loops and a hard shackle hitch insert for the back to eliminate the temptation to try and pull from the hitch or use the pin on a loop which is also a bad idea.

Whatever rigging you do please don't ever hook a metal hook from a tow strap to your shackle or tow loop for a recovery situation - not what they are designed for and very dangerous.

 

[Biga]

I'm not sure on the rating but the Ram 1500 does have some of the beefiest hooks. They weight about 13 lbs for both which is about twice as heavy as the ones on the Ford.

 

[CaptainCJ35]

This is potentially a bad idea unless your short straps accommodates an appropriate angle of pull. If you break a force down into vectors, parallel with front bumper being "x" and perpendicular to the front bumper being "y", force "x" will most likely exceed tow hook rating and quite possibly the short strap rating.

Straps are de-rated when not pulled in line from one end to the other. You can Google "sling angle chart" to see what I am talking about.

View attachment 80688

Also don't lose sight of the main takeaway on that chart. Provided your bridle is less than 120 degrees of angle, you're putting less than 100% stress on each recovery point... which is the main purpose of using a bridle in the first place. Bottom line, make sure whatever you're using for a bridle is long enough to achieve an angle less than 120.

The chart provided above lets you do the simple math to calculate stress on each point. Example... recovering a 7000 lb truck with a 90 degree bridle angle imparts only 4,970 lbs of stress on each tow hook.

Ideally 60 degrees is the sweet spot of not too long and great stress distribution. Marine applications go 30 degrees or lower to address sea state.

 

[saylor]

as a city boy about to get countryfied, i appreciate this post on how to winch up a stuck vehicle.

i will please to acquire the like hardware and do the needful.

 

[RockYacht2020]

Marine applications go 30 degrees or lower to address sea state.

Oh man, that would be a rough day for your truck when you have to address the sea state. I feel like you have to reevaluate your life choices at that point.

 

[Kdixer]

Also don't lose sight of the main takeaway on that chart. Provided your bridle is less than 120 degrees of angle, you're putting less than 100% stress on each recovery point... which is the main purpose of using a bridle in the first place. Bottom line, make sure whatever you're using for a bridle is long enough to achieve an angle less than 120.

The chart provided above lets you do the simple math to calculate stress on each point. Example... recovering a 7000 lb truck with a 90 degree bridle angle imparts only 4,970 lbs of stress on each tow hook.

Ideally 60 degrees is the sweet spot of not too long and great stress distribution. Marine applications go 30 degrees or lower to address sea state.

Considering a bridle that is truly a bridle, yes. Or a strap long enough to provide an interior angle of 120° or preferably less as you state.

A short strap hooked from one tow hook to another with a second strap hooked from a tow vehicle to somewhere on the 1st strap will allow unequal force distribution. Or even worse, a tow strap threaded thru both tow eyes and connected choker style.

As long as people are thinking about the forces that are being exerted in different rigging scenarios and actually learn why best practices are safe. There is plenty of material available online for people to research so they can better prepare themselves. 10 minutes of research can prevent significant injury or property damage.

 

[saylor]

my tow hooks ^^ posted above are now sold btw - just sayin

 

[gpflepsen]

i unstuck my old 1500 with the front hook. dude in a 900 polaris with a winch. we just put the metal clasp on the hook and went both of us on the gas up and out.

. . .

having added this westin bumper guard, I just removed the OEM tow hooks from my 2020 1500. there is 2 bolts per each hook. one bolt is stubby and bolts into the frame right by the hook.
the other bolt is about a foot long and has a keeper on it and the bolt stabs thru a frame rail and goes who knows where straight upwards.

...

anyone want to buy some OEM tow hooks I have a pair LMK. View attachment 80726

The long bolt may be attaching the front body mount point to the frame. This question crossed my mind when I removed them to install the hooks, why so long? Just looking up it appeared to be a body mount bolting point.

My question is why the retaining clip on the bolt end? I figured it just has to do with assembly line sequence when the trucks are being built.

If you're removing the tow hooks, be sure to put the long bolt back in.

 

[RockYacht2020]

Yup. The retaining clip was an assembly adder. If you remove, you don't need to replace them.