Where to locate recovery hooks on Hilux surf?

Militaris · Post by **Militaris** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:08 pm

Was just wondering where would be a good place to attach recovery hooks on the frount and back of a Toyota Hilux Surf 1994 model?

SupraLux · Post by **SupraLux** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:18 pm

Not to put a too-finer point on it - but search! This exact topic came through a few weeks back and was done to death.

Steve

Militaris · Post by **Militaris** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:45 am

Did do a search several times.

If it was done to death, then I suspect it was done to death in a thread with a non-relevant topic.

SupraLux · Post by **SupraLux** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:16 am

Well, that would figure. In fairness to you I had a quick search and only found a short thread on front hooks - there have been a couple of threads covering the rears on here in recent times.

The new site will have a better search - or use Google to search the site rather than the site built-in one...

In essence, rear hooks on a Surf are a pain as the tailgate drops down well over the chassis rails. The last one I did I made some heavy duty plates, braced up as part of a rear bar and mounted hooks to them:

The hook went along the bottom of the plate...

Hope that helps

Steve

Petemcc · Post by **Petemcc** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:42 am

Also most people have talked about it and everybody that hasn't looked at a surf will say "put hooks on the chassis with rated bolts that go right through and with crush tubes in between". to start with most people that are new to this dont know what crush tubes are.

crush tubes as i understand them are a bit of tube that goes over the bolt inside the chassis to stop the chassis being squashed when the botls are done up.

Right so you go out side and have a look at your surf and think wel how the #### am i going to do that!. there is no way of getting a crush tube in the front and as steve pointed out there rear is a prick to.

this is where most of the threads die off as people put it in the to hard box and just get rated hooks for the front captive nuts and keep it on the down low.

I have seen many of these hooks used and not fail....

my suggestion for the front is to make a mount like the one i did for my winch and either mount hooks up the right way on hefty gusseted brackets. or make a reciever to go into the box section as i am going to and then if you get a winch you can use it for this to.

this is a bit of 5mm angle that is about 80X100 is i think that wraps arround the front chassis crossmember with a bit of 50x50x5 box welded to the front of it. It uses four of the captive nuts on the front of the crossmember (reasonable weak) and two underneeth on the chassis rails. For the front ones on the chassis rails i was able to knock out the captive nuts and there is a wee hole that you can slip in a spring washer and a good nut. I also made tabs going back out of 5mm plate to reach another captive nut on each side. So 10 bolts in total...

for the back you can normaly put a bow shackel through where the tow ball goes unitll you can make a new bar. My rear bar is alot like steves and uses four bolts and nuts on each side.

Hope this helps, Pete

ps. including steel grinding disks welding wire and the like my rear bar cost about $100 and the front one was bout $150 that was making them myself (with alot of help from mates lol, i did some good watching)

Petemcc · Post by **Petemcc** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 8:06 am

bump. See my point, another 1 that has died off. Does anyone have anything else to add? picks of how you have mounted your hooks on your surf?

Pete

rokhound · Post by **rokhound** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 8:18 am

When designing the location for the hooks, make sure you mount them up trhe right way. IE hook facing up. Upside down and sideways are the biggest pain in the arse, Not only to keep the strop on, But they are invariably the lowest point when upside down, so if you are stuck in the mud etc, they will be buried.

My 2c (+gst) worth any way.

MATT4U · Post by **MATT4U** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 8:26 am

rokhound wrote:When designing the location for the hooks, make sure you mount them up trhe right way. IE hook facing up. Upside down and sideways are the biggest pain in the arse, Not only to keep the strop on, But they are invariably the lowest point when upside down, so if you are stuck in the mud etc, they will be buried.

My 2c (+gst) worth any way.

kinda like this

rokhound · Post by **rokhound** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 8:33 am

Yep,

and this....

SupraLux · Post by **SupraLux** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:21 am

Is that two bits of 10 x 40 or 50 flat bar? I know from experience that will need gussetting if it is - Rik had the same setup - and he tore both of his off... a web from the side down to the new drop crossmember would probably double its strength in any pull off-square... which is, thanks to murphy, mostly the case.

Steve

MATT4U wrote:
rokhound wrote:When designing the location for the hooks, make sure you mount them up trhe right way. IE hook facing up. Upside down and sideways are the biggest pain in the arse, Not only to keep the strop on, But they are invariably the lowest point when upside down, so if you are stuck in the mud etc, they will be buried.

My 2c (+gst) worth any way.

kinda like this

Steve_t647 · Post by **Steve_t647** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:33 am

if you have a towbar at the back you can get another tongue ans swap one with a hook for one with a ball. the back chassis should have a bar or similar arangement between the two chassis rails for strength if you are goinh to chassis, I have seen the back chassis rails bend on an offset pull backwards (too fast) and once on a tow of a heavy 4wd (it was a Nissan) the rail became tweaked.

The front is stronger

MATT4U · Post by **MATT4U** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 11:07 am

yes Steve you are correct it will bend, I bent one slightly when having to tow it, however there are gussets on it now

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:41 pm

Steve_t647 wrote:if you have a towbar at the back you can get another tongue ans swap one with a hook for one with a ball. the back chassis should have a bar or similar arangement between the two chassis rails for strength if you are goinh to chassis, I have seen the back chassis rails bend on an offset pull backwards (too fast) and once on a tow of a heavy 4wd (it was a Nissan) the rail became tweaked.

The front is stronger

I'm about to put a tow hook on a tongue on the back of my Nissan, now you've made me nervous! Is there anything easy you can do to prevent that apart from not getting stuck?

Cheers.

jade_l · Post by **jade_l** » Tue Jun 24, 2014 12:45 pm

Dragging up and old post i know but do you still have those pictures petemcc. looking at putting some hooks on the back of my surf.

buckshoe · Post by **buckshoe** » Tue Jun 24, 2014 6:18 pm

jade_l wrote:Dragging up and old post i know but do you still have those pictures petemcc. looking at putting some hooks on the back of my surf.

With or without bumper?

jade_l · Post by **jade_l** » Tue Jun 24, 2014 9:25 pm

Without bumper mate, after reading that above im thinking about boxing in the end of the chassis with a channel going the opposite way then running crush tubes and long bolts,

J_Dub · Post by **J_Dub** » Wed Jun 25, 2014 8:12 am

I can't access my old photos any more. Other computer. But I've done it a few times. Its a good time to get a rear bar made up and mount your hooks off that

Where to locate recovery hooks on Hilux surf?

Where to locate recovery hooks on Hilux surf?

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