Offroad-Express

ive been looking into tow hooks etc... does anyone know if the large tow hook on the right front of a 94 nissan terrano are any good or do i have to replace it??

If its like a Safari recovery point, then it would proberbly be fine, but my suggestion is to put your own hooks on anyway,

1. So that you know, they are strong and safe, cause you did it and used the right stuff

2. If its like a safari one, then it is right down underneath the car and an absolute barstard to get to if you end up in a deepish bog, trust me, not fun when you have muddy water leaking in thru your bad door seals slowly filling up the car, and your having to dig to put the tow rope on, not fun.

Kent wrote:If its like a Safari recovery point, then it would proberbly be fine, but my suggestion is to put your own hooks on anyway,

1. So that you know, they are strong and safe, cause you did it and used the right stuff

2. If its like a safari one, then it is right down underneath the car and an absolute barstard to get to if you end up in a deepish bog, trust me, not fun when you have muddy water leaking in thru your bad door seals slowly filling up the car, and your having to dig to put the tow rope on, not fun.

cheers kent
this hook isnt that low, but will look into new hooks anyway

Good question... I did a couple of heavy-ish (ie: a few consecutive pulls at full throttle to free my stuck hulux) recoverys with a mates Terrano with the stock hook on front, as he only had a shackled towbar on rear... He never had any issues with the hook... But then, he was never too hard out, and I don't know any history on the vehicle...

Since writing off my hilux, I got a deal on a Terrano, and need to make sure the recovery points are bullet proof cos I'll be wheeling with another friend and his LWB Safari.

I am definately going to replace the stock bolts in the factory front hooks with a higher tensile grade! But who knows what the hook is rated to? My 10000Lb hooks are the wrong bolt pattern for the front end... Another option might be to fab' a bar and mount them off it

I just took a look under the back end tonight and it looks like there's chassis holes that the rated hooks will mate up to. But I'll need to remove the bumper, towbar and prob will need to relocate the licence plate...

What do you other guys do for hooks at the rear?

I've seen some guys bolt hooks onto the towbar frame. But although my towbar is attached to the chassis at two points, it has the other two major attachments onto the flimsy lookin bumper brackets!!! This looks questionable enough for towing a decent load, let alone snatch recoverys!!!

Thoughts? Suggestions? Pictures?

on my terrano i put a rated hook on the towbar tounge(so i can chop and change between ball and hook) and am making a bullbar and the hook will be on the top left of it...

I've had a factory Safari hook fail on me

DaveM wrote:I've had a factory Safari hook fail on me

Not surprising especially if it was the rear one. There is no way I'd use a factory hook on any vehicle, not worth the risk. And there is no way I'd use a towbar either.

Cheers, Jeff.

Was the front hook, don't think they have a rear hook except for the little loop off the back centre. You have to be pretty keen to try using that though

Dak wrote:

DaveM wrote:I've had a factory Safari hook fail on me

Not surprising especially if it was the rear one. There is no way I'd use a factory hook on any vehicle, not worth the risk. And there is no way I'd use a towbar either.

Cheers, Jeff.

why not the towbar Jeff??

There is no way a towbar is designed for that sort of load. I've seen several nearly ripped right off the chassis.

Cheers, Jeff.

Dak wrote:There is no way a towbar is designed for that sort of load. I've seen several nearly ripped right off the chassis.

Cheers, Jeff.

youve seen? thats where a towbar maker and towhook
man advised me to put it and i think he knows what hes
talking about......

Yes, SEEN, one Surf in particular had it ripped right off, and you should of seen how many bolts where holding it on. Think of the forces if say you are trying to snatch a 2 1/2 ton Safari out of something.

Is this mounting on the side of the towbar mount, as apposed to using a shckle through the tongue?

i have put it on the tounge......

I had aftermarket rated-hooks bolted directly to the chassis of my old Toy' and some 4mm plate steel between the hook and chassis secured with an extra bolt. (3 bolts total per hook), I'd like a similar set-up for the Terrano if poss. One less thing to wonder about...

disfordog wrote:I had aftermarket rated-hooks bolted directly to the chassis of my old Toy' and some 4mm plate steel between the hook and chassis secured with an extra bolt. (3 bolts total per hook), I'd like a similar set-up for the Terrano if poss. One less thing to wonder about...

i think u can do somthing like that on the front but the chassis is tucked up on the rear hard to get onto a hook up there

Ryan, give Carl a call on 976-5325, he will sort your tow hooks out.
Our club will not allow the use of those factory "tie downs" - as they were designed for. Carl has done a lot of research and testing of the various hooks, he will set your truck up.
Dont pick his brains though as he has a business to run and is a busy man, he is more than happy to do the work for your

cheers worthog..but i have sorted the rear and am building a bullbar
with rated hooks on the front....