Second tow hook

henkexbg

Forum Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2018
Messages
2
Location
Sydney
Car Year
2011
Car Model
Forester
Transmission
Manual
Hello to you all!


My first post here so be gentle!


I've been trawling through the forum in regards to best way to prepare for a recovery from the front of the vehicle.
It seems it's a question between tie-down points and tow hook. Neither point is ideal as they are not really made for recovery.



I then checked my Forester - a 2011 SH model - and it has two points where the tow hook can be attached.

In my mind it would then be a pretty good compromise to get another tow hook, and use the distribution strap between those, rather than between the tie-down points.


Shout if you don't agree this far.


The second challenge is then: where would I find a second tow hook?
I've found plenty of tow hooks vaguely specifying "Subaru" models, but I really don't know if they would fit my Forester. Are these hooks different between different models?


This one seems like a candidate: https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-2008-2018-Subaru-Front-Tractive-Tow-Hook-Impreza-Forester-BRZ-NEW-57805FG000/191869206452?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150313114020%26meid%3Daab9cb42693f47d5aa6c6216611075f8%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D8%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D162271503905%26itm%3D191869206452&_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726

Just sucks that the freight would be more expensive than the actual hook (I live in Australia).


Then we have these: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/18mm-Al...Toyota-Honda-Mazda-Subaru-BMW-AU/113038994217

Cheaper and no freight cost. But would they fit? Are they fit for purpose?


Any help would be appreciated! And if anybody happens to be sitting on a tow hook that fits my car and wants to sell it I'm quite interested :) .

Thanks heaps!
 
Hi and welcome!
unfortunately I wouldn't have a clue about those hooks, but personally would stick with OEM. :)
 
I used the stock eye-bolt on the 2008 Tribeca on a pretty awful recovery effort, involving hard chain pull of the car stuck to rocker panels in sand. All my recovery gear was in the Outback/garage, 1100 miles away. All that happened was that the eye-bolt bent a little and was retired.



So, for me, the single OEM eye bolt is good enough. I find it hard to believe that an aftermarket quick fix that involves no engineering effort at all would be any better.


Older models lacked the eye bolt. I see that non-offroad versions of the unibody Jeeps come with eye-bolts as well.


Finally, the 2019 Forester comes with X-mode VDC with options for sand and mud/deep snow (what took so long?). This tells you all you need to know about Subaru's own view of what its cars are made for.



I find that the enormous majority of people underestimate their Subarus, and what they come with, while only very few overestimate what a Subaru can do.
 
henkexbg said:
Hello to you all!


My first post here so be gentle!


I've been trawling through the forum in regards to best way to prepare for a recovery from the front of the vehicle.
It seems it's a question between tie-down points and tow hook. Neither point is ideal as they are not really made for recovery.



I then checked my Forester - a 2011 SH model - and it has two points where the tow hook can be attached.

In my mind it would then be a pretty good compromise to get another tow hook, and use the distribution strap between those, rather than between the tie-down points.


Shout if you don't agree this far.


The second challenge is then: where would I find a second tow hook?
I've found plenty of tow hooks vaguely specifying "Subaru" models, but I really don't know if they would fit my Forester. Are these hooks different between different models?


This one seems like a candidate: https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-2008-2018-Subaru-Front-Tractive-Tow-Hook-Impreza-Forester-BRZ-NEW-57805FG000/191869206452?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150313114020%26meid%3Daab9cb42693f47d5aa6c6216611075f8%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D8%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D162271503905%26itm%3D191869206452&_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726

Just sucks that the freight would be more expensive than the actual hook (I live in Australia).


Then we have these: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/18mm-Al...Toyota-Honda-Mazda-Subaru-BMW-AU/113038994217

Cheaper and no freight cost. But would they fit? Are they fit for purpose?


Any help would be appreciated! And if anybody happens to be sitting on a tow hook that fits my car and wants to sell it I'm quite interested :) .

Thanks heaps!
Click to expand...

Can you post a photo of the second attachment point for the towing I bolt. My 2010 Forester seems to have only one but I have suspected that there may be another under the plastic skin of the front bumper on the passenger side.

If you really want a second I bolt, why not try a wrecker. Chances are the one in the boot will be unused.
 
I had a thorough look at the front of my 2010 SH after I finished washing Saturday night's fire trail mud off it and it definitely does not have two attachment points for the front towing eye bolt. Driver's side front and passenger's side rear are the only ones. It would be great if there were two because using the tie-down hooks with a distribution hitch and shackles will very likely result in some damage to the lower edge of the front bumper. I still maintain that bull bar brackets could be designed to incorporate decent recovery points but someone has to be prepared to build them.
 
I've always snached from my tie down points on my L series, usually from just the one up front depending on which side is most suited to the given situation. For the rear the tow hitch is utilised (and before I get flamed I don't hook over the tow ball!).

If you're really concerned about your front bumper you could have a bash plate made up that incorporates two/snatch points on it.

Cheers

Bennie
 
Last edited:
This is not really my proudest moment.


I could have wagered a good deal of money that my Forester had two spots where the tow hook could be fitted in the front.
I double-checked earlier today, and that was not the case.


So yeah, that was embarrassing. Well, thanks anyway for all the help you guys provided. Much appreciated!
 
El_Freddo said:
I've always Sanchez from my tie down points on my L series, usually from just the one up front depending on which side is most suited to the given situation. For the rear the tow hitch is utilised (and before I get flamed I don't hook over the tow ball!).

If you're really concerned about your front bumper you could have a bash plate made up that incorporates two/snatch points on it.

Cheers

Bennie
Click to expand...

I'm interested in how a bash plate with recovery points would be secured to the vehicle in such a way that it would not be ripped off during a snatch. The one I have on my Forester (SubaXtreme) is certainly not suitable for such a modification. Wouldn't recovery points built into a bull bar mounting points be more sui9table?
 
If the bash plate mounts to the engine crossmember this would be the best place for the recovery point as the engine crossmember is one of the strongest points up front. If possible to tie this into the gearbox mount points even better. This could be built in such a way that it could fold in the event of a catastrophic front end crash.

Downers on this idea are:
- mounted very low under the front of the vehicle - not fun hooking stuff up to once already stuck.
- would want/need an engineer on board for airbag compliance ($$$)

Cheers

Bennie
 
I watched two videos this week. One was the fitting of a Hayman Reece towbar to an SH Forester and the other was the fitting of a SubaXtreme bull bar to the front of an SH Forester.

The tow bar has two long square sections that slide into the rear longitudinal floor pan reinforcements (chassis rails except it's not a chassis as such) and although the bull bar simply mounts to the same bolt holes that the front bumper reinforcing bar mounts to, it would appear to be relatively easy to adopt a tow bar mounting method for a front bar as the "chassis rails" at the front could be accessed the same way. (with a minor modification to open the end of the passenger's side channel)


I don't know whether earlier models of Subaru vehicles have the same structural features as I have been looking at solutions for my particular model.


The difference between tow bar mounting methods and bull bar mounting methods is that tow bars are designed to take a load that vectors away from the vehicle and down whereas the bull bar (and the front bumper reinforcement bar) are designed to take a load with a vector towards the front of the vehicle. I intend to attempt to design a mounting bracket for the front that mimics the Hayman Reece system at the rear.


With a front bar that is designed to take a load that vectors both away from and towards the vehicle it would then be possible to incorporate a hitch receiver in the centre of the front bar to accommodate a portable winch as well as two rated recovery hooks, one attached to each bull bar bracket.

The biggest problem to overcome with this proposed system is the effect this would have on the crumple rate of the first section of the chassis rail between the bumper and the front engine sub-frame. It may also affect air bag deployment so an engineer would need to be involved. I can't see that the effect would be much different to that of fitting a tow bar except for the fact that air bags are involved.

Because of the expense involved I won't be getting this done overnight but I have started on the design concept. I hope this post is picked up by SubaXtreme. I challenge them to beat me to production (hoping they win). :)
 
Beachworm said:
I don't know whether earlier models of Subaru vehicles have the same structural features as I have been looking at solutions for my particular model.
Click to expand...


fairly sure that's std Subaru. Certainly the '99 legacy/liberty/outback has that setup.. impreza looks a bit different ?


Interestingly, JDM vs. AUDM vs. USDM have different crash-bars bolted to these longitudinal box sections. JDM has basically nothing.


USDM:

front-bumper-subaru-legacy-subaru-parts-catalog-within-2000-subaru-outback-parts-diagram.png




AUDM:
2LH153811264.gif


JDM:
2A313025304.gif
 
Well I never thought there'd be that much difference in construction.
They're all the same model?
 
One thing they seem to have in common though is two attachment points with a reinforcing bar between them. Unfortunately, the diagrams don't show whether they attach to the front chassis rails (for want of a better term). If all subies have hollow chassis rails at the front I see no reason why a stronger bar could not be fitted in the same manner as a rear tow bar allowing for a more secure recovery point to be attached.
 
Thanks for steering me to Dedman's description of his winch mounting. I've noticed exactly the same issues with the cross-section of the chassis channels on my car. The driver's side is pretty much rectangular but the passenger's side is far from it with large and inconsistent radii on the inside of the rail.

I noticed that the Subaru OEM towbar has angles rather than rectangular tube like the Hayman Reece towbar and I've concluded that angles on the front are the way to go.


I'm interested to know why a permanently mounted front winch is used. I've seen a portable 9000 lb unit that's towbar mounted on a Forester and I was thinking that if a hitch receiver was mounted to the front bar, a portable winch could then be used at either end. Is there a reason why this would not be a good idea?
 
Most people prefer a permanently mounted winch, same as you'll see on most 4wds. I've been wanting to do a removable winch for a long time, but never got around to it. There are many situations where you drive into trouble & need to winch out backwards
 
Andy has one on his Forester :)
 
El_Freddo said:
If the bash plate mounts to the engine crossmember this would be the best place for the recovery point as the engine crossmember is one of the strongest points up front.
Click to expand...

I don't know if that's such a flash idea.. the subframe is bolted to the unibody rails
 
Beachworm said:
One thing they seem to have in common though is two attachment points with a reinforcing bar between them. Unfortunately, the diagrams don't show whether they attach to the front chassis rails (for want of a better term).
Click to expand...

Nuts "N370026" are the ones which bolt the crash bar (of varying designs) to the rails.

Here's JDM legacy vs. AUDM (outback) - but you get the idea:

P1020692.JPG


AUDM

DSC_0105.JPG
 
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