Useful hitch covers

[I Leak Oil]

From our friends at Pirate 4x4

 

[SWITAWI]

Yup.

Agreed, but I would prefer Viking Offroad's 'UTP Multi-Hitch' that can be rotated so that the shackle can pivot horizontally. Be careful to not get straight-pulled at too severe an angle, but it also makes for a great odd-angle snatch-block (pulley) anchor for winching when there's an extra vehicle but no tree to strap your pulley to. About twice the price of most cheapies, but it includes a hitch pin which is pretty uncommon for these items - http://www.vikingoffroad.com/utp-multi-hitch/

becareful with that locking pin. I've gone through 3 of them and they always fail from off road vibrations (granted i'm doing 80 off road). I've given up on them as they are unreliable. Ive ordered one from 4wheel parts, one off amazon and the latest one from walmart. all were junk.

This clamp is really just supposed to be for rattles, but without a 14mm wrench it isn't going anywhere. Better than an iffy locking pin in that respect. I do have a locking pin in mine besides as I carry my hitch platform all the time - http://www.hitchrider.com/ht-3.htm

:beer:

 

[tommudd]

Not sure what you are saying but what I am saying I would use nothing in this picture to recover a vehicle. It would make a fine step and maybe good for a tie down point.

Interesting comment, have used mine a lot to pull others out of snow, mud etc, even pulled a log out of the woods with it. Works good IMO

 

[MOguy]

Interesting comment, have used mine a lot to pull others out of snow, mud etc, even pulled a log out of the woods with it. Works good IMO

Thats fine but I would want a thicker strap and mounting point attached at the frame our a very strong bumper designed to have a recovery point. I would want it out of the way so it doesn't drag.

 

[kwill]

Thats fine but I would want a thicker strap and mounting point attached at the frame our a very strong bumper designed to have a recovery point. I would want it out of the way so it doesn't drag.

Painting with a broad brush is often sloppy. I agree that I wouldn't (and don't) use the Smittybilt for pulling a 10,000 lb truck out of a deep bog. And, yes, it needs to be removed when you are worried about it dragging in an off-road situation. But I often hunt in the coastal plains area of TX. Wet ground there is like driving on grease. You rarely bog in deep because the mud is so slick you just spin on top. 2WD pickups and 4WD vehicles with street tires get stuck easily. A pretty gentle tug is all they need to get moving. We also have to pull ATVs out of the mud sometimes. But, there is one member of our group that invariably digs his Range Rover up to the axles. For that we go get the tractor and a big chain.

For what it is the Smittybilt is a pretty good option--as a step, a parking lot bumper and for light pulling duties.

BTW, that is not my strap, or even my vehicle. Just a picture I grabbed off the interwebs.

 

[MOguy]

Painting with a broad brush is often sloppy. I agree that I wouldn't (and don't) use the Smittybilt for pulling a 10,000 lb truck out of a deep bog. And, yes, it needs to be removed when you are worried about it dragging in an off-road situation. But I often hunt in the coastal plains area of TX. Wet ground there is like driving on grease. You rarely bog in deep because the mud is so slick you just spin on top. 2WD pickups and 4WD vehicles with street tires get stuck easily. A pretty gentle tug is all they need to get moving. We also have to pull ATVs out of the mud sometimes. But, there is one member of our group that invariably digs his Range Rover up to the axles. For that we go get the tractor and a big chain.

For what it is the Smittybilt is a pretty good option--as a step, a parking lot bumper and for light pulling duties.

BTW, that is not my strap, or even my vehicle. Just a picture I grabbed off the interwebs.

If it works for you that is fine but not a setup I would use or recommend for vehicle recovery. Pulling a vehicle that won't start, your situation fine but not anything much more demanding I wouldn't want to use it.

For myself I wouldn't want a recovery point that stuck out. I also wouldn't want to mess mounting it after I am stuck

Although "step" itself maybe up to the task, I question the mount. A trailer hitch like that at will probably be rated for 5K and mount to various parts of the frame. Depending on the vehicle itself it might not have adequate mounting points for the forces that can be created when recovering a stuck vehicle.

That strap looks like it is only about an inch in width, just doesn't seem like enough of a strap.

Plus the pooper thing is just cooler.

 

[tommudd]

If it works for you that is fine but not a setup I would use or recommend for vehicle recovery. Pulling a vehicle that won't start, your situation fine but not anything much more demanding I wouldn't want to use it.

For myself I wouldn't want a recovery point that stuck out. I also wouldn't want to mess mounting it after I am stuck

Although "step" itself maybe up to the task, I question the mount. A trailer hitch like that at will probably be rated for 5K and mount to various parts of the frame. Depending on the vehicle itself it might not have adequate mounting points for the forces that can be created when recovering a stuck vehicle.

That strap looks like it is only about an inch in width, just doesn't seem like enough of a strap.

Plus the pooper thing is just cooler.

Aren't most all bumpers mounted to various parts of the frame as well ?
See people pulling with them all of the time
I can see your point, but mine is attached to a bumper that is attached to the frame with 8 bolts
Its well over 24 inches off the ground and close enough to the bumper that depending on the angle of the rocks/ steps sometimes the bumper hits first

But oh well each have our ways of doing things and I'm still learning after wheeling over 42 years

Cheers

 

[comptiger5000]

I just leave my hitch open when I'm not using it. I see no reason to bother with a cover, removing it is just an extra step when I need to use the hitch for something.

As far as recovery goes, most hitches are plenty strong enough to make a good recovery point. As long as you're not violently yanking on it, even pulling a vehicle heavier than the hitch's max trailer rating will be fine, as you're not applying the shock loads that can be seen with a trailer (taking off quickly from a stop, sudden braking, bumps in the road, etc.) and you don't have the same downward force on the hitch either, reducing the total stress on its mounting points.

FWIW, I've used the stock class IV hitch on my ZJ to pull 14k lbs of F-350 dually + gooseneck trailer out of some wet, muddy grass. And it did take a bit of a tug to get it moving out of the holes it had dug the back tires into.

 

[MOguy]

Aren't most all bumpers mounted to various parts of the frame as well ?
See people pulling with them all of the time
I can see your point, but mine is attached to a bumper that is attached to the frame with 8 bolts
Its well over 24 inches off the ground and close enough to the bumper that depending on the angle of the rocks/ steps sometimes the bumper hits first

But oh well each have our ways of doing things and I'm still learning after wheeling over 42 years

Cheers

exactly what you said. There is a difference in the design of a hitch and a recovery point, and there intended purposes. Recovery points on a bumper will usually pass through the bumper and mount to the frame or if the bumper is built wheel they could attach to the bumper but the mounts will be close to where the bumper mounts to the frame. The mounting points wont be in the middle of the bumper were there is less support.

A receiver for the hitch will stick out a bit. The receiver is a tube mounted to another tube secured at it ends to the frame. Usually underneath. With a hitch you are pulling from the center attached to something sticking out. That is not as secure as a regular recovery point. Hitches are designed to pull trailers on wheels, not yank stuck vehicles out of a bad situation.

 

[ZMagic97]

Someone down the street from me has a step on theirs without a ball. If it's there on my dog walk I'll snap a photo of it.

 

[squeezer]

I have one like Sabre's on my JKU but I have this on my T4R:

It is a recovery point, a step and provides a little parking lot protection.

I REALLY don't like this thing... The failure mode will likely leave a freshly broken hunk of cast (possibly forged) steel attached to a recovery strap that was just loaded up with 8-10 KJ of energy.

Very similar to the old nylon straps with the hook attached which we all know to avoid if at all possible...

 

[BigSwede]

Yeah it is simpler and safer to just put the strap loop into the receiver and the pin through the loop.

 

[MOguy]

I don't know what kind of pulling and recovering you guys are doing but my pickup has a trailer weight rating of 9050lbs and a GVWR of 6300lb and the hitch is expected to stop, start and turn such a trailer for the life of the vehicle, undoubtedly with some meaningful engineering margins before taking into account the fact that the 9050lb trailer limit is based on weakest components like engine cooling, braking, tire capacity, etc.

Personally I doubt I'd feel any more comfortable applying more than 5 tons of tug to any particular part of the vehicle to get it unstuck, what exactly is it hung up on at that point? If it's on the frame in muck that much force is going to trash the suspension... get a shovel!

I wouldn't either but I am not recovering anything that heavy.

 

[D45]

I have one like Sabre's on my JKU but I have this on my T4R:

It is a recovery point, a step and provides a little parking lot protection.

I had one for 3 weeks...........completely mangled and destroyed it. Waste of money and very dangerous

 

[BigSwede]

How did you mangle it?

The only thing I see it as dangerous to is your shins when you use the back door.