Recovery Points Part 1 – The Rear

First off, what is a recovery point?

It’s a strong point on the chassis of a 4x4 that allows safe winch or rope recovery. It has to be very strong, and therefore you have to think about what you are doing. A winch recovery will often exert 20,000lbs, of force onto your chassis.

So what does a recovery point look like?

Here is a typical recovery point on the rear of a Defender – the factory tow- bar! This is a good example, because it’s braced back to the chassis legs, the drop-plate is nice and short, which gives less leverage. The tow ball itself is a top-quality Dixon Bate item complete with a pin which will stop the rope or the winch hook dropping off. Providing the rear cross-member is not rusted out, this setup is just fine.

Let’s compare it with a bad example.

Pretty much everything is wrong with this. A long drop-plate to give leverage, no bracing bars, and a rusted chassis. No Shires marshal is going to use this to recover your vehicle, it’s dangerous and is capable of killing someone when all the metal starts flying through the air when any force is applied to it. This isn’t just a scare story, several people have been killed in this way.

There are of course many was to skin a cat, and in my opinion cats are better skinned!

Got a rear tank on your Defender?

Then how about a Southdown tank guard? You can have a detachable recovery point, or a conventional towing hitch, neat and strong, but not cheap. But like I said this stuff needs to be done right, so let’s not count the pennies, eh?

If you want a smarter look, you could consider the North American Spec (NAS) tow-bar and step. Easily available from UK specialists, but quite awkward to fit so I’ve heard.

But what if you don’t need to tow a trailer?

Well the ever popular NATO hitch used for military trailers happens to make a perfect anchor point for a rope or winch. It can be bolted direct to the rear cross-member, thereby eliminating the plough effect of some tow-bars.

There is also the pin hitch, which is cheaper than a NATO hitch and is a bolt-on replacement for a normal tow-ball. This provides a more secure place to hook a rope or shackle.

But I drive a Range Rover/Discovery!

Okay okay, but Defenders and Series vehicles are easy, there is a big cross-member, just hanging out ready for recovery points.

Well if you’ve got a Range Rover Classic, Range Rover P38A, Discovery I, or Discovery II you’ve got a rear cross-member too behind your rear bumper. If you haven’t already got a towbar, then just fit one – easy.

Newer vehicles such as Freelanders, Discovery III’s and the latest Range Rovers should all have towbar options, available from the Main Dealer or independents such as TowSure. However don’t rely on one of the detachable towbars, known as swan- necks for heavy duty off-road recovery, they weren’t designed for it.

Range Rover P38’s have a built in recovery point at the rear, Freelanders
have similar ones too. Even the latest Range Rovers have full specification recovery points.

Lightweights, 101’s and other military Land Rovers Military Land Rovers are well catered for.

Chances are it was equipped with a NATO hitch in the forces, if it hasn’t got one, £30-£40 will get you a secondhand one. Just make sure you get all the nuts, bolts, spacers and backing plates, and beware of traders trying to charge you £80 for a new one - £30-40 should get you a perfectly serviceable NATO hitch and fittings.

Pajeros, Suzukis, and others To be honest, I don’t know the specifics of the foreign 4x4’s. I suggest you take advice from the dealers, specialists and one-make clubs.

What else do I need to consider?

Well we’ve touched on rusty chassis, if you have any doubt about the structural integrity of your chassis, get it checked out and get it get it sorted – no options. A strong recovery point is no good if the back end of the vehicle falls off when you use it!

Nuts and Bolts

Proper big nuts and bolts (usually M16 size) are available from Towsure, Halfords and other motoring stores. This article cannot school you on all the intricacies of nuts and bolts – it’s a huge subject. For this article, if a metric bolt has 8.8, 10.8 or 12.9 stamped on it, then it’s good, if it hasn’t then it’s made of cheese, throw it in your garden, the rust will turn your rhodedendrons a nice colour. Nuts should be nyloc, so they don’t vibrate loose. Spring washers are an alternative. My personal preference is to use two nuts per thread, it’s stronger that way.

Backing plates

A rear cross-member isn’t as strong as you would hope, the bolts holding your tow ball on could pull through the chassis - not a good thing. However you can increase the strength greatly by adding a backing plate. Again Towsure will fleece you for just a couple of quid for one. Fabricated recovery points.

This article has concentrated on the existing factory recovery points or ones you can buy. Many people in the club are capable of building an excellent recovery point, however an awful lot of people have no idea what stresses and strains are involved. From a club perspective, it is very difficult to tell the difference between a strong weld, and one that is just about to fail, especially when covered in mud and paint.

Too complicated / too expensive, what can I do?

Well for Range Rover Classics, Discovery I’s and II’s and Defenders there are cheap options.

Chances are you’ve got lashing rings on your chassis like these. They aren’t designed for recovery, but if you put a long bridle between them, they are strong enough; they may bend, but are unlikely to fail. Not recommended for regular off-roading, but OK to get you out of a sticky sitution.

It is far better to replace the lashing eyes with Jate Rings They cost about £20 a pair, and are available from many places including Brooklyn 4x4. They take just a few minutes to fit, just unbolt the lashing eye, and bolt on the Jate Ring.

What next?

Well you’ve got your recovery point on the back, that’s a great start. The next installment will attempt to show you how to add recovery points to the front.

Just bear in mind, when you get stuck, attaching the rope or the winch is your job, Marshals are much happier when warm and dry, and the fact that they are wearing waterproof boots, and you are wearing a nice new pair of Nike’s doesn’t cut the mustard. Its bad enough attaching a rope to a tow-bar in water, if you’ve got jate rings (which sit under the chassis), and you are stuck in mud rather than water, better get out your shovel!

So now there is no excuse for not having a strong and safe recovery point, on the rear at least. If you are in any doubt about your recovery points, or any other aspect off off- roading, just ask one of the committee members (at a play-day, you can just grab anyone in a yellow jacket) and they will get somebody to take a look at the options for you and your vehicle.

For more in-depth recovery information, have a look at:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Recovery/index.html