Anyone using the I-Bolt?

[Derlyn Z]

 

Is anyone using the I-bolt from Steck Manufacturing? How do you like it? Was considering maybe getting one.

[3500HD]

Piece of junk Pulled out the fist time we used it

[dperone]

Bought one when they first came out from our tool truck. Tried it in the yard and bent it immediately. Traded it in again and bent that one. Threw it in the trash and never bought another one.

 

I asked the guy selling them at the tow show and his answer was "it's designed to be pulled straight, not on an angle". As almost every car I've seen with a tow eye has the hole offset on the bumper, every use will have some degree of side loading on it. On cars with missing hooks we've been using a roundsling around a solid point on the car with no issues. We also bought the Collins system with the bar that links the 2 dollies and provides you a solid hook point and it's worked flawlessly.

[Derlyn Z]

I was afraid of that! Like dperone said you are almost always pulling at some kind of angle while loading. It seems like a good idea. We have a few tow hooks flying around in our rollbacks that we got over the years, but it seems you never have the right one. Thanks for your input guys!

Edited January 14, 2023 by Derlyn Z

[Chuckud]

FYI,  you can lessen the angle of the pull on the tow eye by using a snatch block off the tow eye and the other end of your winch line back to the front of the bed to the side of the tow eye. I have used this method many times without a problem.
I believe I saw this method on the old “tow411”  years ago.

I am not a fan of tow eyes as you cannot assess the structural integrity of the eye or the threaded connection in the bumper.

 

[TowForce]

Video from 9 years ago:

 

This new I-Bolt was first seen around Tow Shows in 2013 or that is what we have dated back to...