Screw Eyes, Tow Eyelets, recovery hooks etc

[OntGC]

Hi folks,

I am new to the forum and looking for some advice on screw eyes and tow hooks for a variety of poorly equipped vehicles. 

I work at a wilderness reserve in Canada and am constantly pull cars out of ditches, snow banks, mud etc regardless of the signs that we post barring 2WD cars from certain roads. 

There seems to be a 50/50 chance these little city cars will actually have their screw eye tow hook in the luggage compartment or glove box. Do any of you folks have advice on where to get a number if different hooks for different vehicles? I don’t mind shelling out a bit of money for them but dealers are looking for $80 a pop in some cases and I don’t think I’ve seen two hooks that are alike (some are female, some male, some left hand thread, some normal). 

Any help would be appreciated, having a good tow point makes recoveries a lot fast and cleaner—and not relying on the operator with the bald summer tires on steep winding winter roads are would be great. 

Alternatively, if you have any suggestions for creative and safe tow points that won’t relieve the car of its bumpers, that would be great too. 

Thanks!

GC

[EagleRock]

Good morning,

 

I do work for the police, and get quite a few junk cars in my yard.  Once the lien clears, I go through them and try to pull them out.  The BMW's seem to be the best, both with the tow screws and the release handle to put them in neutral (BMWX5 SUV), and some of the wheel locks are the same.

 

I also try to pull out the tire release from pickups I junk.

 

I would bet that any junk yards, like U-PULL, or U-Pick kind of places would have this and they would charge cheep prices.

[ESC]

On 6/29/2019 at 1:21 PM, OntGC said:

Hi folks,

I am new to the forum and looking for some advice on screw eyes and tow hooks for a variety of poorly equipped vehicles. 

I work at a wilderness reserve in Canada and am constantly pull cars out of ditches, snow banks, mud etc regardless of the signs that we post barring 2WD cars from certain roads. 

There seems to be a 50/50 chance these little city cars will actually have their screw eye tow hook in the luggage compartment or glove box. Do any of you folks have advice on where to get a number if different hooks for different vehicles? I don’t mind shelling out a bit of money for them but dealers are looking for $80 a pop in some cases and I don’t think I’ve seen two hooks that are alike (some are female, some male, some left hand thread, some normal). 

Any help would be appreciated, having a good tow point makes recoveries a lot fast and cleaner—and not relying on the operator with the bald summer tires on steep winding winter roads are would be great. 

Alternatively, if you have any suggestions for creative and safe tow points that won’t relieve the car of its bumpers, that would be great too. 

Thanks!

GC

Most of the tow hooks/screw eyes are NOT rated for recovery and should not be used to pull a vehicle out of the mud.  Be very careful using them.  To be honest I dont even use them to load a car in most cases.  Too many issues with them for me plus you never know what the last guy did to it causing an accident waiting to happen.

[BlackAutoload]

ya, SCREW using a tow eye for recovery work... they snap off if using them at an angle.  

Get yourself a couple 3 ft and/or 6ft green endless loops to wrap thru the wheels or control arms instead.

I get around 20 recoveries out of each strap and factor the cost into the rate.

[Orcas Tow]

I agree fully, I use WreckMaster K Straps through or around the tires in the WreckMaster fashion or secure to lower control arms as the factory screw eyes are not designed for any side load.

[doingitall]

Repeat ... do not use the tow eye that screws into the bumper! DANGER! So many better and safer options! I would suggest some training in light recovery, and some endless loops/recovery straps if you are looking at where to spend a little money. Through the wheel or around some stronger (not stamped steel) suspension parts are the best places to put a loop or strap, but there are other techniques as well. Some training will pay for itself quickly ...

[MidnightMitch]

I use roundslings/endless loops or 8ft. recovery straps(looped back) for recoveries/winchouts. I also try to get two attachment points(left/right, or front/rear) if vehicle is stuck good or on a steep incline. Digging is necessary to get at a secure attachment sometimes. The eye screws are only designed to pull straight to load on a low angle flatbed. I have also noticed that the European tow trucks have a winch that slides left to right(to keep pull straight).  If using the eye bolt to load,  I only winch enough to get the vehicle barely on the deck, then get the bed at a very low angle to get it all the way up. This keeps the side load at a minimum.  Just my 2 cents on the subject.

[Chuckud]

I can't remember where I saw this, but I use a 2 ton snatch block in the tow eye & then the end of my wire rope back to the front slot of my bed to get a somewhat inline straight pull to load on a carrier.


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