Recovery hitch for factory towbar

[johnsy79 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnsy79]

Hi Guys, looking for opinions/advice on a suitable recovery hitch to suit the factory towbar. I know there are some to suit Hayman Reese type hitches but what is available and what are peoples experiences using recovery points on existing factory towbar system?

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Recovery hitch for factory towbar

I have the Bushranger 58X22 and it fits the standard tow hitch without any dramas. It does not fit the the tow hitch of a GQ Patrol though which we found out crossing the Simpson earlier in the year. I changed the hitch pin for a Hayman Reece quick release and I'm pretty happy with it.

This recovery hitch looks solid and I think has a rating of 5 tonnes on the hitch and 4.75 on the shackel supplied with it. It's easy to get to and use.

[johnsy79 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnsy79]

Re: Recovery hitch for factory towbar

Thanks Schaffer, just checked it out online and it looks the goods and also a bargain at $59.95 RRP which includes Bow Shackle WLL4.75T
Will have to get me one!

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Recovery hitch for factory towbar

There are others out on the market as well. Probably chepers but the important thing is that they are rated for your vehicle. I was flicking through the latest 4WD Action earlier today and saw one for about $45.00 from http://4h.com.au. Not promoting there gear, just telling you there are other options than bushranger.

[WBY 1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close WBY 1]

Re: Recovery hitch for factory towbar

what are peoples reasons for using recovery hitches and not just using the pin direct? I see so many 4wds with these but the only scenario I can only think of where it would be neccessary to have one is if youre being winched backwards or using a drag chain, but both i doubt happen very often. if youre snatching wouldnt these be just another piece they could potentially break?

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Recovery hitch for factory towbar

what are peoples reasons for using recovery hitches and not just using the pin direct? I see so many 4wds with these but the only scenario I can only think of where it would be neccessary to have one is if youre being winched backwards or using a drag chain, but both i doubt happen very often. if youre snatching wouldnt these be just another piece they could potentially break?

I agree that you can and I have used a pin but I think a recovery hitch with shackle provides protection for the strap from shaffing on the inside of the two hitch. I would think the pin would break before either the recovery hitch or the shackle but the it has different forces applied.

[Hutch Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hutch]

Re: Recovery hitch for factory towbar

what are peoples reasons for using recovery hitches and not just using the pin direct? I see so many 4wds with these but the only scenario I can only think of where it would be neccessary to have one is if youre being winched backwards or using a drag chain, but both i doubt happen very often. if youre snatching wouldnt these be just another piece they could potentially break?

If you bend the pin inside of the towbar it is very hard to get out, with the hitch every think is a bit more solid and no issues with bent pins as it goes through a solid block.

[WBY 1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close WBY 1]

Re: Recovery hitch for factory towbar

... and no issues with bent pins as it goes through a solid block.

ah ok, thats the bit I wasn't aware of. I haven't really had a proper look at these in the flesh so I didn't know they were solid, I just thought they were hollow like hitch recievers. Makes sense now.

[Corigator Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Corigator]

Re: Recovery hitch for factory towbar

Then on the other hand, with a hitch you have a shear force or scissor force on the pin at the junction between the hitch and the hitch receivert hat isn't there just using a pin and strap loop. :?

[PradoBoy72 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PradoBoy72]

Re: Recovery hitch for factory towbar

what are peoples reasons for using recovery hitches and not just using the pin direct? I see so many 4wds with these but the only scenario I can only think of where it would be neccessary to have one is if youre being winched backwards or using a drag chain, but both i doubt happen very often. if youre snatching wouldnt these be just another piece they could potentially break?

Having watched somebody donate the pin into the muddy bog he was being recovered from; a big shackle that is easy to connect to a hitch point seemed a wise investment at the time

[longdog Member Find all posts View Profile Close longdog]

Re: Recovery hitch for factory towbar

My vague memory of Engineering 101:

With a strap around the pin you are applying a force to the centre of the pin which applies a bending force to the centre of the pin. The distance between the centre of the bending force and the shear points is 25 mm each side. That is significant.

With a recovery point insert you are applying a shear force (no bending force) to two points on the pin, at the two junctions of the recovery insert and the carrier. With the recovery point insert the shear force is also halved because it is being applied equally on both sides (assuming a tight fit and reasonably straight recovery path)

A steel rod is much stronger in shear than in bending (try bending a paper clip and then try breaking one without bending it!).

A standard recovery shackle has a pin that is also subject to bending forces but the shackle pin is rated for a certain bending load and very likely the pin in your hitch receiver is not necessarily rated for a bending force at it's centre - it's designed to hold a tow-bar receiver and therefore be subject to shear not bending.

Therefore, I think it's wise to use a recovery point insert... they're very cheap. What's the worst that could happen if you don't? I guess you could bend the pin and find it very difficult to remove, or at the extreme it could break after excessive bending causes it to fail (although I actually very much doubt that would happen - once it bends it becomes subject to tensile loads and it would probably remain stronger than the recovery strap - I'm guessing here). So if I was caught without a recovery insert I'd probably use the pin as you've suggested - but I prefer to do things right. I'd also be concerned about the chaffing aspect mentioned above.

I have a Piranha recovery insert, I think it was a bit cheaper than the one quoted above (about $30? I might have got it on sale I can't remember) and still rated at 4.7T - don't know if it's any less reliable, my post here is based on theory only - I have never had to use it.

Cheers, ld