front hitch or tow hooks

[gundrted]

i was 4x4ing in the mountains west of boulder co (near rollins pass) and had the fun time of getting stuck in 2 feet of snow about 40 feet from the end of a snow field. my first prob was i dont have a lift on my crd and stock tires but i really didnt have a choice so i went for it

after digging and then getting a nice tug from an other person on the trail i made it through the snow just fine. i guess i found the one soft spot cuz the rest of the way down i didnt even sink ..... go figure

after getting back to dry road and checking to make sure all my parts were still together i thought i should really get some type of front hitch or tow hooks. currently i have niether.

i saw that boulder bars ( http://www.boulderbars.com/kjproducts.htm )has a front hitch for the 05 liberty and its $125. that seemed like a good price for the hidden hitch but i have yet to check any local shops or other online dealers. i like the front hitch cuz it seems to give me the most options for the buck. i could put a winch on it or a tow hook or just about anything else that has a 2in sqr piece of steel on it. i do have the crd so i'm little worried about the extra wieght on my front end (my front end is pretty heavy as it is). also does anyone know if you can install two hooks as well as the front hitch. i know they wouldnt be oem tow hooks but maybe an after market branch with a the bolt pattern and then use longer bolts to go through the hook and hitch.

i have not looked for the price for tow hooks but i'm guessing they are less then the hitch. i dont see a lot of reasons for the hooks over the hitch other then wieght and cost. the istall i'm guessing would be about the same (hopefully not have to take the bumper off).

so what do you guys and gals think ...... tow hooks or front hitch? have i missed any big points. does anyone have pics of either install?

[Nan]

Not sure if you can do both. I got tow hooks. If I did it over again I'd definately go with the hitch instead. Like you were saying, you get a lot more versatility with the hitch.

[gundrted]

thanks for the pics of your hooks ... very nice.

[chris_doing]

Tow hooks are like $12 each at JC Whitney though.

[cmotsvt]

Never bolt tow hooks directly to a unibody.

[gundrted]

Originally Posted by cmotsvt

Never bolt tow hooks directly to a unibody.

so by this comment i would guess that i can install either hooks or hitch but not both. i like the idea of having both cuz i could put a winch on and still have 2 points to hook the line to (some aftermarket bumpers have that type of setup). i hope i'm discribing this correctly.

[Valkraider]

Originally Posted by cmotsvt

Never bolt tow hooks directly to a unibody.

Why is that?

[gundrted]

i have been thinking about that ..... in theory the liberty is a uni-body cuz the body is welded to the frame. at same time its not like a uni-body cuz it has a real frame under it. the front-end seems to be more like a truck frame then a uni-body. this way there is no issue with mounting hooks cuz there is a real frame in the front end.

still begs the question ..... you install two hooks and a hitch at the same time (on an 05 crd)

[chefdab]

You can't do both if you plan to mount the tow hooks in the factory location. I have the front Drawtite hitch. Sorry I don't have any good pics of it. I am very happy with my choice. The Drawtite hitch runs about $125 at www.etrailer.com. This particular one also has two hooks mounted to the hitch. So if I were to use a multimount winch on the reciever, I would still have two hooks to get strapped by. Plus, since it is a one piece hitch it is rated with a higher weight rating than the two piece designs like the Hidden hitch and Reese hitch. One small glitch for you though is that I don't know if any of the hitch manufacturers have one that will fit the 05 Liberty since they changed the bumper design.

[Mateo94XJ]

Originally Posted by gundrted

i have been thinking about that ..... in theory the liberty is a uni-body cuz the body is welded to the frame. at same time its not like a uni-body cuz it has a real frame under it. the front-end seems to be more like a truck frame then a uni-body. this way there is no issue with mounting hooks cuz there is a real frame in the front end.

still begs the question ..... you install two hooks and a hitch at the same time (on an 05 crd)

Er. . . not really.

The Liberty does not have a frame. It's a unibody construction vehicle - climb under there and look for a true ladder frame, but take an alarm clock and a flashlight so you don't get lost and miss work the next day!

It's got a crossmember. . . but the "frame" is fairly thin sheetmetal. In order to run tow hooks, you need a bunch of bracing, otherwise a good yank will tear the hook right off, tearing through the bolt holes like paper. Some tow hook bracket designs aren't that great - my local 4x4 club has a deep seeded hatred for tomkens for their ability to break under pulls


A hitch is a great idea, though it won't help much for flat towing if you want to use a tow bar. I personally won't run a hitch up front, the winch bumper I'm currently building will have room for all the goodies I need.

In short, I'd probably get the hitch as it adds versatility - a winch mount, tow hook, hell, you can haul your boat around in reverse if you want to.

[swyszomirski]

I am looking at building an adapter from my front hidden hitch bolts to be able to mount my old stock tow hooks. Will post pics if and when its done. But, just to say it again, you cant have both tow hooks and a front hitch because they use the same mounting holes and the hitch covers up two holes needed for the tow hooks.

[peebut]

So what you guys are saying is that my g/friends 03 sport shouldn't have tow hooks mounted to the front. She'll just rip them out when I try to pull her out of some mud. Unless I put a hidden hitch up there and use that to mount the tow hooks .

[swyszomirski]

I would say that the tow hooks are find for towing the KJ out of the mud with slow, constant and controlled pressure. However, the metal that the tow hooks and even the hidden hitch is mounted to is thin (relatively) and with any sudden force the metal is likely to rip. I am considering making a sleeve to fit inside of the frame that would have something like a 1/4" thick wall so as to beef up the mounting for my hitch.

[peebut]

Ok thanx man