How do you attach a recovery strap to a 4th Gen?

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There are two recovery points on the front, look at the frame below the bumper. There is one on the frame on the driver's side in the back. You can also get a receiver shackle that will fit in your towing receiver, works well and looks nice. I just use mine when going offroad.

Just buy recovery straps, I have one kenetic strap (never used yet) and a couple of normal ones (the yellow ones) I have like 15' to 20' feet 5000lb or 8000lb can't remember now. ANd get a couple of beefy shackles to latch the straps to the recovery points, whatever you do dont use the tow straps with hooks on them.
 
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You can get shackles and receiver bracket made by Warn:

http://www.warn.com/works/accessories/5-8dshackle.shtml

http://www.warn.com/atv/mounting-sytems/shackle_bracket.shtml

McMaster Carr has good prices on 5/8" shackles:
http://www.mcmaster.com/

Instead of 5/8" shackles I have these 16mm maillon rapides:
http://store.karstsports.com/mailrappears1.html

The maillons have a Safe Working Load of 4,400 lbs / Minimum Breaking Strength of 22,000 pounds.

The 5/8" shackles have a Working Load of 7,200 lbs.

04Runner prefers the shackles because of their greater Working Load but to attach a shackle to the tow hitch receiver requires the additional receiver bracket.
 
Safety Chain Mounts Suitable for Shackle Recovery?

Just curious as I was looking at my receiver hitch today - I noticed that next to the receiver there is a thick plate welded to the bumper frame member that has the two large ovals cut out for safety chain use when towing. Do you think I could bolt my shackle onto those holes for a more central (than the normal driver side loop in the rear) recovery spot? That plate looks plenty strong and with a large shackle I would think it's acceptable for recover with a suitable strap. Opinions?
 
Just buy the receiver shackle mount and use that. Those emergency holes are probably strong enough, but they're designed for emergencies, not recovery.

And why shouldn't we use the straps w/hooks on them? Is it a safety thing (strap breaks and hooks go flying)?

*edit: this post is old! wonder why is showed up on my new posts search today...
 
tow hook and hitch recovery

Tow straps with the hooks are bad because the hooks can slip off and/or break due to the loading angles. They are also meant for towing, not recovery - the forces are much greater when trying to pull a stuck vehicle.

Regarding using shackles and recovery straps on the "safety chain holes" - I have a bike rack semi-permanently mounted in my 2" receiver so I don't want to have to unlock and unbolt and remove that just to put in a special receiver shackle if I don't really have to. I was looking at the safety chain bracket and though - whoa, that looks strong enough for my 5/8" shackles... I wonder....
 
whenever you are offroading, remember safety first.

straps with hooks are a NO-NO because the hooks themselves can become projectiles that can seriously injure someone if the hooks gets unlodged from it's attachment point.

since you're going to have the hitch used for other devices, get some hooped straps and some Warn Shackle 3/4" - Part Number: 13047 and use the hoops located on the bottom of the frame on either side of the rear of the vehicle. don't even think about using the safety chain hoops as they're not strong enough to sustain a significant load. you're asking for trouble and flying projectiles if you use the safety hoops and they're not designed for the load required to unstuck a stuck vehicle.

good luck
 
I use a kinetic type tow strap which is like a bungee cord on steroids... Once it starts to pull, it pulls with greater force than the vehicle that it is attached to and has a very easy time moving a stuck vehicle. The only thing I do when using any tow strap or winch cable is throw a blanket over the strap/cable just in case it breaks as this will prevent the strap/cable from snapping uncontrollably back at the drivers/passengers.

The tow hitch with a shackle is a great pulling point, the front hooks or more lighter duty, but will suffice for most pulling.
 
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