On Saturday, September 27, 2003, at 04:19 AM, kellykins@shaw.ca wrote:
> Hey all, my name is Kelly. I live in Vancouver, BC. I have a stock 97
> black
> Dodge Dakota Sport 4x4 on BFG AT/TA 31s.
welcome to the list, kelly!
> I like to wheel, and thus, require front tow hooks.
been there, done that =)
> I've gone to the dealer, which proved to be about as useful as a third
> tit,
that got both my g/f and I laughing out loud. <g> stealers can be
like that.
> I've taken it to fab shops, and they want to make a big mess by
> cutting through the bumper, or putting the hooks in the
> wheelwell, which makes me nervous, as the towrope would reef on the
> bumper.
eep? that does sound pretty scary.
> I thought the Warn Trans4mer winch receiver was my only option, but it
> costs
> $300, and I've been feeling poor these past few days!
that isn't the one that mounts to the bottom of the front crossmember,
is it? if you're at all serious about going offroad, keep in mind that
a receiver there will become one of the lowest things on your truck =(
> I've also been told that
> the factory drilled holes are there to recieve the hooks, but since I
> have
> aircon the rad is too big to access them.
not sure what that's all about.
so anyway, the bottom line is this:
there's a Mopar kit - others have already mentioned it. others here
use it, but in my not so humble opinion it Sucks. the hooks are just
about dragging on the ground and when you need to use them they'll be
buried. they stick out a few inches under the bottom of the air dam.
With a good sideways yank, the frame they bolt to hopelessly deforms,
too, or so I've heard. I think it's Neil who knows all about that, but
I haven't seen him active lately. Your other alternative is to fab
something yourself, but you certainly don't need to be cutting holes in
your actual bumper to do it.
I know neil has cut slots in his air dam to allow the Mopar-supplied
hooks to stick through it after being bolted directly to the frame.
What I did was bolt the 10000#-strength universal fit tow-power brand
hooks that every auto parts store seems to sell to the frame behind the
fog light holes (I don't have fogs anymore). I bridged both sides of
the boxed frame with grade 8 hardware and thick-walled pipe. This
sandwiches in with the corner bumper support, and is a general pain in
the ass to assemble (anyone at this year's BBQ will attest to that),
but I think it's as strong as it can possibly be. in text format, the
left side install is like this:
nut|frame|washer(s)|thick walled pipe|washer(s)|frame|bumper
support|hook|bolt head
I'm pretty sure I completely neglected to take any pictures during the
installation, but if you look through the meet photos at the meet page
you can see what the final result looks like.
you can see the hooks sticking through the holes in the last of the
pictures on this page:
<http://mike.tepidcola.com//dmlphotos/mmask1/>
and you can see Neil's hooks sticking through his airdam here (yellow
shirt):
<http://mike.tepidcola.com//dmlphotos/mmask1/Pages/27.html>
of course, Neil's method has the *major* side benefit of allowing the
use of fog lights.
hope that's of some assistance. Also, if you have any thoughts you'd
like to bounce off us on the subject, don't hesitate. I know I for one
considered just about everything.... =)
-- Michael Maskalans '98 Dakota SLT CC 4x4 318 details here: <http://mike.tepidcola.com/dak.html> mobile.612.618.4652 campus.585.274.2246 fax.954.697.0487
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