My car is low enough, and my trailer is tall enough, that I have to jack the back of the truck up to ease loading. This puts a lot of stress on the clutch, so I use my winch for loading. I'd like to put a tow hook on the car that pokes through the front bumper opening. Does anyone have any pics or ideas that might make doing this easier? I don't have a front bumper support so the front is wide open.

 

I've seen some good ideas in pictures but I've never fabricated anything up myself. I still take my driver door off and drive into the trailer.

 

that would be pretty cool.... also, maybe a tow hook might work? could crawl under there and hook the k-member.

http://www.hookswreckersupplies.com/...-HTS-92900.htm

you could probably make one of these?

 

With the auto it was no big deal, but with the clutch its a bit different. I also don't have an ebrake solution yet, so that's something I have to deal with eventually. A tow hook is way cheaper and easier to deal with though, lol.

 

i have a tow hook coming out where a fog light/bumper cover inlays go on a 84 z28 bumper. i have it bolted and welded to front bumper support. but not having a support im not sure where to weld or bolt it to.

 

got any pics of what you do have? might give me some ideas.

 

Check into the road race car thread. The guys that do a lot of competitive road racing often have tow hooks on their cars...

Here's BIG_MODS' car:



I've heard of guys putting them on the k-member. Would that work for you?

And here's Gman's tow hook, except he uses a strap, which might be cool for you since you could just keep it tucked out of the way and then pull it out when you need it



Also found this...

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/fabr...-mounting.html

 

I cannot come up with anything that would not add weight. Otherwise, connecting to the impact bar mounts and a third point to the lower core support is what comes to mind.

 

big mods' car makes me want a road racer.... looks wicked.

tow hook on the winch would probably be the lightest, but i really do like the front tow hooks in the bumper. very nice not having to lay on the ground to hook it up.

 

ill get u a pic this evening

 

I welded a small hoop to the center of my wonder bar just for winching the car into the trailer. I also welded 2 small hoops on the rear axle at the backside of the LCA brackets to make it easier to strap car down in the trailer.

 

wonder bar area! that's a great idea! i don't have one, but could fab one pretty easily. that'll be much lighter than having a bar spanning the front of the car on the frame horns. since i don't have a front sway bar, this should be no big deal. do you have any pics of yours?

i've been wanting to weld loops onto the rear of the car also, but hasn't been as big of a deal since i have axle straps for the back.

 

No pics handy. I just cut some 1/2 round pieces from an old coil spring I had
in the scrap bin. Works great and didn't add much weight.

 

Sounds like some race car stuff to me lol. Wonder bar area, i assume hooking up to there, you no longer have an air dam and does the winch cable clear front nose gfx if not a sport coupe? I guess you can cut a small portion of air dam out to pass a cable/hook

 

Actually, I have extended the air dam on mine. It see's plenty of street use and it helps it stay cool. The tow loop tucks up behind the air dam. It hasn't cought on anything since I welded it on a couple years ago. I just let the cable push up the air dam slightly as it goes into the trailer. No harm, no foul.

 

I did a turnbuckle style loop as InternalVortex posted above, but if I did it again I’d probably do something like this:



=Just a solid piece of plate 3/16” or ¼” thick, use a hole saw and a metabo to make it. Making the ‘hinge’ required more fabrication than it might appear.

I have been pulled off track due to a shifter issue and my loop wasn’t big enough to fit the strap hook through and secure it. The hook would fit fine, but the strap needs to wrapped around the loop a couple times and hooked back to itself so it doesn't come loose when getting towed. NASA rules state the loop size and I’m smaller than that, now I know why they stated the size they did. If youre intened purpose is for trailer only and you can maintain tension at all times you won't have this issue.

If you are looking for more ideas do a google search then click on ‘images’. Plenty of poser r!cer stuff out there and a few real racecars.

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/aaf-all60075

Welded these onto my relocation brackets and am ordering their longer one for up front. Either to kmember or to a bar across my frame rails, haven't decided yet.

 

do you have a link for the longer one steve? i can't seem to find it.

 

came up in a google search not on summits site. I'm on my phone so I can't bring it up currently.

 

http://www.racecartowhooks.com/rcth_006.htm

expensive option ^^^

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cee-3440
cheap option^^^^^

 

holy crap, 100 damn dollars for an L-shaped tow hook for 2010+ camaros? i'm in the wrong business....

 

just did mine today. pretty basic.

 

What is that attached to?

 

i have to have a crash bar in the front because i run a fuel cell up front. so i ditched the factory front bumper support and i made the crash bar out of 1 1/4 inch tubing and some heavy plates. so i welded the tow hook to the crash bar. if you still have the factory support it should be fairly easy to weld one on. i hope to not have to use it but at least its there if need be.

this is the one i used
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cee-3440

 

my bumper support is long gone...but i like the hook

 

Weld up a plate to the frame horn and some tubing to that hook

 

Exactly. If it is sawed off, plate it over, then bend or cut some angles to make it work for you. Only draw back is a bit extra weight.

 

I've got the same problem and I'm looking for an idea that would work. I have an enclosed trailer and my doors don't come off, and probably never will. I use a chain that hooks to the factory tie downs on the box frame and my winch hooks to the center of the chain to winch the car in. I made a really nice loop on the K-member but you'd have to be Stretch Armstrong to reach it, seemed like a good idea at the time. I wouldn't trust just a long hook because if somehow the cable slacked the hook could drop off and away goes the car down the ramps. I don't have any bumper support and the horns have been cut off the frt where the bar mounted. I've welded a hook on the radiator support but the support is too flimsy and it will bend and then break the radiator if I try winching with it.

 

I will try and get pictures of mine tonight. Similiar to Heavy Chevy's design, however I used a welded in bung for a 3/4" screw in eye hook (loop welded shut of course). I keep it in the tool box on the trailer then when I need to winch on, I just screw it in and snug down a jam nut.

 

Didnt someone do one that goes between the camaro grill & chin spoiler?

 

No spot on a Firebird (no grille) to install a tow hook so I just bought a pair of

race ramps and done. The car drives on the trailer and with ease and you can roll if off..

BTW the ramps are alot cheaper than a winch, and by the time I rent or buy a mig welder, buy the metal, fab the metal weld the metal, paint the metal etc etc etc.

I suppose if you already have the equipment it's not a big ordeal.. BUT time is money too.

The ramps are quick & easy

 

I modeled after nuf nuf

 

I used a 1/4" thick piece of aluminum, about 3" wide and 14" long. I removed the driver's fog light and bolted it to the bumper support. I just used it to winch my car onto the trailer, it works, but it would be much better to have the winch point in the center of the car.

 

sucks getting under the car, but if you have one welded to the k member you can easily reach it with the hood open.