"Adequate" recovery points

Guys, would you clarify the word "adequate" in the rules regarding recovery points? I'm currently advocating the cheap option (a couple of bow shackles and find somewhere on the chassis that's solid) whilst Guy is getting over enthusiastic about military front bumpers and pin tow bars. Does he really need to spend all that money??

A quick reply as I should have been on the road to Billing 3 hours ago!

Bow shackles are fine. It's just that in the past we've seen everything from a towing ball simply bolted on to the corner of a Series III front bumper to towing yeyes welded on to a bull bar. Bow shackles are more than sufficient - a good question though.

a couple of jate rings, useful for everything, not sure if tom would allow but on a defender you can wrap the tow rope around both front chassy points and the bumper and safely recover somone i think

Cheers - I think you've saved us a few squid. There were some fears about being turned away at the start line but you wouldn't do that.....would you....?

Here's what is adequate and what isnt...

Minimum Adequate is...
1. REAR of vehicle - Shackle (ideally rated) around towbar ball connected to a recovery rope. Shackle must be big enough to go around neck of tow-ball but not so big as it can be lifted over the ball.
2. FRONT of vehicle - 1 or 2 Jate rings (ideally 2) attached to chassis. A couple of shackles connected to a recovery bridle (normally 2m long) and a recovery rope connected to bridle.

Whats is NOT adequate.
1. Recovering or Towing a vehicle with the lashing down eyelets that are on the front and rear of a Land Rover chassis. These are lashing down eyes and NOT recovery or towing points. Using those will at the very least result in bent eye's, at the worst a bent chassis and death if one breaks under strain and clobbers a by-stander! I can not over-stress the importance on NOT using these points.
2. Mounting another towball onto a front bumper - trust me all you'll do is wreck your bumper!

A quick word on rope!
Not all ropes are the same. Do not use a cheaps tow-strap from the high-street shops to recover a stuck vehicle - they are not rated high enough and some will even struggle under the strain to move a laiden landy on tarmac!

DO buy a recovery rope from one of the shows or online retailers. If anyone want to know about what rating rope they should have, consider this: Laiden Vehicle weight, say 2 tonnes for a 90, 3 for a 110. Factor in for a deep muddy recovery, double the laiden weight - that makes 4 tonnes (6 for a 110). Add a 50% safety factor and your at 6 tonnes for a 90 and 9 tonnes for a 110.

Your bridle and recovery rope should there fore be rated between 6000kg and 9000kg.


Another thing to consider...
If you need to be recovered at any stage, assess this recovering vehicle before you attach the rope. Make sure you can attach it to something solid at both ends! I have seen rear cross members pulled off a towing vehicle, leaving the stranded vehicle still stranded and attached to a cross member!!

Having been present when ropes (and or towing vehicles) have failed, I can confirm that this is a serious subject and should not be taken lightly.

All that said, I wouldnt expect any major recoveries of that magnitude on Landy Rally, but I would expect "ADEQUATE" recovery points, ropes and strops... Just in case.

Hope this helps someone.

Superb explanations, Jon.

VentureOverland wrote:

Here's what is adequate and what isnt...

Minimum Adequate is...
1. REAR of vehicle - Shackle (ideally rated) around towbar ball connected to a recovery rope. Shackle must be big enough to go around neck of tow-ball but not so big as it can be lifted over the ball.

I'd like to add that if you have a fixed drop plate on the tow ball, it's no-longer an adequate recovery point in many cases, as it'll try and twist the mounting off.
For adjustable drop plates, some may withstand the force if the towing point is lifted level with the main mounts, but 2 shackles to the mounting plate is a better idea (assuming it's sturdy enough in the first place).
.....or just remove the drop plate completely if you aren't towing.

the cheapest and by far best place to get jate rings from would be to get them from david hodges the metal man that was next to custom vinyl at billing, he makes the best quality and really strong parts

send him a email on ...
realhhg@earthling.net

rebel 4x4 also do some but they cost more
cheers kieran

we were going to fix a nato hitch to a rear adjustable tow plate, I guess this would not be acceptable then ??

That's the term I was looking for before I went - JATE RINGS. These are a good cheap option for the front ... providing of course your chassis is still in one piece. Should be or it wouldn't have passed your last MOT.

Rear can simply be the towing ball, although some sort of eye is always preferable as the eye of a rope can never detatch itself if fixed with a shackle.

Again, we are not tackling anything drastic terrain-wise, but its always that possibility that you may have to be dragged for a number of miles to the nearest independent Land Rover / 4x4 garage should the Landy Rally Recovery Squad not be able to fix your motor there and then.

To sum up the recovery point issue, following Jon’s (VentureOverland) excellent advice you can’t go wrong, nor Kieran’s advice about buying Jate Rings from Dave Hodges – everything Dave produces is built to last and at very good prices – but if still unsure simply contacting your local independent Land Rover / 4x4 specialist is the way to go. Either that or get in touch with me via email, PM or phone and I’ll let you know the nearest independent Land Rover / 4x4 specialist to you!

As for potentially being left on the line, no it would never happen. Worst case scenario is your recovery points are totally wrong, not just for mild recovery on Landy Rally but beyond should you ever find yourself in deep mud or snow where solid towing points are essential, in which case if the lads couldn't sort out the problem there and then we would simply visit my friend Jean Luc Guyot in Calais who just happens to run an off-road/Land Rover/4x4 garage. There we could borrow his workshop to fix any hiccup you may have at scrutineering … not that he knows it yet but he’s always asking how he can help!

Whatever happens, nobody is going back home until at least one whole week of arrival in Calais – you have an event to tackle first!!!

Challengers wrote:

we were going to fix a nato hitch to a rear adjustable tow plate, I guess this would not be acceptable then ??

I knew this would happen!!!

If its a proper LR Dixon Bate style adjustable towbar it'll be fine. What Andybloke was aluding to was a cheap diy flat plate to reduce the height of the ball off the ground - he is right, thats unaceptable. The Nato hitch however is fine. You may also find it bolts straight onto the rear cross member.

VentureOverland wrote:

What Andybloke was aluding to was a cheap diy flat plate to reduce the height of the ball off the ground - he is right, thats unaceptable. The Nato hitch however is fine. You may also find it bolts straight onto the rear cross member.

yeah ... sorry.

If you've got a real strong drop plate ... take it off and save 12 kilo's

VentureOverland wrote:

Challengers wrote:

we were going to fix a nato hitch to a rear adjustable tow plate, I guess this would not be acceptable then ??

I knew this would happen!!!

If its a proper LR Dixon Bate style adjustable towbar it'll be fine. What Andybloke was aluding to was a cheap diy flat plate to reduce the height of the ball off the ground - he is right, thats unaceptable. The Nato hitch however is fine. You may also find it bolts straight onto the rear cross member.

Cool Thank you