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What are your snatchable recovery points? And Dixon Bates?
I have an ARB Deluxe bull bar and bumper for my 2004 Disco, and I’m trying to figure out recovery points to add, since neither the bumper (really, ARB?) nor truck have recovery points on them.
First off, what the heck is every Disco owner out there using for ******-rated recovery points? I am struggling to find out what to install, and where to install it, to handle the ultimate recovery strain—a snatching strain.
Furthermore, I’m not just outfitting my road princess Disco here in the States, I’m also outfitting a Disco in Uganda for my family to rely on for up to two years in the bush. That Disco will see very little pavement and lots of mud and wash-outs in remote areas, making proper recovery equipment much more vital. All that to say, the stakes are higher over there, so I want to get it right.
I'm curious about this too. Have an 03 with an ARB bumper. Needed to get pulled out of a ditch and ended up using the light loop on the bumper which bent things a little bit. Would rather have two points up front at the frame.
Mostly you are going to want to avoid that style of recovery, Kinetic recovery is great when everyone understands want needs to be done and a has some experience with it. But when the person on either end does not understand it can go south in a hurry.
Having said that I would think a reinforced frame point is the only place, the ARB bumper is attached to the crush cans so not a good choice and the steel rear bumpers are mostly held on by 4 bolts, they might be ok or they might not.
The one you are looking at is designed for a heavy gauge Defender bumper, not the lighter bumper on most Disco's and it seems like a much lighter backing plate than the 5 ton https://expeditionexchange.com/shop-...n-tow-jaw-ew12
Mostly you are going to want to avoid that style of recovery, Kinetic recovery is great when everyone understands want needs to be done and a has some experience with it. But when the person on either end does not understand it can go south in a hurry.
Having said that I would think a reinforced frame point is the only place, the ARB bumper is attached to the crush cans
why would the arb be attached to the crush cans? It might sit over the crush cans but it will be attached using the four sleeved bolt holes in the frame.
personally i do not like the slop you get using factory hardware so i upgraded the bolts in my bumper using 1/2 grade 8 hardware its a tight fit but it works and makes for a much tighter fitting bumper.
I fit a 2 inch receiver under the winch plate again using 1/2 inch grade 8 bolts, and use a receiver mounted d ring
i do not think the disco has the strongest setup for mounting a bumper, but if you are able to pull the four sleeved bolts out of the frame you did something incorrect. You might consider running an extra mounting point further back on the frame for additional support.
snatching a vehicle would be my last choice for recovery
Last edited by baileyrockhound; Oct 28, 2020 at 08:06 AM.
@baileyrockhound the ARB bumpers on Disco's were noted for twisting in their original setup, when any off angle pulls were done. The bumper mounting was changed to correct that. And how you have setup yours up sounds very solid, but lots of other are not I have seen one or two up here that are what I would call marginal.
Richard, thanks for the tip on the larger 5-ton backing plate. And I agree with you guys, ****** recover is the absolute last resort in recovery, but I have to be set up right to do it if it came down to it.
On an interesting note, if you look closely in the Camel Trophy pic, they’ve got two Dixon Bates on the bumper, one on the left and one on the right. Makes sense I guess if you’re pulling out of a ditch one way or another, and this exact scenario in the picture could happen where I’m going; I’ve driven wash-outs similar to that in Uganda many times, and roads are rare anywhere except on the main highways. Road maintenance is a foreign word.
And to confirm what Richard said, the ARB replaces the original crush cans and mounts over the sleeves with some strong-looking steel and bolts.
baileyrockhound, thanks for the specifics on your setup! That’s helpful. I’ll be using a workshop in the capital of Uganda to get the truck over there set up, and labor costs for welding and just about anything you like are not even a consideration cost-wise, so anything is possible. Would welding some thick steel plates from the chassis all the way through to the front of the steel bumper be a good idea? I’m handy at a lot of things but welding and metallurgy is foreign to me.
@za105 If you have a good solid steel bumper properly mounted and good backing plates for the Dixon Bates you should be fine. They use that type of mounting to pull farm trailers with Defenders.
Most heavy duty bumpers are 5 to 6 mm steel, so with a good backing plate I think it would hold. What bumpers to you have ?
What are your snatchable recovery points? And Dixon Bates?
