Tow Hook/Eye Questions

I have a some questions about tow hooks/eyes.

First off the Rally America rule book says the following:
14. Towing Eye
All rally vehicles will be equipped with a rear and front towing-eye for
all events. This towing-eye will only be used if the car can move
freely. It will be clearly visible and painted in yellow, red or orange.

Are there any specific requirements of these?

As I have been working on my car I recently installed tow eyes front and rear. However they are mounted to the crash bars basically at the chassis point. They seem flimsy. I will need to get a picture to show you my installation.

Are the tow straps like this allowed as long as they are yellow, red or orange?


I am just worried that when I go off I will have a tow hook snap and fly at someone or something.

What are some good suggestions on mounting these?
Also I have two tow points on the front of the car but they are down LOW and back a bit. Those couldnt be used could they?

Thanks for the help
James

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/

At least for RA, the toe eye only needs to be strong enough to move the car "if the car can move
freely", meaning it isn't damaged, wheels roll, etc... Like you need a flat tow from someone.

If you need to be extracted, you hook up to something stronger, like the frame.

Now, if you want to make them stronger, go for it.

"Also I have two tow points on the front of the car but they are down LOW and back a bit. Those couldnt be used could they? "

As long as they are "clearly visible and painted in yellow, red or orange" then I don't see why not, but remember that you'll need to satisfy the person in tech. Would be good to send a photo of those to Hurst or whoever is in charge of tech at an event you have in mind.

If this strap is all you have in front, I would advise not to try to extract the car with that arrangement with ANY serious pulling. Any extraction attachment needs to be a lot heavier and attached at a point back into the frame for extraction. To be heavy enough to stand some extraction work, I make them from 5/8" round steel bar, heated and welded into a loop, and then welded or, bolted through a backer plate, well back into the framework. If if the mount seems flimsy to your hand, it probably is.

Is this strap an actually rated tow strap part? The thin, hollow AL bar to which it is attached will twist when you tow with this, with a single attachement on the top, probably even on a flat tow.

Having said that, some of the flat metal tow eyes sold for this purpose (flat towing, not extraction) are pretty light weight. If I recall the rules right, this rule has changed so that the tow points are only for flat towing, not for extraction. Some former rule wording seemed more for extraction, and proved to be problematic for implementation, and the extracting people often did not trust/use them anyway.

I didn't think modern cars had a "frame"..
I guess I was wrong.

I wonder what the frame looks like?
Never saw one except on my old diesel van.....

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

None of the front runners even have them at all:

"Tow strap goes around this subframe, want me to paint it red?"

Satisfy the tech inspector and then yourself.

Quote
john vanlandingham
I didn't think modern cars had a "frame"..
I guess I was wrong.

I wonder what the frame looks like?
Never saw one except on my old diesel van.....

Ummm, your old green van is a unibody design. Chris and I one day had the brilliant idea of putting a clean half ton shell on a rusty 3/4 diesel Chevy/GMC van...until we crawled underneath them. Hunh. So much for that. Time for a beer!

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

Quote
fiasco

Quote
john vanlandingham
I didn't think modern cars had a "frame"..
I guess I was wrong.

I wonder what the frame looks like?
Never saw one except on my old diesel van.....

Ummm, your old green van is a unibody design. Chris and I one day had the brilliant idea of putting a clean half ton shell on a rusty 3/4 diesel Chevy/GMC van...until we crawled underneath them. Hunh. So much for that. Time for a beer!

Those big C channels with the riveted traverse C channels kind looks like a frame....

Ya know whadd-eye mean?

But Shirley I shouldn't comment.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Don't call me Shirley.

---

Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

Quote
fiasco
Don't call me Shirley.

Guess I picked a bad week to quit smoking.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Quote
john vanlandingham
I didn't think modern cars had a "frame"..
I guess I was wrong.

I wonder what the frame looks like?
Never saw one except on my old diesel van.....

Would the term 'substantial structural member' be more satisfying?

Quote
starion887

Quote
john vanlandingham
I didn't think modern cars had a "frame"..
I guess I was wrong.

I wonder what the frame looks like?
Never saw one except on my old diesel van.....

Would the term 'substantial structural member' be more satisfying?

Yes, it would..
I like the sound of that...hmmmmm substantial structural member"
Yeah its pithy..a sort of woody quality about it
Nice to just shout out.
Wait "Substantial member" tha's better...


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?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

I wouldn't recommend using that for even flat towing. Your bumper won't be attached long. Above posts are right, if flimsy in your hand pulling on it, imagine what will happen when you get a tug from someone pulling you. I had to cut the one's off our Talon due to the past builder welded the tow eyelets to the bumper shocks(and not welded very well). They will be welded to the body with some decent back plates just encase.

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Brent Dacres
Cincinnati,Oh

The tow thingy I have is similar to the pic below. It has been mounted to the crash bar in the front and rear. I will have to get some actual pictures of my setup. So freakin lazy lately though. I am willing to remove them and start again if I have to. If these will be ok then i will stick with them.

I do not have the strap kind in that first picture I posted. I just posted that pic to get information on that type of part.

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http://rallyhq.weebly.com/

What is the inside diameter of that piece? I think it should be 1.5" ID or larger to be able to hook common tow strap hooks into it; others may want to comment on that.

Edit to add: And of those are 3/8"/8mm bolts, they had better be grade 8 to have a chance of actually towing. What folks don't realize is that in flat towing, it is pretty common to get some slack, then the tow vehicle speeds up and "SNAP!!" ....any weak part goes flying. This often results in broken tail lights or back windows.....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2012 08:09PM by starion887.

Quote
sidewaez
None of the front runners even have them at all:

"Tow strap goes around this subframe, want me to paint it red?"

Satisfy the tech inspector and then yourself.

On my laser the tow hook was just "welded" (tacked would be more like it) to the metal bumper...

Never planed on using it, it was purely to satisfy tech.

One time, a friend of mine sees it, says something like "That doesn't look very strong" as he's pulling on it with one hand... and proceeds to rip it from the car without any strength!

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Francois