Strength Rating For Stock Oem Front Tow Hooks?

[peteking]

Gentlemen,

This morning I woke up to my phone ringing--t'was a friend of mine who ran her car into a ditch due to a slippery road and needed pulled out (car was OK and she can't afford a tow truck). So I said OK, grabbed my tow straps, and headed to her location. 5 minutes later she's out of the ditch and on her way home. I secured my tow strap to one of my front tow hooks as I backed the car out. I inspected the hook afterwards and it didn't bend or crack at all. So I'm not worried. But it got me thinking: How much pulling force can each hook withstand? I just wanna know. I flipped through my owner's manual and ran a few forum searches with no results.

[MS3DALE]

Roads were a little slick around here this morning huh Peter?!

 

GM has never given out a rating due to "liability" issues,But I'd also like to know what they can tow/pull.

 

I also think I remember reading somewhere that they want you to use both tow hooks if your pulling something,this way it distributes the force equally to both hooks and lessens the chance for failure.

[grampadirt]

When I installed my winch I removed the tow hooks,figuring I wouldn't need 'em anymore.Those things are heavy for their size.Suffice it to say they are VERY strong.I wouldn't hesitate to pull an 18 wheeler.I'm guessing the weakest point is the frame where they're mounted JMO

[Nick The Great]

Roads were a little slick around here this morning huh Peter?!

 

GM has never given out a rating due to "liability" issues,But I'd also like to know what they can tow/pull.

 

I also think I remember reading somewhere that they want you to use both tow hooks if your pulling something,this way it distributes the force equally to both hooks and lessens the chance for failure.

 

Seriously? So are they just decorative?

 

My quick google skills brought me to this page

https://www.quadratec.com/products/12007_98.htm

 

Not GM, but tow hooks nonetheless. They are rated at 8000lbs. So 2 of them puts you at 16000. Obviously they can't do more than your truck is rated though. These hooks I found have 2 bolt holes, where ours have 1, so maybe the GM have less capacity. Like Rich says, you should probably use both of them if possible, but I don't think you're in danger of hurting anything, especially using 2.

[csheatz]

I think the bolts are the weak link here, one of us will find out when one of our hooks goes fly toward whatever we are trying to pull!

[Nick The Great]

I think the bolts are the weak link here, one of us will find out when one of our hooks goes fly toward whatever we are trying to pull!

 

I think you'd be surprised how strong a bolt is. I don't know how big the bolt is, but even if its only a 1/2 inch Grade 5 bolt, it'll hold damn near 15,000 lbs.

[peteking]

Roads were a little slick around here this morning huh Peter?!

 

GM has never given out a rating due to "liability" issues,But I'd also like to know what they can tow/pull.

 

I also think I remember reading somewhere that they want you to use both tow hooks if your pulling something,this way it distributes the force equally to both hooks and lessens the chance for failure.

 

 

Yeah down in the river valley it rained before snowing. Made it a lil' nasty for my friend's Ford Focus! LOL. Next time though I'll use both hooks. I didn't worry too much because the car was a 2-door subcompact. But I don't feel like snapping anything off on a hunch, either! LOL. Thx all !! Feel welcome to 'extend' the thread!

[c4cruiser]

I think there would be other factors in pulling what amounts to deadweight. Tire traction is obiously one and it could be the tranny may only handle a certain amount of load before something happens. U-joints could be a weak link too.

 

Tow straps and/or chains can be a really weak link and that is one thing that you really don't want to break once you have put a load on them. Tow straps have a max load rating but the "working load" is only 1/3 of that rating. Same with chains, they have load ratings and are rated by grades and the thickness of the link. Go too cheap here, and the truck will most likely lay down enough power to break some straps or chains.

 

Using both hooks does help to spread the weight across both frame rails. But if you cantt get a straight line pull, even a Y-shaped harness connected to the hooks will help to distribute the weight between each hook.

 

The bolts shold be a metric grade 8.8 and it wouldn't be a big deal to replace those with a grade 10.9 bolt, but there wil stil lbe a some sort of limit that the rest of the truck as a unit could pull.

[2000DV4.8]

I've been told that if possible, you should always pull someone in a forward gear, and that the reverse gear isn't designed for super high load situations. Now, I don't know how true that is, but it's what I've been told.

 

As far as the tow hooks go, I'd bet you could break a strap before the hook snapped, they're pretty beefy.

[VMax2007]

I think the bolts are the weak link here, one of us will find out when one of our hooks goes fly toward whatever we are trying to pull!

 

I think you'd be surprised how strong a bolt is. I don't know how big the bolt is, but even if its only a 1/2 inch Grade 5 bolt, it'll hold damn near 15,000 lbs.

 

 

That depends!

 

My 1989 had HUGE tow hooks with very large bolts. Both would make the new truck's hooks/bolts look like child's toys. Well, there were 2 bolts for each hook, one in front of the other, inline with the pulling force. I was pulling a guy from the ditch and needed to shorten my strap, so I did so by running the strap from one hook to the other, thereby changing the direction of force to side-to-side. This put all of the strain on the front bolts and it snapped.

 

Yes, shear strength on bolts is high, but when you shock load them by snapping the strap, they will shear.

[crepitus]

i once pull a mason dump out of a ditch uphill with my s10 in reverse. the hooks help up.

 

i think gm should make a commercial with a truck swinging around on the tow hooks.

 

oh wait its been done already.

[jrrod2004]

I think the bolts are the weak link here, one of us will find out when one of our hooks goes fly toward whatever we are trying to pull!

 

I think you'd be surprised how strong a bolt is. I don't know how big the bolt is, but even if its only a 1/2 inch Grade 5 bolt, it'll hold damn near 15,000 lbs.

 

 

That depends!

 

My 1989 had HUGE tow hooks with very large bolts. Both would make the new truck's hooks/bolts look like child's toys. Well, there were 2 bolts for each hook, one in front of the other, inline with the pulling force. I was pulling a guy from the ditch and needed to shorten my strap, so I did so by running the strap from one hook to the other, thereby changing the direction of force to side-to-side. This put all of the strain on the front bolts and it snapped.

 

Yes, shear strength on bolts is high, but when you shock load them by snapping the strap, they will shear.

 

 

 

that'll teach ya

[jrrod2004]

i once pull a mason dump out of a ditch uphill with my s10 in reverse. the hooks help up.

 

i think gm should make a commercial with a truck swinging around on the tow hooks.

 

oh wait its been done already.

 

or stopping a 30,000lb aircraft

[MS3DALE]

Roads were a little slick around here this morning huh Peter?!

 

GM has never given out a rating due to "liability" issues,But I'd also like to know what they can tow/pull.

 

I also think I remember reading somewhere that they want you to use both tow hooks if your pulling something,this way it distributes the force equally to both hooks and lessens the chance for failure.

 

 

Yeah down in the river valley it rained before snowing. Made it a lil' nasty for my friend's Ford Focus! LOL. Next time though I'll use both hooks. I didn't worry too much because the car was a 2-door subcompact. But I don't feel like snapping anything off on a hunch, either! LOL. Thx all !! Feel welcome to 'extend' the thread!

 

 

Sounds like my friend with her little Saturn

 

And yeah,It rained down here in Greene & Fayette counties last night also....Made for a fun ride to work this morning

[Nick The Great]

I think the bolts are the weak link here, one of us will find out when one of our hooks goes fly toward whatever we are trying to pull!

 

I think you'd be surprised how strong a bolt is. I don't know how big the bolt is, but even if its only a 1/2 inch Grade 5 bolt, it'll hold damn near 15,000 lbs.

 

 

That depends!

 

My 1989 had HUGE tow hooks with very large bolts. Both would make the new truck's hooks/bolts look like child's toys. Well, there were 2 bolts for each hook, one in front of the other, inline with the pulling force. I was pulling a guy from the ditch and needed to shorten my strap, so I did so by running the strap from one hook to the other, thereby changing the direction of force to side-to-side. This put all of the strain on the front bolts and it snapped.

 

Yes, shear strength on bolts is high, but when you shock load them by snapping the strap, they will shear.

 

 

Fair enough. But that's not how the hooks are supposed to be used.